tyre preservation. suggestions please.

woofa.express

woofa.express

Well-known member
I have tyres that have perished and cracked well before they have worn out. Does any reader have suggestions as to how tire life may be extended? Help please.
 
From what I have read keeping the tires (tyres) out of the sun is the best thing you can do. Secondly, be careful what you use to clean them. This is supposedly from Michelin about tire care: “Avoid the use of petroleum based tire cleaning products as they can exhaust the tire's oxidation and weathering agents within the rubber compounds, resulting in cracking. Use only non-petroleum based products or plain soap and water for tire cleaning.”
 
woofa.express said:
I have tyres that have perished and cracked well before they have worn out. Does any reader have suggestions as to how tire life may be extended? Help please.
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The old timers used to put the car “up on blocks.” Basically put the car on stands so the weight is off the tires and let the air out of them. Of course you would do this only if the car is laid up for a season.

Light and heat are the worst enemies.
 
I have read the oil of wintergreen does wonders for old rubber. Does it work? I dunno. You might try an internet search. Your mileage may vary.
 
When I was a kid we wiped tires down with glyserine brake fluid. I use ArmorAll but some have said negative things about it but I have never had troubles. Keep the sun off and maintain good air pressure. Of course some rubber just breaks down faster than other formulations of rubber. Maybe just drive more and wear out the tread faster!
 
If you store tires in the basement, try to avoid the area where the furnace resides. The blower motor will emit ozone. Ozone is not good for rubber.


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I think I have also heard about keeping tires away from certain refrigerant based products.
I have used WD40 to bring back old rubber, it works pretty well.
 
shew01 said:
If you store tires in the basement, try to avoid the area where the furnace resides. The blower motor will emit ozone. Ozone is not good for rubber.


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The OP is in Australia. Basement? Furnace?
 
Sunshine. That seems to me to be the biggest problem. Don’t leave your car outside when not driving.

Enjoy.
 
shew01 said:
I’m not familiar with Australia. I’m from the mid-Atlantic, USA. ;-)

Let’s say it this way. Keep stored tires away from any electric motors.

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Hi Shew. What the gentleman with the man-eating dog was saying was we do not have furnaces or basements in Oz. We, here, are all envious of youse having snow for Christmas. We are looking for a cool break
 
I put my car up on blocks if I am not going to drive it a month or more. I have also heard that removing the air helps. My car lives in a garage where the sun cannot get to the tires. Tires dry out so having them hot will not help. If you are in OZ or other hot climate, you may want to have an air conditioned garage.

This next comment I am going to get a lot of flack about. Driving on tires that are under inflated will shorten their lives. Ford knew this in 1928 and even in the Model T days. I have radials on my heavy Fordor. I put 40 psi in the front and 50 psi in the back. I cannot advise anyone to do this because the tires state that the maximum is 35 psi. But it works for me and keeps the tire temperatures down to warm by touch. The car handles better. The bias ply tires do not deflect as much as the radials so 35 psi works for them. Modern tires will hold 200 psi before blowing up, unless they are damaged by driving on them when flat. If you want to test this use water instead of air. Water is not compressible so the tire will not explode when it fails. No stored energy.
 
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I have a set of Goodyear tires on my wife's '30 Coupe for rollers. They were purchased in 1964 but never driven on. Mounted and stored indoors since new. I won't use them for drivers but after using "Aero Cosmetics Rubber Care" on them they look like new. This stuff is great, I use it on all of my vehicles. If it is good enough for Boeing I figure it must be good.
 

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katy said:
What makes you think that electric motors emit ozone? Sounds like an "old wives tale" to me.
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Well, Katy, maybe you know more than me…. But, it is my understanding that electric motors emit ozone. Try googling this:

Do electric motors emit ozone

I’m not an ozone expert, nor do I “play” one on this forum. I’m just trying to be helpful. If you’re a non-believer about ozone, that’s fine with me. ;-)


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Ozone is a grouping of three oxygen atoms instead of the usual 2 atoms. The extra oxygen atom is very active and combines with anything that can get oxidized. It is great for bubbling into a water tank to kill any living micro organisms in water. Ozone is formed when an ionized free oxygen atom is formed which then combines with the normal two atom oxygen molecules. The ionized oxygen atom is formed by electric sparks like the kind that are present in electric motors with brushes. If there are not sparks being generated by the motor then no ionized oxygen and no ozone will be generated.
 
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