Hi,
I plan to store my car in garage for six months for the winter months. Last spring I returned from down south and tires were about 8 pounds less. Do you think it is ok to overinflate tires this time prior to going down South?
Thanks for your input.
Do not reply to "dummy" email address.
Roger
No, do not overinflate them. The highest pressure would be what's printed on the sidewall. Higher pressures can cause belt delamination and damage. To keep the tires from flat-spotting, put blocks under the suspension to keep the tires from touching the ground. Also, if stored outside you should get a set of RV tire covers and cover the tires to keep UV from decomposing the rubber.
JazzMan
pump em up!! it's not going to hurt a damn thing. when cars come in on the truck from the manufacturer they are typicaly 20 pounds over pressure.. the tires won't know the difference. i drove for 4 years on tires that were 15 pounds ove the tire spec. and here i am to tell you that they went bald in the middle. Chip
You didn't give an explanation *why* you should overinflate your tires if it didn't hurt a damn thing. If it didn't do anything, why overinflate them in the first place? Like Daniel Stern says, experience doesn't prove causality. I haven't smoked once in my life and I'm still am here to tell you that I haven't gotten lung cancer yet.
-Bruce
overinflate them to deter flat spotting during storage. i did it to see what would happen. i'm not sure what causality is, could you explain??
Causality is the relationship between a cause and the effect. The effects (or non-effects) do not necessarily explain the cause.
-Bruce
For instance, on my desk I have a fine Tiger Repellant device. In all the years that this device has sat on my desk, I have yet to have a tiger show up. Does that mean that my Tiger Repellant works?
Nope, there's no causality.
That's why you can't prove a negative, and why this scenario is the favorite one of the con artist.
JazzMan
Getting back to the questions asked... do NOT put the car on blocks with the wheels completely off the ground for an extended period of time (i.e. more than a few days). If you do this you'll be stretching the springs and other components that were meant to have compression on them, could also be stressing brake lines, over extending shock absorbers, etc. Not to mention the possibility of bending structural elements that weren't meant to support the weight of the car if you pick the wrong spots to set the blocks.
If you'd feel better taking some pressure off the tires, then perhaps rig up a support so that the wheels are still on the ground and carrying some weight, as this will not exceed the travel things were meant to see. I don't know how to do this. Barring that... just pump the tires up a little above the max inflation pressure and don't worry/be happy. If you store the car long enough to get a flat spot on the tires it will likely work it's way out over some time when you start driving it again.
This is all with respect to modern radial tires, by the way... bias ply tires would have more of a problem with flat spott>Bruce Chang wrote:
I disagree. The springs will not be "stretched" by the car's wheels being off the ground, and there are no "other components that were meant to have compression on them" that will be damaged by having the wheels off the ground. The shock absorbers and brake lines will not be "stressed" or "overextended". All of this nastiness is prevented by clever devices known as "stops" which determine the upper and lower extents of suspension component travel.
DS
What I do every winter is use 4 jack stands under the suspension to hold the car up. Takes the load off the tires but the car still sits "normal." Primarily so it's a little tougher for mice to get in - I stuff rags in the exhaust and the intake, a can of fuel stabilizer, pull the battery and then put a car cover on it.
That's all you really need to do for 6 months.
I also change the oil, wash the car, and lube the weatherstripping. I usually leave the driver's window open a crack so air can circulate.
Ray
I'm a bit skeptical of all that. But you could always place blocks or stands under the axles or lower a-frames. That would place the same suspension pieces under their normal loads, yet the tires would be off the ground. I think the latter has some value. If the car is to be stored outside, you should be sure the tires are covered from UV.
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.