I have a problem with the tyres on one of my mini,s?
The car is on historic plates and doesn't get driven very often and I now have a problem with the tyres having a flat spot where they have been sitting for a few months.
Tyres are Dunlop R, probably 5 years old and have been ok up until this winter, but when I took the car for an outing last weekend they were not happy. Bad vibration and when I checked the tyres by jacking the car up and spinning them they all have a small flat section about 1 to 2 mm.
What do other people do with storing cars for months without driving?

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

it'd seem like sitting the car on blocks when not in use would be the only way around it, unless you had some old wheels & tyres for storage....

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

I wonder whether taking the car for a good long drive to get some heat into the tyres
would get the flat spot out of the tyres .

This was once common, back when radial tyres started, their textile bands were nylon. Steel belted radials sorted it out.
But, I have bought 2 sets of steel belted radials over the years that were MADE with flat spots. One set was 13" Avons, the other 10" Yokohama A008. You cannot effectively balance this problem out, the axle hubs will drop and raise once per wheel revolution regardless.
Are the wheels steel or alloy? Steel wheels were seldom dead round, one reason I now run Contessas instead.

Surely, the little flats you have would disappear as the tyre warms up in use? They usually do.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

My car sits for years on end and has Dunlop D01J Formula R's on it. Cant say Ive ever had an issue like this?

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http://www.youtube.com/user/Hanras

This happens to the tyres on my dads boat trailer (dual drop axles with 10" wheels) at the start of most summers.
One trip to the boat ramp and they are usually back to round.
He has been able to mitigate it buy moving the trailer once a month or so during winter so that the wheels move a quarter turn or so and change the contact patch.

You could try those garage trolleys, some of them have rounded out bases for the tyres to sit on.

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1975 Hairy Lime/White Clubby
Build Thread: http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=80657

What pressure are you running in your tyres? This problem can be exaggerated with lower tyre pressures (i.e. < 30psi).

Best thing to do is just start it, let it warm up and drive it around the block every week. I don't know about other states but here in SA we have a 'extension' option on our historic rego which allows you to move the car within 500 meters without having to fill out your log book (i.e. if you are shifting cars in and out of your garage or have to park it on the street) - so a short drive around the block or up and down the street is all good.

A mini sitting for a long time is not good, in addition to the tyre problem you can have issues with brake cylinders seizing, oil seals drying out and any number of other issues. If possible try to drive it once a week or at very least once a fortnight to keep everything working smoothly.

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Dave - 64 Nurburg White Morris 850 & 67 Morris Mini Deluxe (Bro's Car)
Previous Rides - 62 Morris 850 (Sold '03 - Now 'Lulu-62') & 76 Clubman S (Sold '99 - SFW-863)
+ Too many other classics

Sounds like moving it is the way to go. Otherwise .

So easy moving it on this on concrete too, love it.

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Build thread for Supercharged 1275 1967 Deluxe Resto
Build thread for Mini ute conversion 998cc Turbo

Thanks for your comments and ideas.
The tyres are running about 30psi and I did think about raising this a bit.
The car was driven up the old pacific highway from Sydney to Gosford and a return blast down the Efing3 and I checked the tyres when I got home and they were still out of round.
Not that easy to get the car out of the garage more often due to lack of time. Too many projects and not enough time?..
I think I will try and push the car back and forwards every few weeks or even weekly and see if that makes a difference?
Obviously a work in progress

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

Hi Michael,
I experienced this many years ago when working with a Jaguar dealership and we had a number of then with flat spotted tyres when BRAND NEW causing this concern.
final fix was what you have done with a good freeway run getting the tyres as hot as possible, also had issues if the ambient temp was low when doing this, often had to wait for hot weather, but once we returned to the workshop we raised the vehicles on a hoist and raised tyre pressure to around 50 psi and left overnight to cool down and retest, it did not fix all tyres but most of them, if it did not work we replaced the tyres.
Grant

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100% Pure A Series Turbo
Morris - The Original RedBull Racing

To me, you have done everything you can apart from having tread skimmed to try an make them rounder...

I would ditch them...the belts may be damaged and the last thing you want is a catastrophic failure/blow-out at speed.

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"Show me the Mini!"

I hope the belts aren't damaged...
My next plan is to take the car for a brisk drive in the Rylestone Classic. Hopefully this will sort out the issue?

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

Have you rotated them at all Michael , ie; front to rear? , to see if they are any better or worse , worth a try .

Putting a teenager hat on. Try doing a few burnouts.

Yes I plan to rotate tyres front to back when I do an extensive service on the car before venturing out for the Rylestone.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S