The short answer
Off-season tires last longest clean, dry, bagged and out of sunlight, in a space that stays between about 0°C and 25°C. Tires on wheels can be stacked; bare tires should stand upright and be rotated every month. Paid tire storage makes sense when you have no garage or apartment space, or you want the swap done without hauling four wheels.
Why storage matters
Rubber ages from ozone, UV light, heat and the oils being pulled out of the compound. A set of winter tires in Winnipeg spends five months on the car and seven months stored, so the storage half of the year decides how many seasons you get. Tires stored badly crack in the sidewall grooves and harden, and a hardened winter tire is a summer tire with deeper tread.
How to store tires at home
- Wash them with water and mild soap to get the salt and brake dust off, and let them dry fully. Skip tire shine products; the solvents do not help.
- Mark each tire’s position (FL, FR, RL, RR) so you can rotate them next season.
- Put each tire in an airtight bag with as much air squeezed out as you can. Dedicated tire bags or large garbage bags both work.
- Store them indoors if possible: a basement or an attached garage. Avoid direct sun, the furnace, electric motors and anything that produces ozone.
- On wheels: stack them flat, no more than four high, or hang them. Off wheels: stand them upright and turn them a quarter turn each month.
- Keep them away from gasoline, solvents and grease.
Garage, shed or balcony?
An unheated Winnipeg garage is fine as long as it is dry and the tires are bagged; cold itself does little harm. A shed that leaks or a balcony in the sun is not. Apartment and condo dwellers often have nowhere suitable, which is where paid storage earns its keep.
When paid storage is worth it
Shops and tire dealers in Winnipeg offer seasonal storage for a fee, usually tied to doing the changeover with them. The advantages are not hauling wheels in a sedan, having the set already on site for the swap and climate-controlled storage. The cost adds up over the years, so for anyone with a dry garage, home storage is the better deal. Ask when you book your changeover; Garage 46 will tell you what options are available at the time.