Winter & Summer Tyres: Falken Tyre Care Advise

Japanese tyre manufacturer, Falken is advising motorists who switch to Winter tyres to take care of their Summer tyres in storage during the colder months. "It is really important to take care of summer tyres even when they are not on the car," says Sven Kruse, Falken’s European tyre development engineer." With storage costs for Summer tyres sometimes running into hundreds of pounds, it would be a temptation to store summer tyres in cheaper places, but Kruse advises against this. "The store room should be cool, dry and moderately ventilated. Moist conditions should be avoided. And tyres should be inflated to 1 bar for storage." Kruse also suggests that the tyres be stored on ‘tyre trees’ and stored sideways and not directly on the ground. "If you stack the tyres without a tree, they should ideally be separated and must be rotated to minimise deformation." Falken also say tyres are affected by ozone and should kept away from sources such as motors and solvents. "Tyres must be protected from sunlight as well as dramatic changes in temperature, so cover them," adds Kruse. With the tyres off the car, Falken say this is a good time to do a full visual inspection looking for wear, damage and cracking. Come the warmer weather, Falken suggests rotating the tyres around the car to balance out wear. "It is better to have the tyres with the most tread on the rear axle. This will give better grip during hydroplaning," suggests Kruse. Interesting points... that could save the life of your tyres, or occupants... Thanks Falken.