Is the cold bad for race tires?
 

I have my RX-7 in my garage for the winter. No exposure to sunlight, or any elements (rain, snow etc.) It does get cold in the garage however since I have no heater out there. Is just being cold bad for the tires? I keep air in them so they don't sit flat. Should I put the car on jack stands and bring the tires in the house?

Thanks!

Ben

Yes. Ideally deflate the tires, place them in plastic bags and evacuate as much air as possible from the bag. Then seal it shut. Store in a warm place out of sunlight.

Ok, I can do that tomorrow. Another question on the same topic...with the car on jack stands and my tires stored for the winter...is it bad for the shocks to be hanging down fully extended? I think I remember somewhere somebody telling me not to let them hang. Is this true?

Thanks for all your help!

I'd suggest not leaving the car on stands. Not because of the shocks or tires, but because if you need to move it frequently (to get at other stuff) or fast (if there's a fire), you want to be able to move the car around easily. If you have some beater tires & rims, that would be ideal.

I like the way you think^

Why let the air out all the way, the air would tend to keep the tire round IMHO. esp Bias ply. LMK, Carl

I think that DamonB left out the part about laying the bagged tires on their sides...

You don't want wator vapor to sit inside the tire, so you deflate the tire. If the tires were filled with nitrogen or something there'd be no sense in deflating them though.

What about "roundness"? I get the rest. Thanks

Just winterized both my racecars which included.

Draining the fuel out of the fuel cell. Disconnect the line from the carb...turn the pump on...into your 5 gallon jug...put the high octane fuel in your street car which makes it very happy with you..... kinda like you having an experience in bed with your wife or girlfriend...lol...

Also- Lets be realistic. If you have a fire in your house...are you going to run downstairs... screaming... I gotta get my racecar out...I gota get my racecar out? Are you going to have time? Prob not. Just say your prayers and put the car up on jackstands. Shocks will NOT hyper extend unless forced.

As far as my tires... They are stacked in my closet...wrapped in bags... lol the wife loves it! Lets also remember that our racing season only has an off season of November through January. Your not going to ruin tires 3 months even if the car was left on its suspension in an enclosed trailer. I would not deflate tires. Why? What happens when you let air out of tires... Condensation. If you create a rush of air throughout the valve stem... your going to create water inside.

The ideal way to store tires is to: Dismount, place in bags and put in a dark warm place... However... mounting and dismounting tires isn't cheap so you have to do the best you can do. Now- If your tires are filled with something other than "air" then do not worry about it. I just would not suggest deflating tires.

Who said the fire was in the house? Obviously, we should all be bright enough to figure out that moving the car may be necessary and/or desirable on short notice. The guy asking the original question cares enough about storing his car to ask about how to do it properly. If he has the means and need to move it , then it's prudent to put himself in a position where he has a choice. Planning to panic does not help.

Letting the air out does not create water inside, the water already IS inside. The water vapor doesn't somehow jump inside the tire while the air rushes out as you deflate, it was there all along. Letting the air out quickly merely makes the air temperature inside the tire cooler and this may condense the water vapor into visible drops, but it doesn't add water to the tire! The same amount of water was present inside all along!

When you let all the air out you carry much of the water vapor out with it. Ideally you'd remove the valve stem and actually evacuate the tire (but not to the point it caves in), then reinsert the valve stem to seal it. Of course dismounting the tire from the wheel would be even better as you could be certain the entire interior were dry before sealing it into the bag.

The reason we want tires in bags isn't so much to keep them dry (though that helps keep the rubber from breaking down as well), it's that we want to contain them in their own little atmosphere. Once race tires are used the oils in the rubber begin evaporating out and contribute to tire hardness. By sealing the tire inside a (ideally evacuated) bag we trap those gases inside the bag and the tire continues to baste in them during storage rather than dry out.

Tires are produced, shipped and stored in warehouses with no air in them. It won't harm them by deflating them and stacking them :)

Wow...some great info! Thanks guys!

You know...I would assume that most of us have taken a high school science class and that water is present in air...and that yes...It does not "technically" it is not creating the water- I belive that the man could have figured that out...

Mounting and dismounting tires os going to cause them more harm then good... Im not sure if youve ever watched as tires (esp race tires) are mounted its not a pretty sight, the amount of deformation in the tire is horrible... My race tires only ever come off the rim twice, mid season to flip them, and when they are trash.

Ive always stored them in a warm, dry basement, inflated, in bags if im not totally lazy, and fairly importantly not next to electric motors (furnace). Im not sure what the motors actually do, but ive been told more than once they will harden the rubber.

Oh and unless your trying to win nat's or something like that as long as you get the tires out of the cold and sun over the winter your doing 90% of what matters... and for that matter if your trying to win nat's youll probably want a fresh set before hand anyways...

yes sir it does... by nature a "race tire" isnt at its full potential until it reaches its opperating temp. same reason that when people do burnouts with a street radial tire it is pointless. because a street tire is made to work best in all weather conditions and at heat levels which will be encountered in every day use (rain, highway, snow, stop and go, gravel, etc.).

ohh... to store the tire in the cold... got it! haha