How do I store tires/tyres for a very long time???

I have some new, unused tires which recently went out of production.
Because they are so damn good I want to store them so that I can use
them in future.

The problem with rubber seems to be the fact that the softening agent
evaporates with time and makes the tire more hard and brittle. So how
can I prevent that from happening?

So far I have heard about the following solutions:

1. Put each tire in a polyethylene plastic bag and weld it so it
becomes air tight. Personally I know that polyethylene is not 100% air
tight itself as it lets air diffuse through the material very slowly
with time. The reason for this solution is to stop the evaporation of
softening agent so one gets an over saturated atmosphere within the
bag blocking for further evaporation. I don't know, but introducing a
vacuum in the bag might accelerate the evaporation and an over
pressure might maybe decelerate the evaporation. Any explanations?

2. Put all the tires in a box filled with talcum.

3. Coat every tire with silicone (using a silicone spray) and let them
hang from the ceiling fixed at only two points keeping the tire
completely circular.

Of course, all rubber should be stored cool, dry and dark (preferably
in a basement).

Anyone with hands-on suggestions, experience etc etc??

regards lucas

PS: Suggestions using liquid nitrogen does not apply

 

Since talc is highly absorbant I'd expect this to make things worse not
better.

 

How far in the future? Your future? Your children's future? I'm sure
they'd be fine
for well over a year or so. If you want them to remain tip-top, you could
always buy a vacuum chamber, or launch the tyres into space.

Anyway, what are these 'fantastic' tyres that you speak of? Is it not
possible that by the time you come to use them that there will be better
tyres available? Time doesn't stand still you know.

 

Nice idea, but what about the possibility of heat damage on re-entry.
Such damage may go unnoticed and cause a nasty accident at a later date.

 

Surely only if you get a puncture at launch?

 

Vacuum would be really bad - the plasticiser would outgas from the
rubber in no time.

 

Just lay them flat in a dark place. I wouldn't go through so much trouble
for a set of tyres.

Fred

 

[snip]

Not wanting to be made to look foolish, but how do rubber seals work on
vacuum chambers?

 

The message <rNHqc.15771219$>

If the plasticisers don't boil out in a vacuum with the sun on 'em I
can't imagine they ever will.

 

The message <>

Just think of 'em as a large sort of O-ring.

 

The message <VMIqc.15774143$>

Not rubber.

 

There are many, many types of rubber. There are rubbers which rely
heavily on plasticisers, and rubbers which don't at all. Rubber seals
for vacuum chambers will have very low volatile content, so nothing to
outgas (or very little).

 

When I was nine years old I wrapped a battery in tinfoil in order to
preserve it. For some reason it was flat dead when I put it in my
pocket radio...

I only buy tires when my old ones are bald...

-'dreas

 

Soak them in resin, allow to harden, wait for about twenty million years,
then wait for some clever scientist to take a DNA sample and discover a way
to clone your long extinct tyres and then hey presto! they're back in
production.

Or have I been watching too many movies...?

 

Some tyres are worth saving. I have a set of unused Dunlop SPs about 15
years old which I had intended to fit to my E-Type. Because I did not store
them properly I now would not trust them. They are no longer available so I
ended up with the only tyres I could buy, Michelins, which while good do not
suit the characteristics of the car. So in that sense time does stand
still.

Geoff MacK

 

There have been mutterings about introducing date codes into all tyres when
made, with tyres over "x" years old being made illegal. Possibly just
hearsay, anyone know more?
Cheers,
Bill.

 

The codes have already been introduced.

From http://www.tyres-online.co.uk/techinfo/sidewall.asp :

| Tyre Age
|
| Tyres carry a three digit age code on the sidewall
| indicating the month and year of manufacture. For
| example 129 means the tyre was manufactured in
| December 1999.

 

The tyres on caravans require replacing on a 'time' basis rather than a
'wear' basis - because they become unserviceable due to deterioration long
before the tread becomes worn down. (Most caravanners only tow their
caravans for a couple of thousand miles each year). The recommendation from
the Caravan Club is that caravan tyres should be replaced every five years
irrespective of tread wear. This is probably erring on the side of safety
but it suggests that you can safely store your tyres for up to four years
before using them. As your existing tyres are very unlikely to last that
long you should be ok.

Kev

 

So you can use it until December 2004,
then from December 2009 to 2014,
and if there is any tread left,
from December 2019 to 2024.

 

An interesting site, however a friend of mine has tyres marked
225/60R390. Perhaps he has a tractor, or this information is a little
incomplete?

Fortunatly, I do know what they are, and why they're marked so, kindly
refrain from informing me again.

Alex