Mom, I think i may have broke something, my tires keep spinning and leaving black marks everywhere. You do too D-man? atomickustom hang in there. You probably will have an ***istant mechanic in a short time. So stop crying that he's cryin. Ya think it's bad now what till he asks to borrow the car.
I have modern radials on all my stuff, and they sit in the same spot on a cement floor without moving from November to April every year. Same set of tires on the '53 truck for at least 8 years. Never had an issue. If I had bias ply tires, I'd probably try to get the weight off of them or rotate them periodically.
personally I want to be able to get my car out of the garage in a hurry if necessary. Use old tires/rims instead of blocking the car off the floor.
We've all heard the expression "put it up on blocks", well more than once I've seen guys jack up their cars and put concrete blocks under the tires. It kills me. But blocks (wooden ones) done correctly are a great way to get the weight off your tires. Some 6x6 s****s under the suspension work pretty well.
Am I the only one that has not worried about flat spots on the tires from sitting in one place too long? I have radials and bias. They sit on some of the cars for nearly a year before the car gets used. Never have had a problem. The first time out for the year I may feel a flat spot for a few miles but it doesn't last long. Am I missing something here? I sure don't want to miss an opportunity to worry about something. Neal
The flat spot stoppers look good but too expensive. Why not cut the same profile out of some 2X4 or 2X6 s****s and laminate them together with glue and screws?
The worst surface, for tires, to store your vehicle on is concrete. Concrete actually pulls the moisture out of the rubber which not only causes premature cracking but also magnifies the flat spotting of bias-ply tires. With less moisture left in the rubber the tire rubber also become harder (over time) and the flat spotting is much more pronounced. I always park my vehicles on rubber mats, you know the thick kind made from recycled tires used in horse stalls and pick up beds. I park my 32 for long periods of time over the winter and don't have flat spot issues and the tires will love you for it.
Has nobody mentioned a second set of inexpensive rims and tires to use during storage? I managed to get a spare set of rims off craigslist pretty cheap. You can find used tires there too. Then, cut some thick plexigl*** to lay across your nice rims and tires to make a coffee table.
rodomotive has a good idea - for the horse stall rubber mats check your local Tractor Supply store, have 4' x 6' mat for $40. or, use the fairly inexpensive jig saw puzzle type mats used for exercises, kids play area, etc. that way if for some reason (fire-hope not) you have to move your ride you can roll it right out. just need area of rubber larger than footprint of tire. and do not have to swap out tires /wheels each season. but, extra set of wheels/tires not that bad to swap out.
Neal, you are not missing a thing, the flat spot is no permanent and will go away as soon as the tires got warm. Maybe if you only drive your car on the trailer and around at the fair grounds it would be a real problem. Like so many on this board that have not been there and done that they are way overthinking the problem.
Get some very dense styrofoam insulation and put a piece under each wheel. The idea is to have the strofoam conform to the shape of the tire, thereby keeping it round. Sort of like those popular Memory Materesses you see on TV. I also saw this on another site. There is a solution to prevent flat spots. Obviously flat spots are caused because the concrete doesn't "give" anything to the tires so buy 2" foam from HDepot, taper the edges and drive the car on it. The weight of the car causes the foam to "give" in to the tire and the tire stays round. I use a 4x8 sheet over a period of a year then replace it. Also every month I rotate the foam, turn in over etc.
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