OK I know about the date codes on tires but I just acquired a perfect set of white wall bias plys that I probably won't mount for about two years. What is the best way of storing them?? I understand that the sun is the worst thing to ever happen to tires so would it be OK to put them in a black plastic bag and store them in my garage attic. There is no heat or air up there...should I be concerned???
Put them in the basement, in the darkest coolest place you can find. Put each tire in a plastic bag and lay them flat.
Tire manufacturers store them standing up, out of the sunlight, and not wrapped in any sort of impermeable material like a plastic bag. Back when tires were wrapped for shipment, the wrap was a non-adhesive paper tape wrapped continuously around the tire. Protected the tire but let it breathe.
Ozone and oxygen are very bad too. they react with rubber, heat speeds up the rate of reaction, ultraviolet light in sunlight catalyses the reactions. If you can get a really good seal on the bag you might be able to store them in a gas that will not react with rubber but that is getting pretty exotic for most of us. I sometimes store material in Argon in a sealed can. but airtight tire sized cans are hard to come by. The military stores engines in them. If the tires are older than just a very few years, your best bet is to sell them, I'm told that the rubber in new tires does not last.
I got a pair of rollers hanging in my garage along with tubes. The tubes are pretty much dust now and the rollers were good tires 6 years ago when I hung them they are now all dry rotted. I used to know a guy that wiped his tires down with petroleum jelly and wrapped them in burlap for storage. it seemed to work well enough. I have wiped them down with tire dressing before with good luck. never tried the vasoline deal though.
hang them on the wall in your climate controlled house...put mirrors or pictures in the centers for a great conversation piece
You'll get a good deal in two years too. Thats what I tell myself. Sometimes I'm an oracle, sometimes a dammed liar.
Thanks a lot guys. Some really great info here. Appreciate all the info. Looks like I will be storing them somewhere in the shop in a dark corner away from the compressor and any sunlight.
these are the rules to follow http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/yokoh...-storage-techniques-for-your-tires-and-wheels
Along those lines, maybe toss some Silica Gel Desiccant packets inside the bags? They're in all sorts of stuff we buy. I use them in my ammo cans, seems to work.
one thing I learned is never stack them so the black backsides touch the whitewalls. got some big stains on my whitewalls doing that once, and they were only off the car for a couple months
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