Most tires last around 6 to 10 years in storage, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) advises against using tires past the 5-year mark. This is because the rubber compound in tires tends to break down after a while, resulting in cracks and dry rot.
While you can’t prevent a tire from aging, there are ways you can keep it in good shape for as long as possible.
Tips on How To Store Tires
Proper storage is the key to keeping your unused tires in good shape. Here are helpful tips on how to store your tires:
Unload From the Vehicle
If you plan to store your car along with its tires, consider removing the tires and storing them separately. Keeping the tires mounted on your vehicle can cause the tires to stretch and deform from the pressure of your car’s weight.
Clean Your Tires
Before stowing them away, clean the tires to remove dirt, brake dust, and other contaminants from their rubber surface. Avoid using abrasive chemicals or tire dressings that can cause dry rot. Instead, wash your tires with a mild soap, a tire brush, and water before letting them fully dry.
Maintain the Recommended Tire Pressure
This helps preserve the shape of your tires when mounted on the wheels. The optimal air pressure will vary depending on your vehicle’s year, make, and model, but most manufacturers recommend keeping it between 28 to 36 pounds per square inch (PSI).
Use Tire Storage Bags
In an airtight plastic bag, tires are safe from dust and other harmful elements that can cause their rubber material to break down. You can also place silica gel inside the bag to absorb any moisture.
Avoid Chemical and UV Exposure
Overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays and harmful chemicals are common causes of dry rot, so be sure to keep your tires away from the sunlight, furnaces, and lubricants. Ozone emitted by generators and air purifiers is also a big no.
Store in a Cool and Dry Place
Tires are best stored in cool and dry rooms such as basements and garages. It’s best to avoid outdoor sheds, attics, and areas where the temperature and humidity often change.
Don’t Hang Unmounted Tires
One of the best ways to store your tires is by hanging them on the wall. However, you should only do so if the tires are mounted on wheels. Hanging unmounted tires can damage and deform them.
If your tires aren’t mounted on rims, you can either keep them upright or stack them on top of each other.
Stack Color-to-Color
If you plan on stacking the tires, be sure to stack the white parts against the white parts. Doing so ensures that the black side’s oil doesn’t migrate to and stain the white parts.
Rotate the Tire Stack
Rotating the stack every now and then will prevent uneven pressure, which can damage the tires when they’re stacked on top of each other for too long.
Why Is Tire Storage Important?
Proper tire storage ensures that tires last long and perform well even after sitting unused in the garage for years. When unused tires break down in storage, you’ll have to spend money on a replacement. You also have to dispose of the tires, which must be recycled as they are non-biodegradable.
What Are the Factors That Affect Tire Life?
Several factors can speed up a tire’s aging process while in storage, and they can be grouped into two categories: environmental and storage conditions.
Environmental Conditions
These are factors influenced by your environment and are thus often out of your control.
Oxygen
Most tires consist of 21% oxygen. While most tires are made of rubber with antioxidant compounds, the oxygen can still cause your tires to break down.
UV Light
Tires are typically designed to stabilize UV radiation, but overexposure can damage the tires and lead to dry rot.
Ozone
Constant exposure to ozone can cause unrepairable cracks to form on the tire rubber. To protect tires from this, manufacturers mix special waxes and oils into the rubber. Unfortunately, these compounds are less effective when in storage.
Heat
According to the NHTSA, tires break down faster in hotter climates. This is because exposure to high temperatures can cause the rubber to age faster.
Storage Conditions
Depending on how you store them, your tires can either last longer or age faster. Here are the different storage conditions that you can control:
Temperature and Light
While you can’t control how hot or sunny it gets, you can control the temperature and light in your storage area. Keep the room cool and dry, ideally somewhere between 32 ℉ and 77 ℉.
Ozone Exposure
Keep ozone-producing equipment away from your stored tires. This includes electric motors, generators, and ozone air purifiers.
Humidity
Your tires shouldn’t be stored in an area where you use humidifiers, vaporizers, and other sources of humidity. Before placing tires in bags, you should also make sure they’re completely dry.
Deformation
How you position your tires can make or break them. Improperly stacking or mounting them can damage the sidewalls and deform the tires. Deformed tires can’t be fixed. You’ll have to replace them.
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Any information provided on this Website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to replace consultation with a professional mechanic. The accuracy and timeliness of the information may change from the time of publication.
