from 30psi to 16????

[EXLNavi]

My rear wheels were kept at 30psi, and I use an accutire gauge to check the pressure every week.

This week I notice the right rear tire has read 16 psi!!

Thinking my accutire has gone south, I pull out the cheap manual tire gauge I got from autozone. 16PSI.

I've since re-inflated it using my trusty compressor I keep in the trunk. But the rims show no dents, the tire seems to be fine, and it's not losing pressure now (I've been checking it every day).

How did that happen??

[stiller fan]

maybe the tire temporarily disconnected from the rim itself....hit any potholes or small tree branches, or anything? or, maybe there was a small leak in the tread of it, or the valve stem, but "fixed itself"... :dunno:

knock on wood.... :)

[Inspector1]

Is it cold where you live?
Is the car kept inside or outside?

I1 :)

[stevel]

did all four tires register this extreme change????

[stiller fan]

i think that he already answered that question in his first post.... ;) :wave:

[stevel]

yep, re-reading...

[BenjiBoy650]

Got any "buds" with a good amount of car knowledge and recently became your enemy? :dunno:

[EXLNavi]

Well to answer your questions, I live in Queens, NYC, which is not that cold. It did snow quite a bit (by our standards) over the last couple of weeks, and potholes have been popping up here and there. That may explain it.

Car is kept outside unfortunately. Our complex only has a parking lot. I don't have a house or garage. That's gonna change soon though.

[Inspector1]

It is not an uncommon thing for a tire to go low in the winter.
If it warms up and moisture gets in the bead and freezes thus expanding the bead gap just enough to cause a slow leak.

I1 :)

[stiller fan]

had to re-fill up my tires today as well....rears were about 20psi (normally run about 35)

[Pairallel]

Had 2 slow leaks in my 2 passenger side tires on the 2k EX. Took it to ETD and they said alloy wheels often get microscopic oxidation on the bead lines which can break the seal and let air slowly escape.

I doubt that an '04 would oxidize this soon, but Inspector's comment does make a lot of sense.

Anyway, ETD (in NJ) charged me $10 per tire to unmount the tire, sand the wheel, re-bead, and re-mount. Very reasonable, and both have been perfect ever since. :thmsup:

[OwAce]

also remember at 10 degree drop in weather is a 1 psi drop in pressure.

case in mind on saturday we had 55 degree weather.
on tuesday we had windchills of -10, or actual temps of 10.

i checked my tire pressure and presto it was 5 psi lower.!! car wasnt driven anywhere.

[EXLNavi]

Well as it turns out there was a nail in the tire.

Carried it to a local tire shop and they fixed it.

[JBrian]

By the way, I'm now running 39/37.5Psi front/rear with no comfort issues. Maybe someday I'll work my way up to Excel's 50Psi :paranoid:

[CA05LXDriver]

Well as it turns out there was a nail in the tire.

Carried it to a local tire shop and they fixed it.

I was just about to ask about that. Often a nail or screw will go un-noticed for quite a while because it often won't make the tire go entirely flat...sometimes you can drive for weeks without noticing!

[F6Hawk]

By the way, I'm now running 39/37.5Psi front/rear with no comfort issues. Maybe someday I'll work my way up to Excel's 50Psi :paranoid:Why would you go that much above manufacturer's specs? What benefit is there to be had by such high pressure?

On my Honda Goldwing, I run 40/40, which is higher than the manufacturer, but is what Honda recommends.

Just curious...

[stiller fan]

Why would you go that much above manufacturer's specs? What benefit is there to be had by such high pressure?

On my Honda Goldwing, I run 40/40, which is higher than the manufacturer, but is what Honda recommends.

Just curious...

the only reason some members run higher than recommended tire pressure is for increased MPG..... i do run a bit above what's listed (35-37psi), but pumping them up to double the pressure (60 psi) is NOT safe by any means...... :paranoid: :thumbsdow

[xcel]

Hi F6Hawk:

___Just one of the reasons I run 50 #’s … See sig below :D

___StillerFan, you are speaking of whose experience?

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

[stiller fan]

xcel,

well, i normally travel the pa turnpike on a bi-monthly basis..... i know that you had said before that truck drivers sometimes overinflate their tires for FE.....

i do not know for sure, however, if the shredded tires on the side of the road are from overinflation or underinflation..... it would be interesting to find out..... :yes:

[BenjiBoy650]

___StillerFan, you are speaking of whose experience?


I don't know who's experience he speaks from, but I know whose experience I'm speaking of. Those engineers at the tire companies who spent countless hours designing and testing the tires to put a maximum inflation pressure on the sidewall. I believe them, because they're tire engineers, and you're not.

[stiller fan]

Overinflation can also endanger motorists' safety.

Of the 200 tires checked in the survey, 49 were overinflated. In 10 of 50 cars, all tires were overinflated.

The most severe case was found in Connecticut on a Honda Accord parked near a gas station air pump. The car had a right front tire with 60 psi — nearly double the recommended pressure. "I probably pumped it up too much," said Dale Schermerhorn, the owner, whose rear tires were each 4 pounds underinflated.

Three other tires checked in the survey were overinflated by 11 psi or more, and 12 tires were overinflated by 5 psi to 10 psi.

Overinflated tires are more rigid and can be damaged, possibly leading to a blowout, Herzlich says.

Fewer than half of the motorists in the survey follow recommendations to check their tires' pressure at least monthly. Four people said they never checked.

Almost half of the 50 motorists surveyed said they knew their vehicle's recommended tire pressures. But only 10 were able to cite the pressures correctly.

[stiller fan]

Most "P-series" tires, which indicate passenger car application, operate quite well with pressures in the upper 20s to mid-30s. Readers of this column have read many times my recommendation of 32 to 35 pounds per square inch (psi) for most cold tires.

[stiller fan]

Tire Failure

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found there are more than 8,000 traffic accidents every year resulting in death or serious injuries due to tire failure.

Tire failures can be prevented with the proper maintenance, but in some cases tire failures are hard to detect because of a manufacturing or design flaw. By knowing what to look for you may be able to prevent unnecessary injuries. For instance, signs to be aware of are:

* Cracks in the sidewalls
* Tire vibration, indicating a misalignment, etc.
* Tread is unevenly worn down, indicating improper inflation, etc.
* Tread is very worn down
* Sidewall has bugles, indicating weakened areas

[stiller fan]

xcel,

if you would like, i can keep looking for info........ not trying to start yet another argument on here about this, just stating the other side of the story.......

[stiller fan]

Not all bead failures are the result of a defect in the tire. Other possibilities are impact with a non-compliant object, over-pressurization of a tire, and improper installation.

[stiller fan]

While this may not prevent a tire failure, there are general guidelines to tire safety.

* Check tires to be sure there are no visible signs of a problem.
* Be sure tires are properly inflated.
* Do not drive at a high rate of speed, particularly in hot weather. If possible, choose roads with relatively low speed limits.
* Wear a seatbelt.

------------------------------

ok, i'm done looking for now.... :yes: :thmsup: i think that i have made my point well known here..... :yes:

[xcel]

Hi Guys:

___The next time you get one of the lead tire engineers in a one on one at a press-event of a major auto-show talking about max tire pressures, you will learn about burst pressures and safety margins. I didn’t speak with “those engineers”, I spoke with a lead tire engineer at the Bridgestone tire company’s booth. If you want to talk about uneven tire wear, you are looking at normal to under-inflation as well as poor alignment. MAX sidewall on up usually gives less and more even wear in my hundreds of thousands of miles of experience as well as the millions of miles of experience from the hybrid guys I speak with on a daily basis. Rigid and higher possibility of damage from outside influence because of that rigidity is a definite possibility. Not tire separation. Big Rig Truck tires are rated for MAX sidewall up to 105 #’s. Even the F250 and up Ford 6.0 L Diesel P/U’s are rated for 80 #’s MAX sidewall. They are rigid and have higher chance of external influences taking them out too. The latest brand new F250 tires I had a chance to inspect last Thursday were set at 54.5 - 55.0 all around right off the lot with its 80 #’s MAX sidewall rated tires. The retreads that come apart on the Big Rigs are not due to higher pressures as most truck drivers run on the low end for comfort, it is because they are crap tires that are much less expensive then a brand new set of non-retreads. The next time you speak with an independent OTR driver, ask him about price differentials and if he would take a brand new set of non-retreads down a dirt or gravel road to pick up a load? He would if he had garbage retreads and that is what you will see on the garbage and construction type Big Rig’s unfortunately :( The last time I spoke with an OTR driver (2) about retreads was just 2 weeks ago. I hope you hear the same results the next time you discuss the same with one, two, or more?

___Proper inflation was a causal effect of the Ford Explorer/Firestone tire debacle, not over inflation. To bad as there would be a lot less dead Explorer owners and passengers if they would have taken the other tack :(

___I will run mine at 50 #’s. You can run with whatever you feel prudent as the story always goes …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

[ericrwalker]

:nuts: Bump :paranoid: I just changed my oil M1 0W-20 and threw on the OEM tires, and decided to fill to 36 PSI...Then came on here to see what other people are putting in. Almost had a heart attack when I saw 50 PSI good lord....that's weird wild stuff. Doesn't seem like that is what's getting him 47.6 mpg...there has to be more....I bet it takes him about 5 to 10 minutes to get his car to 55 MPH, and not bring the rpm over 2K. :nuts:

[xcel]

Hi EricWalker:

___There are a ton of reasons but the higher pressures are good for another 1 - 2 mpg’s over door pressures.

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

[Fred Mertz]

I was thinking that someone was playing with your tire pressure just to bug ya!

I've done that in the past :D

Fred :wave: