If I leave my Yokohama Advan Neova AD07s on the car for winter storage, will they be unsafe for normal street driving next Spring?

Yokohama states:
...was developed using high performance compounds which become brittle at low temperatures, and therefore should not be used in certain conditions... thus must be stored or used only at temperatures at or above 14°F (-10°C) to maintain performance characteristics and to avoid any damage to the tire or injury to persons or property.

The tires are now three years old and have been autoXed and tracked. Traction is definitely not what it used to be, but there's plenty of tread.

I won't need the ultimate traction for next Spring, but want to be safe... Yokohama hasn't gotten back to me on what kind of damage occurs.

Maybe I should just cold store the tires and pick up Sumitomo's next Spring...

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

 

For winter storage, you should over-inflate the tires to 58-60 PSI. This is in your Owner's Manual too.

 

Right--there's something with the new, soft compounds that they're NEVER supposed to go below a certain temp, driving on them or not, or bad things happen and they're ruined. So why would you risk it?

 

If I can find a definitive answer for what "bad" and "ruined" means, I can make an informed decision without risk. If I can't find an answer then the wheels come off... it's just a major PITA and I don't like leaving the car in storage on stands with the suspension uncompressed.

 

If you're politely telling me to RTFM... my question had nothing to do about tire pressure for winter storage.

 

Yokos are the only tires I've seen that carry such a warning. I believe it has to do with the compound getting brittle in cold weather and developing microscopic (or macroscopic) cracks. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.

 

Would it be too costly to put a heater in your garage with the thermostat set to shut off at 0 deg C? I know it gets cold in Winterpeg, but I wasn't sure how much $$$ that will translate to in your situation.

 

The sidewall compound can freeze very easily and then cracks. Once you get those cracks in the sidewall, you are done. Can you not store them in an above freezing climate?

 

^+1
This is from toyo and explains what might happen.

John

 

That's what I was looking for... if it was simply less-than-new traction, non-issue. But cracking sidewalls/tread is another thing...

Wheels will be coming off and transported back to my place, and the car will be going up on stands.

Thanks for the information!

 

Not at all, Lerxst. I probably misunderstood your initial question. Sorry if you took it the wrong way.

 

I don't think it is recommended to store the car with the suspension unsprung. Due to certain suspension parts getting exposed to air & moisture. Possibly you can use a cheap/spare set of wheels & tires.

 

The beauty of written text... so easily misunderstood... plus I was cranky last night too... Cheers!

 

I have AD07s as well. I can't recall what the lowest safe temp is (Tirerack could be your friend). I installed a heavy duty heater plus thermostat in my insulated garage for those cold days/nights in Toronto. This is my second set and all is well.

 

"If you have questions about the products you have ordered, please call DAMON (EXT.643) at 888-981-3953 or email damon@tirerack.com"
He is a member here maybe PM him?