Cleaning & Winter Storage

I don't even clean them. I just bag them and stack them on my garage floor with some boxes underneath to keep some moisture from the concrete floor away. I will put them up on a rack to free up some floor space one of these days, though.

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Mikku said:

I've just replaced my standard 16" alloys with a secondhand set of wheels and winter tyres. Having never had to do this before (this is the first time I've lived in a snowy region), am just wondering what people use to clean their wheels (particularly the backs) and tyres and how best to store them for the winter months. I was just going to use warm, soapy water to clean them and then stack them in my garage but thought I'd see what everyone else does first. Thanks in advance! :thumbsup:

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I clean mine at an outdoor spray and wash. The high pressure is a good substitute for elbow grease to remove mud. ;-)

I'm sure the tires and wheels will be fine in either case, as they are made to be in the elements and they endure far worse conditions on the car than in your garage. If you do stack and cover them, make sure you leave them some air space if you cover them with a poly tarp which will keep them wet.

It certainly won't hurt to clean them before storage, and the plus is they will look nice when you put them back on in the spring..
:thumbsup:

If you like your tires to have that nice matte black/shiny look without having to spray on tire dressing every time you wash the car, look into a TUF SHINE kit. It's a lot easier to clean the tires while they are off the vehicle. And with a product like TUF SHINE the tires have to be clean, really clean, like scrubbing 5 to 6 times till the foam is white clean. I use a pre-cleaner like LA Awesome the first few times, then the supplied cleaner. The shinier you want the tire, the more coats of clear coat you will put on. This product should last more than all summer on your tires. If the wheels have a clear coat, I would clean them, clay them, and apply a few coats of quality paint coating from someone like optimum or duragloss for example.

Thanks for the comments. Think I'll give 'em a good wash and dry on our next sunny day! :thumbsup:

When I was studying vehicle design we had a tire engineer come in and talk to our class. A few things he said have stuck in my mind since.

First, you should always deflate tires while in storage, as it slows oxidation from the pressurized air slooooooowly leaking through the tire's rubber.

The second was to DOUBLE bag each tire and to seal the bags. For the same reason as above, to slow oxidation of the rubber by creating a closed climate for the tire to live in.

Then store the tires indoors where the temperature will be fairly stable.