Prevent Tire Flat Spots during Winterizing
 

Anyone have any tips/ideas/suggestions that have had success with preventing flat spots during Winterization?

Generally I will store the Box from Nov thru April in an unheated garage.
I plan on airing the tires to ~50psi. The tires are all season, so they may be a little harder than summer tires.

The garage floor is concrete. I will not be pushing the car a few feet back & forth every few weeks, I will not drive the vehicle, I will not put it on jack stands.

Thoughts?

I know you don’t want to use jack stands but have you seen this lift bar? I love using mine.
PK Products

Why won't you push the car back and forth, that's exactly what you need to do! The other alternative is to drive it about once a month when the weather is over 40 degrees (assuming you are on summer tires) and there's no salt on the roads.

Many agree lifting the Box and suspending the suspension is bad for the suspension

Many agree once the oil is changed, driving and parking again for several weeks contaminates internal engine parts, unless you drive regularly once you've started to drive with clean oil. Moving the car back & forth may be a solution, though I was looking for a trouble free solution

I didn’t know that.
However, I think you can still take most of the weight off by lifting enough so most of the weight if off the wheels?

They sell a product called "flatstoppers". Its a set of cupped wheel chocks. They aren't cheap. I saw them in a client's garage on his Bentley and Ferrari

What I do is put the car on jackstands, and put the wheels in my basement.

If you want a "trouble free solution", just let it sit, don't roll it around or buy any over priced gizmos that claim to solve the problem.

We store several cars for key customers every winter; none of them are jacked up, or set on anything, they just sit on concrete floors. And yes, the tires will flat spot, but if they are decent tires the flat spots will roll out in about 10-15 min. of driving next spring.

Good to know! Seems I don't have a real problem after all

:cheers:

I've never had a problem. Perhaps its a throw back to when bias ply tires were used.

Boxters are light cars, decent tires don't develop real flat spots.
Do an oil change, park in your garage, hook up a battery maintainer and don't touch until Spring.

I don't see the difference of a car on jack stands if you place them right or it being sat on the wheels.

[QUOTE=JFP in PA;553303]If you want a "trouble free solution", just let it sit, don't roll it around or buy any over priced gizmos that claim to solve the problem.

This is how I've stored my car for 6 years. Wash and wax, leather conditioner, oil change, pump up tires to 50 PSI, fuel stabilizer, fill tank with non-ethanol fuel, leave it in neutral, e-brake off, chock tires, hook up battery tender and throw a cover on it.

buy a cheap area rug, cut it up and put like 2 or 3 layers under each tire. Inflate to 50psi and you'll be fine.

What quadcammer said...
 

Just park her on some carpet squares.

The only thing you need to do is overfill the tires to 58 PSI (not your started 50). I've been doing this for over 12 years. I've never had my tires flat spot from winter hibernation.

Ok, 8 more psi than the standard 50; Thanks!

I thought about that seems it has worked for you?

Great Money Saving tip to my dilemma!

Cheers!

Personally I:

-Inflate to 50 psi
-park each tire on styrofoam squares

Carpet may work but def not concrete
Suspension should remain compressed not suspended. Do not leave your car on jack stands when winterizing

+1 and a tarp...wrapped up over wheels and exhaust

I found a 1” rubber 12x12 patio stone, one under each tire, better than right on the concrete for 5 months

Ciao.....
 

...Actually, no. I hate to admit this, but I bought these:

Welcome to LDB Auto Performance Inc. - We Know Why You Drive!!!


They are stupid expensive.

I have a unique parking situation for my car and this solution helps me with precision parking and Flat spot prevention at the same time.


I honestly can’t tell if they make a difference or not.


I live down south and drive all year long, so my car never sits longer than three weeks.

I think the carpet solution is as good as any.

Just air up the tires and don’t worry about it.

More important is to fill the tank completely with a non enthanol fuel and put some Sta-Bil in the tank and don’t fire up the engine for less than fifteen minutes at a time so you don’t contaminate the oil.

And plug a battery tender into your cigarette lighter and use the factory cutout in the door weatherstripping to route the cable.

Cheers!

I inflate to 55-60 psi and park on top of plywood sheets to insulate from the concrete. Plastic sheeting underneath the car. Sta-Bil in the tank before topping off. Battery tender, desiccant packs in the interior, plastic bags rubber-banded around the tail pipes, containers of mothballs at strategic points around the exterior to keep varmints away, and a cover.

DBear

Plywood sheets between tires and concrete is a new idea I can consider. Coming from Wisconsin the weather in Colorado is comparable.

Hi everyone, why not disconnect the battery and trickle charge once a month (986 2002) versus battery maintainer full time?

Thx.

Because...
 

...a high quality battery maintainer device also "conditions" the battery so it lives longer.

The major reason for buying a quality maintainer rather than a cheap trickle charger is that the electronics in a good maintainer run a desulfurization step in the charge cycle, and then keep the battery in top condition by simply letting it do its job. We store cars for customers and use only Ctek units for this reason. And these cars sit on their maintainers for months on end without any problem. We have had cars sit like this for as much as 2 years with no ill effects.

The cheap trickle charger continuously cooks the battery, actually shortening its life. In maintainers, you get what you pay for, period.

+1
 

Maintain your battery with Ctek you must.

Sorry, but the Yoda reference from the oil filter thread got to me.

I use this one: https://www.batterystuff.com/battery-chargers/12-volt/5-10amps/ctek-56-353.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI6Oeu2dyW1wIVxVt-Ch3IUAYfEAYYASABEgJe4PD_BwE

Been plugged in for months at a time.

Porsche puts their name on these. Good enough.

https://www.********************************************** ******.com/product/95504490054.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvJXdgd2W1wIVxo5-Ch2UBQtXEAQYASABEgI91PD_BwE

The one I own, in the first post, is an upgrade over the lower spec Porsche branded one in the second post.

:cheers:

I've had the car stored longer that just a winter over the last 10 yrs and all you need to do is raise pressure to 45-50 psi. Flat spots will smooth out after several miles of driving when you bring pressure back down.

I'm rising the pressure to 50 PSI and let it sleep for 6 months....

Set tire pressure to 60 psi and put wheels on styrofoam
 

Excellent results with 4 styrofoam plates 1.5 in thick during winter sleep.
Prior to roll the Boxster onto the plates I pump the tires to 60 psi.
When starting up in spring, reduce the pressure back to normal and you will drive away with perfectly "round" wheels.

Best Cost Effective solution seen!
:cheers:

Bently owners manual says to inflate all tires to 50 psi if car will be parked more than a week.