If you plan on storing your car for a few months in the winter, do you really need a tire cradle. I haven't had any issues with a 6 week storage in the past. What do you think about other options such as suspending the car on jacks instead?

 

I would not suspend on jacks as that might distort some bushings. I use Tire Cradles www.tirecradle.com but others have had good luck with just a couple of layers of carpet under each wheel. YMMV

 

The pirelli rep recommended parking the car on 2 layers of old carpet.

 

How do you like those Tire Cradles. They look good, if they really keep the tires from flat spoting. Problem is - They are waaaayyyy over priced IMO.

 

I leave mine parked for about three months with nothing, except maybe a few pounds extra air. Unless your car is a garage queen or sits in a showroom for a year, I don't believe you NEED anything. But, then again, we can always pamper our P-car. I don't know if an extra coat of wax does anything, but I do it anyway.

 

I have the same experience. I put the tire pressures up to about 50 psi, and I do move the car a few feet back and forth every couple of weeks.

My PZeros haven't had any flats-spotting, though I've heard some other brands are more susceptible to this.

 

Hey palting, I am in MI and storing the P-car for the first time. Cool! I still need to put a few xtra pounds of air. What do you or others recommend as far as how often to start the car? Also would you disconnect the battery? Thanks!

 

mdillian,
Last time the start vs. no-start issue came up, it was controversial. To me, in the end, I doubt that it matters much. I start, others feel strongly about not starting.

Where there is little controversy, however, is the battery issue. Almost everyone recommends the Porsche battery conditioner (or similar). Just plug it in to your cigarette lighter outlet and the device keeps your battery topped up. Much better for the battery than letting it slowly discharge.

 

I like the Tire Cradles. My car is parked without moving for three months. I have had the Tire Cradles for 5 years. In the spring there is no flat spotting at all. The car runs smooth as silk.
I have heard of people that have had permanent flat spotting and had to get new tires. I realize that my last Corvette had this problem. It was not real severe but was there. They are on the expensive side but they last forever and can be used on any car. I was impressed with his testing and info on his web site. It all made sense to me. I guess being and engineer I like test data.

 

P.S.
The guy at Tire Cradles says high air pressure just makes a smaller harder flat spot. All the weight is pressing in a smaller area. These tires are soft compound in order to get the grip we enjoy. High unit pressure make them finish their curing into a flat spot. In normal parking for short periods it is not permanent. When the tires warm up it usually disappears. I can oven feel this happen if my car has been sitting for a few days. It feels as if there are strips in the road when the road is smooth.

 

How do you use the tire cradles? Do you need to jack up each wheel and put the cradle underneath or can you just drive into them?

 

You just drive up on them. The rear ones have a ramp on the front and the back the front ones have a ramp only on the back and kinda a lip on the front. If you go too fast you'll drive right over them. No harm just try again.

 

All you need to do is inflate the tires to the maximum allowed cold pressure. Don't forget to lower it back to your driving pressures, though.

 

I like my tire cradles, and they do work as advertised!
HOWEVER, they are not for everyone. My car stays parked during the week in the winter. I found it very annoying to have flat spot "hop" when I finally was able to drive the car. In colder weather on short trips, it seemed the ride wouldn't smooth out until the ride was over! The cradles don't totally eliminate this but they do make it much more bearable.

For daily drivers, flat spots are not an issue. I also wouldn't want to deal with lining up on the ramps every day. (my 295mm rear tires only have about 1" to spare on each side of them) Even weekly drivers in warm climates, no problem. Long term storage, I agree inflating to max pressure and maybe moving the car slightly monthly would probably suffice. I would also say if you aren't sure you need them, you probably don't need them! But they were worth it for my particular application.

 

For last 3 years, I simple over inflate to 50 lbs park over carpeted plywood and never had problem with 17 and 18 wheels. I think flat spotting concerns are is bit exaggrated if you over inflate and at least move car once a month.