Last year, I installed the Polyglas tires on the 71 convertible. I haven't moved the car in several months now and probably won't until April. The car is covered using a car cover I my shop. I keep the shop around 55 deg.F during the coldest months and about 65 degrees when I'm out there working. My Charger, which I'm working on, is also in there and I have it up on jack stands - 2 under the rear axle and 2 under the frame rails below the cowl. I don't like storing it this way. The front wheels hang down and the upper control arms crush the rubber bumpers flat. I don't want this to happen to my Challenger convertible. I want to get the convertible tires off the floor to avoid getting flat spots in the tires. Where do you guys recommend putting the forward jack stands for an extended period? I see in a post Alan has on the AAR Cuda that he places the jack stand under the front stabilizer bar. I can't tell from his photos if the upper control arm is resting on the rubber stop/bumper. Would there be any problems with this method over a long period such as the rubber parts being crushed on the front stabilizer end links? Looking for suggestions on how you guys do it. Thanks.
Terry
I put mien on the lower control arms. Keeps the suspension resting at ride height.
I have done this for every winter for at least 15 years...except when I rebuilt the front suspension.
Jason
I've done that also but the stock lower control arms don't have much surface area contact with my Jack stand plate and I've wondered if that's the best way. I've only had the Jack stands under the control arm for a short period of time. I've considered putting my ramps under the front tires (no car weight on the tires) just in case the Jack stand would slip out, the car would just go down on the wheel/tire.
Terry
I also considered placing a piece of lumber (2" x 3") under the upper control arm next to the rubber bumper stop and still placing the Jack stands under the frame rails. Not sure what stress this would put on other front suspension parts such as the rubber upper control arm bushings.
Terry
You might be overthinking the situation..I've had vehicles stored in a controlled environment for longer than that without any concerns for the tires...Why not just cover it and occasionally roll the vehicle a few inches in either direction ?? Letting the suspension bushings hang for long periods after being torqued at ride height has the potential for stress cracks from being twisted up... :alan2cents:
Old post of mine but I wanted to share what I found out today when looking at the Polyglas tires. The car has been sitting for almost a year without moving. The front tires are sitting on wood (2"x8"s) off the concrete floor. I jacked up the front tire on the passenger side so the tire was just off the wood. I went to rotate the tire but it had a flat spot ( not unexpected). I had to raise that tire about 3/16" to clear the wood to rotate it. The driver side was almost a 1/4" flat spot. This would have been terrible to drive with the tires like this. My lesson learned- jack up and rotate the wheels more often.
Terry W.
Good reason to consider putting rollers on during storage... Bias ply tires are far worse about flat spots than radials... Tires that are still decent but out of date often get replaced, they make great rollers for storage...
Wouldn't the flat spots disappear after its driven a few miles and the tires have warmed up ?
Yes, they will smooth out after a few miles but it's best not to take them on the highway at 50+ mph right away. In cold weather it really takes a long time for them to smooth out. I had a really tough time in upstate New York in winter of 1972-73 when it got to -10 deg. F. They seemed very rough on my drive of 20 miles I had to drive to work and home on those cold days. I'm glad those days are no longer required. I only drive the car with the Polyglas tires in nice weather.
Terry W.
Flat Spots Usually disappear... But not always completely....
I'm not sure about polyglass tires but Goodyear recommends over inflating tires when in storage. 10-15% over max. Remember to deflate before cruising though.