Winter Storage for Summer Tires.
 

Curious to grab a few opinions from you guys as to what your recommendation would be for high performance summer tire storage.

Here in Virginia the weather is starting to slowly creep into the low 40s. I'm sure within a month we will be to consistent below freezing. The tires I'm currently running on my TE37SL are Yokohama Advan Apex V601, a "High Performance Summer" Tire.

Once they begin to salt our roads here, the car goes away until the spring. Should I be concerned for flat spots / cracking in the tread if I let the car sit for a while? Is it worth swapping the OEM Wheels w/ PS4 back onto the car?

Kind of just curious of your guys opinions. It's good to note that I don't have a heated garage, however the vehicle is in a garage over the winter, but with no heat and a concrete floor it practically becomes a huge refrigerator.

My car sat for a year and a half in temps between 100f and -20f only being rolled a few feet now and then. Mine are 100tw tires in a 245/45 so I don't know if extra sidewall helped, but they run totally fine. I would still recommend not leaving them on the car if it's something you can avoid, since I'm only one example and it's the only scenario I have seen.

Noted. The effort it takes to swap the OEM wheels back onto the car wont be anything crazy, so i think that's just what I'll have to do once it gets cold.

Shitty however, because hopefully the OEM PS4's wont get messed up either. Trying to keep those nice and reserved just as much as the Advans on my new wheels.

I'd store the wheels/tires you care most about in a more climate controlled environment.

Whatever wheels are on the car, best I can think of is to up tire pressure, and stick something under the tires to isolate them from the cold concrete.
Some will put the car on jack stands. Haven't done it so I can't say whether that's ideal or not.

I would consider the PS4 to be a better tire than the Yokos, so I'd want to keep those in better condition. However, if you don't see a purpose for the OEM wheels/tires in the next few years, I'd put them on in the cold and let them take whatever damage the cold does to them. Then bring the TEs inside if at all possible.

Putting cars on jack stands can cause other issues if not done properly. If the shocks are left extended (that is not their natural state) for a period of time you can get rust and seal issues.
If somebody feels they must keep the tires off the ground then jack stands need to be placed under the suspension so the car is sitting properly and just the wheels are not touching. Your suggestion of using padding is the best though.
That said, most touring/all season tires should be fine for a few months even on concrete. They may be a bit bumpy for the first few miles after you start driving but they will come back fine. Dirt or gravel that will freeze and thaw while holding moisture are a complete no no.
I would never leave my car sitting for a prolonged period in either hot nor cold weather if I had performance tires though. They don't always come back well when you start to drive.

Put the oems on, drive it on warm days after a rain. Store the summer tires somewhere above freezing if you can.

Edit, oh wait, you have ps4s. Uhhh, sell the ps4s and get a set of winter/all season tires and then my suggestion applies.

My thought process exactly. I'd rather oof the oem tires versus leaving the car on stands or in the air. I hate leaving the car on stands. Never have, never will. I've never left my car on stands even overnight lol

Thinking of just slapping the OEM PS4's back on the car and driving onto 2x4's so it at least isn't hugging the cold concrete all winter. I live on an uphill gravel driveway as well, so your comment about the freeze and thaw is also a good point. The winters here in VA are not harsh by any means, I just have a really really bad relationship with salt after owning my 13. Trying to keep this chassis as clean as possible. They go HARD here on the salt.

Edit: Just came to mind, I'm going to post in my local club and see if anyone is selling a super cheap set of 13-16 stocks. I have seen them with tires going for under $200 if I remember correctly. $200 beats paying for a full set of PS4 or Yokos.

I know the PS4's cost more I believe, but the car is pretty much never going to be driven on stock wheels again until the day I decide to sell it. The 255's on my wheels now make the 215s feel like rubber bands lol

Oops... :iono:
https://www.ft86club.com/forums/pict...ictureid=13024

This photo literally gives me anxiety. I don't know why LOL

I know there's nothing wrong with it entirely and people leave cars on stands for years. It would just be my luck that someway, somehow I'd wake up to my car on the floor.

Lol, I was like that too. Then I broke 2 lug nuts on a Sunday evening and didn't have time to replace them for a week. Had to make a choice between leaving it on stands or putting it back on wheels with only 4 lug nuts on two of them. Left it up all week and discovered that nothing bad happened.

Invest in a set of these https://www.amazon.ca/BISupply-Tire-...18327001&psc=1 I use them under my boat trailer for the winter. They keep the moisture away and also greatly reduce flat spots. When I tow the boat in the spring the tires are still round. Even though the boat and trailer are 6 years old the tires are perfect.

The boat weighs more than the car, has only two points of contact and is stored on grass so they obviously help.

I have had cars up on jack stands (or cinder blocks, 4x4s, logs, etc) for weeks on end while working on them. Probably over a hundred times easy. Never once did I come out and find one that had fallen.
I am pretty sure it is a law of nature that if your stands are going to come out or collapse (your block break in half, your 4 x 4 lose grip and shoot out, your log dissolve into sawdust) and drop the car it must happen within one minute of getting out from under it or just randomly for no apparent reason while you are looking directly at it when you are on a beer break. It is also a law that it will happen in slow motion while you silently scream NOOOOOOOOOO.

https://thumbs.gfycat.com/AmbitiousL...restricted.gif