Having stored the car for the winter, I have heard of the problem of "flat spotting". Was told that the "Tire Cradle" solves this problem.

http://www.tirecradle.com/


Has anyone ever used this product and/or is it worth the $?

Thanks...

 

yup...love them. Never a flat spot. Expensive though...

 

I use them. Thumbs up!

 

I just put my car on stands, $8.50 per wheel.

 

I use them on several cars; they will prevent flat spotting. I have used them for 3 years. I like them over stands because they are very easy to use for winter storage and, unlike stands, if weather is good, you can take your car out without any effort. I think they are a great product.

 

use them here also

Great!!!

Andreas

 

who sells the cheapest cradle? what's it made of?

 

I wonder if there is a difference between a thick outdoor carpet and the tire cradle. I use a softer compound tire and it sits sometimes for two weeks without driving . . . no flat spotting. If you use slicks at the track and park them hot, it is unreal how the spotting can occur then as soon as the tire warms up, the shimmy from the flat spot goes away. A friend who drives a cup car puts his internal jacks up at the track so the tires cool without pressure on them.

 

I thought that was bad for the shocks. Unless you keep the weight of the car on the suspension to keep the shocks compressed, that is.

 

It is since the shock piston is fully extended with the wheels hanging there. The piston can get dirty and or corrode. When the weight is on the wheels the piston is mostly compressed and protected inside the shock tube...

 

As far as I know there is only one product like, and marketed as, the Tire Cradle. It is made of a rubber compound which when molded to form the "tire cradle" is approximately 1 1/2 inches thick. It is supposedly designed so that the tire "settles" into it when the car is parked so that the tires are centered onto the product thus allowing the car to be supported on the tire without flat spotting. I have left cars on them for as long as 4 months without noticing any flat spotting. If I leave the car off of them for two weeks I start to notice the onset of flat spotting As a result, I like the productm -- it works. I used thick carpet and it doesn't do the job for me.

 

yes it's bad to leave it decompressed for long duration. that's why it's good exercise to lower, bounce, and reraise the car couple times a week

 

Carpet stores have 1X2 samples they sell for a buck or 2 a piece...... I have a hundred or so of them in my garage.....any car that will sit for longer than a few weeks I drive up onto 3 of those under ea wheel..........never had a problem........they're light and easy to throw around & use for other things.

 

Thanks for reminding me!

I just ordered a couple of sets.

Mike

 

w/ good results. But they are pricey - but so are a new set of tires. Another data point.

Jeff

'03 996TT