Winter storage experiment
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Race Director
Joined: Aug 1999
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From: SE Pennsylvania
St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
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Winter storage experiment
OK, Don't start hitting me, But last fall when I put the 2003 away for the winter, instead of parking it on just the concrete garage floor on which (Usually my tires lose about 10 pounds of air pressure while sitting around for the four months). But this year I went to Home Depot and bought four of those cheap rubber door mats $4.99 each and four small door carpet mats $3.99. I marked the garage floor where the four tires sat, backed the car out, but down the four rubber mats, and then the four pieces of carpet on top of them, and pulled the car in and parked it for the winter.
Ok, so today I took off the car cover and disconneted the float charger and started the car and ran it for about a half hour. I checked the tire pressure and damn, it was exactly where it had been four months early @30 PSI in each tire. Ok, so i heard this was a way that you could keep from losing air pressure over the winter, thought it was just a old wives tale but I was wrong. It works? So . . .?
Ok, so today I took off the car cover and disconneted the float charger and started the car and ran it for about a half hour. I checked the tire pressure and damn, it was exactly where it had been four months early @30 PSI in each tire. Ok, so i heard this was a way that you could keep from losing air pressure over the winter, thought it was just a old wives tale but I was wrong. It works? So . . .?
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St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
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I always park mine on scrap pieces of carpet for the winter. I too don't like letting the tires sit for a long period of time on the concrete.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 5,253
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From: Northwest CT
If they loose some air, can't you pump them back up for free?
I pump mine up to 40psi. for winter storage. Tires sit on concrete all winter, but in a heated garage. I just woke it up today...beautiful weather. Tires were still at exactly 40psi. Of course I drained out 8 lbs. before driving it for 1.5 hrs. Man, what a car...
I pump mine up to 40psi. for winter storage. Tires sit on concrete all winter, but in a heated garage. I just woke it up today...beautiful weather. Tires were still at exactly 40psi. Of course I drained out 8 lbs. before driving it for 1.5 hrs. Man, what a car...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 2,220
Likes: 6
From: www.Z16.org North/West Pennsylvania
I have been storing cars for 36 years. Yes keeping the tires off the concrete is good, (it keeps the concrete form sucking the life juices from the tires), but doesn't have anything to do with them losing air. Tires lose air normally through the process of permeation. Changes in outdoor temperature can affect the rate at which your tire loses air. Generally speaking, a tire will lose one or two pounds of air per month in cool weather.
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