In Ontario, many car owners have two sets of tires: winter tires and all-season (or summer) tires. While having different tires is essential for staying safe in different weather conditions, what do you do with your off-season tires?

Storing your car tires properly can help to ensure they’re still in great shape when you come to switch them out next season.

1. Keep your wheels and tires clean

You should avoid storing dirty tires and wheels. Throughout the season, tires accumulate dust, salt, dirt and grime from the road, and if this dirt stays on your wheels and tires for a long period of time, it can cause damage to the finish of your wheels. Cleaning your wheels is fairly simple with just soap, water and a tire brush.

3. Keep your tires out of the sun

Because tires soak up the heat and UV rays from the sun. UV rays, the heat can cause the rubber to break down and cause premature tire cracking. Store your tires in a cool, dark place like a basement or climate-controlled storage facility such as ours!

4. Keep your tires away from ozone

Don't stash your set of tires in the garage or basement beside your beer fridge or freezer! Fridges and freezers can produce ozone which will dry out the rubber and cause your tires to crack.

5. Don’t let a seasonal vehicle sit on the tires for too long

If you have a sports car or convertible that you only take out during the summer, be wary of how much time you’re letting that vehicle sit on the tires unused. The longer your vehicle sits on the tires, the more likely it is that you’ll develop some flat spots on tire tires. Most flat spots usually go away after a few kms of driving when you take the vehicle out of storage.

6. Avoid discolouration

Whitewall tires or white-lettered tires require some extra care when storing to avoid discolouration. Be sure to bag them and, if you stack them against each other, make sure to stack them whitewall to whitewall or white lettering to white lettering. White rubber is treated differently to avoid staining, but the black rubber is not.

At Ted’s Tire Discounter in Guelph, we offer seasonal tire storage. Store your spare set of tires with us and rest assured knowing that they’ll be in great condition next season!