Now the winter tires are coming off. But how do you store the wheels when not in use? There are a few pitfalls – if you follow our ten tips, you can save thousands.
The winter season is coming to an end and it will soon be time for the summer tires again. Sweden is an elongated country and those in the southern parts are in the starting pits, while the northerners can benefit from their winter tires for a good while longer.
In this article, you will receive ten important tips that will help you store your winter wheels in the best way. Read through and memorize, you can save yourself several unnecessary problems and expensive extra costs by following our tips.
If you have acquaintances, relatives or friends who should also think about proper storage, please pass the article on. Shared knowledge is double the joy, as we usually say!
1. Check the insurance
God forbid it happens, but what are the conditions if your winter tires are stored in a place where they can be stolen? Contrary to what most people think, unmounted winter tires (and summer tires) are not covered by the car’s insurance, but by your home insurance. Therefore, you must read the terms and conditions and/or call your insurance company.
Having the winter tires in a common storage space in a rental property is considered by many insurance companies as “unsafe” and may lead to you not receiving any compensation at all in case of theft. And then it’s a lot of nice thousands of dollars you have to dig out of your wallet to buy new winter wheels. Check with the insurance company what applies in your case, before something unfortunate happens.
2. Rotate the wheels
In the best of worlds, all four tires wear evenly. But usually the drive wheels wear out faster and if a front-wheel drive car has the same wheels on the front axle for several years in a row, those wheels will be “finished” while the rear wheels may only be half-worn.
As a car owner, you then end up in the unnecessary situation of buying four new tires and discarding two tires that might have been able to run (at best) a couple of thousand more miles.
To get even wear, you should rotate the tires. Change the position between the front and rear wheels at least every season. Those who drive long distances may need to rotate the wheels once or twice per winter.
To remember where the wheels were, they must be marked. Some write with a felt-tip pen on the inside of the rim, others use a valve cap that marks position (see picture on the right). You can also write with chalk on the tire side.
3. Tires do not age
If your winter tires are stored properly, they will not age significantly. The characteristics do not therefore become worse solely because of age, although some claim that.
Above all, avoid high heat (25 degrees or warmer) and strong UV light (= sunlight). Ozone can also have a negative effect, but you rarely have that in a normal home environment. A cold and dark basement with dry air is ideal.
Keep in mind, however, that the development of new tires is fast. If you buy new winter tires, you not only get a good tread depth, but also the latest advances. New tires are usually experienced significantly better than the old ones, so change them in good time.
4. Put the wheels down
For most of us, winter storage takes place with the tires mounted on the rims. Then the wheels must be stacked, or alternatively hung up.
If the wheels are standing with the tread down towards the ground, a flat surface can form. It won’t go away unless you run the tires really hot. For the same reason, you should not store a car standing on its wheels for a long time.
Loose tires should stand up with the tread against the ground, which can be seen in the lower right corner of the picture above. Ideally, you should rotate the tires once a month so that they do not flatten.
5. Rubber stains
Remember that the rubber in the tires contains oil and therefore causes stains. It can become really stubborn stains that are very difficult to remove. In principle, it is enough to lean the wheels against a wall for a few weeks and there will be a stain that will not go away.
Use a plastic storage bag, then you protect the winter wheels best. Another option is to first put a piece of cardboard or something similar on the floor and only then stack the wheels on top.
6. Check the wear
As the summer season begins, you have plenty of time to study your beloved winter wheels. On the studded tyres, you can check the stud protrusion, which should be about one millimetre. For non-studded tyres, it is necessary to measure the tread depth.
If there are many missing studs or if the studs do not stick out of the tread in a noticeable way, the very point of studded tires has disappeared. Then you don’t have the grip that studded tires should give on ice. If the stud protrusion is too long, there is a risk that the stud will capsize in its hole and disappear.
Studless tires deteriorate rapidly as wear increases. Around four to five millimeters of wear can be a suitable point for tire replacement. The tricky thing about worn, studless tires is that they can get quite sneaky and lose grip suddenly. The risk of shorting increases.
7. Plan the next season
If you need to get new winter tires, late summer or early fall is the best time. By then, the season’s new winter tires have arrived in stock, and your local tire dealer is probably quite calm. Best location to get a good price.
Trying to bargain when it’s high season and the first frost has arrived is not so easy, believe us…
You get the best price by being well prepared. Check online for sites that have tire price comparisons, find out if installation is included in the price. When you know how much “your” tire costs online, it’s easier to bargain.
8. Adjust the tire pressure
Of course you check your tire pressure at least once a month, right? With the right tire pressure, the wheels roll easily and this saves fuel. Too low tire pressure means that the tires wear out faster, in the worst case the service life can be halved.
After the winter tires have been removed and washed, they should be adjusted to the correct pressure. Since you have marked the wheel’s position and thus know where the wheels will sit next season, you can set the correct pressure already in the spring. The tire pressure is rarely the same on the front and rear wheels.
Winter tires are likely to lose some pressure during the summer. It is completely normal because tire rubber always leaks some air. When the winter wheels are fitted in the autumn, measure the tire pressure again and adjust to the correct level. If a wheel has lost maybe 0.5 bar or even more, you should keep a close eye in the future. There is a risk that the tire has a damage or puncture, perhaps from a screw or nail stuck in the tread. Ask your tire shop to check the tire before you get a real puncture and may have to hire a tow truck (= expensive).
9. Wash the wheels
Rims and tires are of course designed to withstand most things. Salt, dirt, strong detergents, and so on. But there is absolutely no advantage to letting all the dirt sit over the summer. On the other hand, winter tires are not degraded by dirt, even if some claim it is.
Therefore, wash the wheels immediately after they have been removed. High-pressure washing makes it easier to remove stubborn dirt on the rims, but do not spray with high pressure directly at the tires from a short distance, it can damage the tire or penetrate water into the wheel.
Some are really ambitious and put a wax on the rims to make them really dirt-repellent. Not a bad idea. There are special rim waxes that are suitable as they do not leave any residue on the rubber, in case you spill a little.
10. Check the tire hotel
Many car owners now hire tire hotels, which is a convenient way to both change wheels and store them safely. If you live in an apartment and cannot keep the wheels in storage – due to insurance conditions – tire hotels are absolutely recommended.
In addition to the price, it is important to check what is included in the rent at the tire hotel. Are the wheels balanced? Is laundry included? Are there other costs? Can you book a change online?
Everything plays into the selection of the best tire hotel. Check before you decide and book well in advance.
That’s what the law says
In Sweden, winter tires are legal during the four winter months, December–March. In addition to the fact that April 1 is the day for all kinds of tricks, that day is also the end of the winter tire law.
The studded tires must be replaced by April 15 at the latest. Studded tires may be used from 1 October.
There are exceptions for studded tires and they may be used in winter road conditions. The police who stop you decide what the winter road rules are, if they consider that there are summer road rules, you can be fined (1,000 kroner).
Those who drive with excessively worn winter tires, under three millimeters, in winter can be fined SEK 1,200. The same amount applies to those who drive with summer tires during the period December–March. Should an accident occur during the winter with a car that has rolled on summer tires, there is a great risk that the insurance company will not compensate for the damage.
Unfortunately, there is no “summer tire law”, even if there were to be. Studless winter tires are not illegal to use in the summer, but they can provide unstable road characteristics, wear significantly faster than summer tires and, above all, have poor properties on wet asphalt. Nordic friction tires can provide a 50 percent longer braking distance on wet asphalt compared to good summer tires.
