Car tires take good care of care of us, helping translate our steering, throttle and braking desires into actual on road motion. Now, with our cars potentially sitting around for weeks, or even months at a time, it's about time we give back to our beloved tires, and take care of them.

This video covers our top six tire care tips for periods where your car doesn't get much use.

Tip 1 - Prepare and inspect the tires

As we probably all have a little more time on our hands than usual, we have the opportunity to pamper the tires! Give the wheels and tires a clean to remove any brake dust, roadgrime and salt left on them (but don't use a pressure washer as it can damage the sidewall) and if you have some solvent free tire dressing in the garage, now is the time to make them look real pretty, and also give them a little protection as some tire dressings have UV blockers which help protect the tires from the sun! Think of it as sun lotion for your rubber. While you're doing that, it's also worth giving the tires a visual inspection to make there there are no unsightly cracks, tears, bulges or uneven wear, so make sure you check the inside shoulder, especially on BMWs like this. 

While you're down there, check how much life is left in your tires. If you haven't got a tread wear gauge, you can look for the tread wear indicators in the grooves of the tread, or even use the edge of a 20p coin (which actually measures 2.7mm, but it's a guide.) Legally the tires have to be 1.6mm across the centre 75% of the tread, but once you drop below 3mm, the aquaplaning performance drops off rapidly, so put new tires on the shopping list, and while you're writing things down, make sure all four wheels have valve caps, and if not, buy some of those too.

Tip 2 - Get the car in the air

Tires do not like sitting around with weight on them. A lack of movement short term isn't an issue, but once it starts getting into the weeks, and even months, you risk flat spotting your tire. At best, this will feel a bit bumpy for the first few miles of driving while the tire works itself into a tire shape again, but at worst it can permanently damage the carcass of the tire, and even eventually cause the tire to fail, usually at high speed.

To combat this issue, the absolute pro level solution is to make sure your tire pressures are set to the correct OE values, and get your car in the air, whether by garage lift, axle stands, or by using the good old fashioned force.

Assuming you don't have access to any of these things, or even if you do, you don't want to give the local criminals easy access to your wheels, let's move onto tip 3.

Tip 3 - Over Inflate the tires 

If you can't turn your car into a blimp, we'll need to do our best to combat the effects of the car's weight sitting motionless on the tires. Part one of this is to overinflate the tires to give them more support while the car sits around. Usually, around 15 psi / 1 bar over stock pressures is fine, but make sure not to go over the maximum recommended pressure on the tires sidewall.

Also, to ensure you don't forget you've done this next time you use the car, be sure to stick a post-it note on the dash display reminding you to change the tire pressures back to the OE setting before moving off

Tip 4 - Roll the car

Now you've over inflated the tires, you can help the car further by living it a little motion. If you can SAFELY roll the car backwards and forwards, do so by around 30cm / 12 inches every week. This will further help prevent flat spots.

It's important you do this without starting the car, just take the handbrake off and push. Starting the car for short periods will not only drain the battery super quickly, but it can also cause moisture to build in areas that really don't like moisture. Think of this as free exercise to help keep the lockdown pounds off.

Tip 5 - Keep the car out of sun, ideally in a garage

As mentioned in tip 1, tires don't really like the UV light from the sun, as it ages the rubber much like it ages our skin. If you can find a shady spot to keep your car, then leave it there, and bonus points if you can keep it in a garage, as this will help protect the tires from extreme temperature changes, which is also helpful for prolonging a tires life.

Tip 6 - Tire Trainers

Lastly, if you're feeling particularly flush, you can always invest in a set of tire trainers / savers. These are usually soft foam blocks, which contour to the tires shape, which further help prevent flat spots and slightly protect the tire from the temperature changes of the ground.

Bonus car tips

As with the tires, it's a great time to visually inspect your car, check all the fluids are topped up, and check the battery is healthy to make sure you don't have any issues starting your car in the future.

If the car will sit around for more than a few weeks, it's a good idea to get the battery on a trickle charger to make doubly certain you have juice to start the car next time you want to go for a drive, and the alarm stays active. 

Also it's worth noting that brake pads and brake discs have a very strange and intimate relationship. Sometimes, if you leave the handbrake on for a long amount of time, the brake pad can bond to the brake disc, which can leave the brakes vibrating, and generally being less efficient for a while when you start using the car again. To combat this you can buy a cheap set of wheel chocks, leave the car in gear, chock the wheels, and let the car rest with the handbrake disengaged. As with the over inflation, be sure to leave a note in the car to remind you that the chocks are there, and also, please don't try this on a hill.

Fin

And they're all my car care tips for leaving a car stationary.

I hope you've found this little guide useful, and it will inspire you to show your tires the love and care they constantly show you. Don't forget, even if you haven't listened to anything I've said, PLEASE at least check your tire pressures before using your car after a short break as tires can lose pressure over time, and under inflated tires are at best, bad for fuel economy and handling, and at worst, darn right dangerous as they can overheat and explode, usually at motorway speeds.