Winter Storage on Summer Tires
03-24-2018, 02:04 PM
#1
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Winter Storage on Summer Tires
The previous owner had put all seasons on my Boxster, but those tires are getting old, and I don’t like them (Continental ExtremeContact DWS). I’m planning on getting new summer tires for the car (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S).
I don’t use the car in the Winter, and store it in my unheated garage. Would it be safe to leave the summer tires on the car while it sits in my unheated garage over the winter? Would just sitting in the cold damage the tires? I’ve heard Sport Cup 2 tires can get damaged from sitting in the cold, but I don’t know how sensitive the Pilot Sport 4S tires are to cold. I live in Waterloo, ON, so the coldest it ever gets here is around -25 C, and most winter days are -10 C or higher.
I don’t use the car in the Winter, and store it in my unheated garage. Would it be safe to leave the summer tires on the car while it sits in my unheated garage over the winter? Would just sitting in the cold damage the tires? I’ve heard Sport Cup 2 tires can get damaged from sitting in the cold, but I don’t know how sensitive the Pilot Sport 4S tires are to cold. I live in Waterloo, ON, so the coldest it ever gets here is around -25 C, and most winter days are -10 C or higher.
Last edited by wizee; 03-24-2018 at 02:14 PM. Reason: Clarify Celsius for our American friends
03-24-2018, 02:34 PM
#2
Race Car
Attached or detached garage? Our attached garage never gets much below -5, even on the coldest days, because of the heat it absorbs from the house. I've stored regular summer tires as well as R-compound tires in there for years and never had an issue. R-compound will vulcanize in cold enough temperatures, so that's definitely bad, but I have no idea what kinds of temperatures that is. I was just told not to store my R-compounds outside in the winter.
03-24-2018, 02:36 PM
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Attached or detached garage? Our attached garage never gets much below -5, even on the coldest days, because of the heat it absorbs from the house. I've stored regular summer tires as well as R-compound tires in there for years and never had an issue. R-compound will vulcanize in cold enough temperatures, so that's definitely bad, but I have no idea what kinds of temperatures that is. I was just told not to store my R-compounds outside in the winter.
03-24-2018, 06:08 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
I store my 993 in my unheated detached garage (in Kitchener... hi neighbour!) and never had an issue with tire rubber. I park it on a thick rubber mat, and put those thick foam stress mats under each wheel and then air the tires up to 50 PSI. Never had any issues but I don't know if I would do that with R compounds like Christien said.
03-25-2018, 07:37 AM
#6
I've done this for the last 13 years. Car stored on a lift in my garage. 55psi and nothing special under tire. Never had any issues.
03-25-2018, 09:40 AM
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Originally Posted by Greg981
I've done this for the last 13 years. Car stored on a lift in my garage. 55psi and nothing special under tire. Never had any issues.
Agree.
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03-25-2018, 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by wizee
Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like I need not worry. I might try soft mats under tires out of an abundance of caution next winter.
03-25-2018, 11:19 AM
#10
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I store my 993 in my unheated detached garage (in Kitchener... hi neighbour!) and never had an issue with tire rubber. I park it on a thick rubber mat, and put those thick foam stress mats under each wheel and then air the tires up to 50 PSI. Never had any issues but I don't know if I would do that with R compounds like Christien said.
03-25-2018, 11:33 AM
#11
03-26-2018, 02:28 AM
#12
Drifting
The previous owner had put all seasons on my Boxster, but those tires are getting old, and I don’t like them (Continental ExtremeContact DWS). I’m planning on getting new summer tires for the car (Michelin Pilot Sport 4S).
I don’t use the car in the Winter, and store it in my unheated garage. Would it be safe to leave the summer tires on the car while it sits in my unheated garage over the winter? Would just sitting in the cold damage the tires? I’ve heard Sport Cup 2 tires can get damaged from sitting in the cold, but I don’t know how sensitive the Pilot Sport 4S tires are to cold. I live in Waterloo, ON, so the coldest it ever gets here is around -25 C, and most winter days are -10 C or higher.
I don’t use the car in the Winter, and store it in my unheated garage. Would it be safe to leave the summer tires on the car while it sits in my unheated garage over the winter? Would just sitting in the cold damage the tires? I’ve heard Sport Cup 2 tires can get damaged from sitting in the cold, but I don’t know how sensitive the Pilot Sport 4S tires are to cold. I live in Waterloo, ON, so the coldest it ever gets here is around -25 C, and most winter days are -10 C or higher.
I've been storing my boxster for the winters with the summer tires on for the past 9! yrs. I do pump up the psi to whatever the max on the sidewall says to help prevent/lessen flatspotting. No issues noted.
03-26-2018, 11:07 AM
#13
Nice to see a fellow member from the K-W area. Your profile picture’s location is very familiar. I’ve seen a number of (non-SUV) P-cars in the area and I’ve contemplated organizing a meet for quite a while since the Mississauga and “Group 905” (North Toronto) meets are far away. I went to the Mississauga meet once and enjoyed meeting new people and seeing interesting cars.
Just to keep this on-topic, I also store my car over the winter. I originally over-inflated the tires and placed rubber mats underneath to prevent flat-spotting. I eventually dropped the use of rubber mats and I now just inflate my tires to the maximum specified on the sidewall (usually ~50psi). I haven't had any issues with this, but I do believe that the degree of flat-spotting does depend heavily on the tire. For example my current Hankook Ventus v12 evo's seem to flat-spot a little when sitting overnight, where my previous Michelin PSS tires never had a problem.
Kevin
03-29-2018, 04:47 AM
#14
Instructor
As others have stated, take the pressures up to 50 PSI and you should be good to go with the 4S or PSS. For my Pilot Sport Cup2s, I wrap them in sealed plastic bags and store them in the basement. These have been known to crack when exposed to cold temperatures. The plastic bags are there to prevent breathing the toxins from the tires inside the house. This is not an issue in a garage or when storing tires outside, but you definitely don't want to be breathing this stuff inside your house.
03-29-2018, 09:50 AM
#15
Drifting