[ds968]

One of my old friends who used to work for Goodyear in the 80s,  said that tire “ flat spots “ allegedly resulting from storing a car for many months , or even years , are mostly a myth.. he said you’d have to let the psi get below 20 for at least two or three consecutive years of storage on order for any meaningful and permanent flat spots to develop which would affect the tire’s performance.  

 

What do you guys think ?  

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[J.Elenbaas]

Your friend is a myth.

 

I had flatspots after storing the car for the winter period.

Depending on the age of the tyres the flatspots might go away again.

But mine didn't wanted to go away anymore, so it's not a myth.

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[ds968]

When the 968 sits for several  months I keep my tires psi at 40 , and when / if  I do take it out for a spin during its hibernation period, I just use the Tom Brady method  and let about 5 psi out .   So far I’ve never had a flat spot issue, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Maybe it never sat long enough for that to develop.  I would imagine it could also be a factor of not just the age of the tires but the quality  as well  ; cheaper  ones will likely be more prone to problems, especially on heavier cars.   Anyway, since tires ( and brakes )  are the last things you’d want to risk,  it’s probably best to err on the side of caution 

 

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[Rap]

I’ve never had this problem and my cars sit for periods of time. Of course, define long! The race car and the queen are currently napping although they need a wash and wax. Actually there are many steps in between those two points. I see the different type of tire protectors in various mags but can’t bring myself to try them. I’m not sure I’d want to use the on the lift anyway.

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[ds968]

So I moved the car about 1/4 turn of the tires and inspected the segment that was on the ground, both visually and by touch ; I can’t either see or feel anything different at all vs. the other segments. And I just realized I have not driven the car in seven months !! ( which is a crime when you’re talking about a manual shift 968  )   I do run the engine for about 15 minutes every month to get everything lubricated ( including the AC )  so when I do that I’ll also keep moving it back and forth slightly ..about one ft, just to switch the patch of tire that makes contract with the floor for any significant duration. 

Maybe it’s the combination of the Pilot Sports 4 S construction , the mild ambient temperatures,  the slight over-inflation , which has avoided flat spots but I’ll take it as an encouraging sign .. 

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[snova]

I can "feel" the flat spots if the car sits for a couple weeks.  After a few miles they are gone.

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[Rap]

You haven’t driven your car in 7 months. Did Newsom lockdown your car?

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[ds968]

I wish I could blame it on that ..nah, and no matter what reason I’d provide, it’s not an excuse .  So I just have to change that bad habit . 

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[94SilverCab]

You should not just run your car for 15 minutes. It's much better to take it out for a 40-50 mile drive so you have enough heat cycles to lubricate everything, as well as bearings, and all those rubber bits. If you're not going to drive it, you're probably better off not starting it.

 

JMHO,

 

Jay

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[ds968]

You should not just run your car for 15 minutes. It's much better to take it out for a 40-50 mile drive so you have enough heat cycles to lubricate everything, as well as bearings, and all those rubber bits. If you're not going to drive it, you're probably better off not starting it.

 

JMHO,

 

Jay

 

 

Oh, had no idea that idling for 10-15 minutes is not good for it..  

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[Chris Vais]

I have owned Porsches for 33 years. The constant advice I get from the people who maintain it is drive it. I drive mine several times a week except during winter when it usually once per week. It is cooler and wetter here so the summer ultra high performance tires don't perform as well and I don't have winter wheels. We have a couple of Audi Quattro that are outstanding winter performers.

 

I put the Porsche into temporary storage in 2018-2019 while we renovated our house prior to moving to Oregon. Sitting idle for 18 months had no impact on the tires, but before I put the car back on the road I had to overhaul the brake calipers, and clean the rust off the rotor faces, I also drained and replaced the hydraulic fluid from the power steering and the brake fluid. After driving the car for a week I noticed that it was pissing oil every place I parked the car. I ended up changing most of the engine seals and the oil pan gasket. Now the car doesn't leave oil anywhere. I also drained and had the fuel tank cleaned. The one thing I didn't do was have the hydraulic lines for the power steering replaced and sure enough one of them ruptured.

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[ds968]

Well, as much as we all like to think Porsches are special, in terms of what’s good or bad for them while stored for extensive periods of time, they’re not different than any other cars out there.  Most of the articles I’ve read in car magazines do indeed recommend you DRIVE the car for at least 25 miles once a month, but absent that option, they suggest at least running the engine ( just let it idle ) for as long as you care to..even a hour or more .. if your cooling fans work properly, that is..   Oddly I haven’t seen anything related to tires other than keeping inflation higher in the winter and /or when in storage, and the only thing I’ve read about brakes is not to leave the handbrake on for months on end because the pads can eventually “fuse“ to the disks.  That sounds far fetched, but that’s more than just from one source .   ( and in our 968 case, the notoriously weak handbrake spring may break .. :blink:  )  Otherwise, brake fluid was the only recommended replacement because it absorbs moisture whether the car is driven or it sits, so change it every two years max.  Nothing about oil or coolant or P.S. fluid , although it makes sense to have those fresh when you drive again. 

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[Roboman]

Last year my 968 spent most of its time in our garage as the belts, rollers, water pump etc needed changing, as well as my ambition to install cruise. That work had to wait as I/we were under pressure to get stuff done on the house. Towards the end of the year I did the belts and cruise and decided to take it in to PC Perpignan to change all the fluids, freshen everything up, ready for a good year's driving in 2020 ..... anyone see a flaw in this?

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[Waylander]

When I have not used mine for a couple of weeks with the old cheapo Chinese tyres they used to get flat spots that went as soon as some heat got in the tyres, the Pirelli’s don’t suffer the same

 

the 968 has brake shoes for the hand brake and if you leave it on for a very extended time they will rust onto the inside of the rear hubs

 

if the air is moist I have seen clutches rust onto the flywheel before as well as brakes, if the car has been stationary for longer than 6 months I would change the brake fluid ASAP 

 

every percent of water In the fluid lowers it’s boiling point quite a bit, anything over 4-5 percent with reduce performance by about 40 percent,

 

when the fluid starts to boil its time to use your foot out the door to stop, as the brakes won’t work

 

Use your cars at least once a month for a 20-30 mile drive, all cars not just the Porsche 

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[Rap]

For those of us who really can’t drive our cars because it’s Winter, I’ve found running the car seems to work just fine.

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[snova]

the flat spot issue that I get is on my Continental Extreme Contact DWS. I also drive my cars 35 mi at least twice a month.  I don't get this type of flatness issue with other tires on other cars driven about the same.   No issue with Michelin Pilot Super Sport, Pilot Sport 4S or Continental Sport.   When it comes time to replace I'll likely go to a set of Pilot Sport 4S.  Continental Sport are not bad either but its hard to find any faults with the Michelins. 

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[J.Elenbaas]

Well i did had flat spots on my old Bridgestone Potenza S2's.

The spots didn't want to come out anymore, not even after 1200 kilometers driving in a day.

 

I went on a trip thinking they would come out eventualy, but they didn't

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[Inkedupfatboy]

my pilot sports flat spotted horribly - I hated those tires - noisy and no grip - The tire shop bait and switched me and I didn't catch it in time. They put the aw's on it....not what I ordered...

I went to conti's and they are way better much more grippy and quieter..

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[snova]

my pilot sports flat spotted horribly - I hated those tires - noisy and no grip - The tire shop bait and switched me and I didn't catch it in time. They put the aw's on it....not what I ordered...

I went to conti's and they are way better much more grippy and quieter..

 

One of my cars came with Pilot Sport (i.e All Season Ultra High Performance).  I didn't care for them either.   Not be confused with Pilot Super Sport or Pilot 4S (both Summer only tires).   The marketing name are hard to follow sometimes. 

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[Inkedupfatboy]

What ever the reason, they were horrible - i am happy so far with the conti's but on ly have a few miles on them. Too busy to drive the car.

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