I remember reading that the Concorde was hard on.tires because its aerodynamic characteristics produced relatively little lift during takeoffs and landings, so it had more blowouts than usual. These were significantly reduced when they stopped using retreads.
Do you have steel wheels or alloys? There’s been a deluge of people around here with flat tyres after hitting potholes. Alloy wheels will take quite a beating before they shatter, but steel wheels can easily be bent out of shape enough to let the air out. A friendly mechanic with a sledge hammer can often knock it back into shape for the price of a drink or two.
The tires are Ovation
There is some codes
005813
2020
So I’ll go with the latter as the year. There is plenty of tread depth and equal all 'round. The manual was rather vague on the correct PSI yet when I was first inflating this tire all the others were about 27-28 so I topped all to 30. I can see going to 35 to save some petrol and since I’m south of Salisbury any snow means bumper cars since nobody south of Scotland knows how to drive in the snow. I’d always have all-season radials on my cars in New York yet there as well people know how to maneuver in snow.
I first squeezed some bicycle lubricant into the four lugs in the hopes that might make a difference. I also oiled down the default jack and while I wasn’t expecting a German stainless steel cross-bar for the nuts this was indeed a wee (maybe foot long before it bends at a non-90 degree angle bar). Maybe maybe maybe the lubricant would help.
Then I sudsy soaped the tire all round expecting to see giant bubbles or something hissing. Nada but a clean tire and I cleaned the rim and what I could do with the rest of the car suds.
Then time to try the lugs. Tried two. Will. Not. Budge. Didn’t even get to the lock-nut. In my experience if the nuts were put on with pneumatic air that’s what it’ll take to break the torque. Or a nice stainless cross-bar with an extension bar. I’m not that young and either I was going to put my fist into the ground, or both fist and bar in my face and/or strip the nut. So I won’t be saving £££ (as if) by rolling the wheel into the shop. But yeah, it needs to be taken off and dunked in the tire bath.
I read the above posts about retreads. My understanding of those is they literally were almost bald and bionically rebuilt (is vulcanized still a thing?)
I am not against getting a similar used tire. I feel that a brand new tire would be unevenly grippy compared to the other front wheel (yes, could have rotate front to back). If I should buy two new tires I almost feel for a FWD car the newest should be on the front and at least I get a full-size spare.
I got down both this and last time to see if there was any obvious damage to the sidewalls. Did not give the inside a bubble bath.
Assuming there is no sidewall damage and the valve is not the culprit, under what circumstances should I avoid getting a plug? I know in the case of screws and whatever they’re better than a piece of metal in your tire, and with the loss of PSI I’m seeing now a plug would certainly help for the interim and not make the puncture any worse. If it’s a 1 3/4" wood screw like the three I’ve found scattered around the parking lot by the workmen, I’ll invoice the landlord for tires made by a company with a blimp.
True. But …
Some alloy wheels are prone to cracking. I had a mysterious leaky tire that we (me or my tire shop) could never isolate. Turns out the tire was fine and a hairline crack in the wheel was letting the air out. But only intermittently
IME the shop you take the tyre to will have their own standards on what’s too severe to plug. IOW, they’ll make that decision for you whether you like that or not.
Generally speaking the decision depends on the size of the leak, reason for the leak, and the location. Some of this is a matter of local regulation.
A leak of the magnitude you are describing should be audible.
Soap may not work, because the air is coming out so fast it won’t make a bubble.
I would try using suds, not just soapy water, and seeing if they get disturbed by the air. Pay particular attention to the valve stem.
Yes, any tire shop is going to want to sell at least one new tire and won’t be too keen about plugs but they’ll get paid for jacking up, pulling and dunking the tire. Sidewall and valve problems are blowouts waiting to happen. A few months ago I was expecting to see a 1 3/4" screw worn down to the top tread depth that could be pulled out with pliers for a proper flat tire. If this is a screw I can point blame on the sloppy workmen. Though it may not be extractable for evidence without pulling the tire (from the rim).
I’ll have explained I don’t have Good Year (From the ‘Naked Gun’: “Was it a Good Year?” “No, the worst”) money from the outset, so their this-week-only deal for 4 new Dunlops won’t be on the table.
I’ll see what the shop can find out. I’ll get back with the report. Thanks, all.
One last query: I just asked another guy who lives in this apartment house who drives a late model BMW mini if he knows whether or not the tyre change kit in the boot comes with a proper German stainless cross-bar. Anyone happen to know if BMW minis come with something better than the lame bar my Toyota comes with? I would really still like to pull the tire, pop on the donut (won’t be driving this week after tonight, tomorrow and when I go to the shop) and diagnose it myself.
Do you have a 1/2" socket wrench? Just put a piece of pipe on it, and use that.
Drat, no. Just a few random metric spanners (as they call them here).
My full wrench kit in both English and Metric is in storage. I do have a couple adjustables. Yet the workmen and foreman (he has an enviable full kit of Stanley) might be around tomorrow. And they might even have an extension pipe so thanks for the idea!
I’ve never had a tire shop give me any kind of hard time about doing a proper plug and patch job (from the inside after unmounting) as long as the damage wasn’t to the sidewall. One of the popular chains near me makes a big deal about doing it for free.
That’s good to hear. I don’t expect free, yet as I said if there is the slightest nub of a screw a plug will push it into the interior. Thus wheel comes off the rim. So a patch - if it’s not too dear - would be ideal as it’s long lasting and not as dicey as a plug.
I think the tire shop won’t push you to buy a new tire if you can’t afford it. So please just bring the car to them, tell them what the issue is and wait for their diagnosis. If the tire can’t be patched, they may be able to sell you a used tire to replace this one.
Sorry, the reply is to @Pork_Rind though intended for the OP.
Tires can leak around the bead, where the rubber seats and seals against the metal wheel. It would be really difficult to spot while still on the car if the leak was the inner side.
I think you underestimate how eager shops (smaller ones, anyway) will be to take the easy money for an inspection and patch. It’s pretty much their bread & butter.
Also encouraging. I had to junk-sell my Nissan earlier this year as the local shop in Bath wanted £750 to do some welding and replace an imaginary leaking power steering pump for the MOT (aka inspection). 21 year old Micra that I paid £700 for.
And the year before (which was a Good Year) I was too busy not to pay them £650 for some welding, spring work and whatever. Power steering was not an issue then.
Yet because inspections do not cover the cost of a mechanics usual hour rate, there is the onus to find something wrong. On Long Island my 1973 Monte Carlo failed inspection for a non-working car horn in 1989. How much to repair that? $150. Car horn. I went to the junkyard, where that kind of model car, be it Buick, Oldsmobile or Chevy, was common. Got one for $5 put it in right there, went back to the Sears where they replaced the “Failed” sticker (I still had till the end of the month) and put on a new one.
Sorry you had that experience. I think in the US, some states have inspections either by the state itself or by private inspection stations that don’t do repairs themselves, to avoid the issue of a conflict of interest.
Driving on low pressure is a problem waiting to happen. With radials, it may not be obvious pressure is low, but you stress the sidewall, especially on expressways (motorways). If you touch the side of the tire and it’s excessively hot, you are damaging the tire (tyre). I followed someone once whose tire was smoking, then blew out. Why wait for further damage?
Also, low pressure creates uneven wear on the tire (low pressure, the edges wear. Excessive pressure, the center wears.)
My BWW has been a flat magnet - about 3 nails or screws and one case of leaky valve, plus a sidewall bulge (tire defect). If its a puncture in the tread area, it is easily fixable - the BMW dealer said a patch would easily last the life of the tire.
If you want to find the leak yourself, I would recommend dumking in a large pan with soapy water.
I change my own tire to winter (just did that for both cars) and I have deep sockets and a manual torque wrench with about a 15" arm. I have never had a problem turning a nut with that, even on the Tesla where recommended torque is 134, and eeasy even with dealer-installed tires done with an air wrench.
But I did manage to break the bolt(yike$) or strip the nuts on my wife’s old Camry once, using the tire iron that came with it. It’s a stupid design because it’s not 90° and not a deep socket. I have helped others who needed a wheel changed where I had to almost jump on the tire iron to get the nut started.
i should also caution that oiling the lug nuts is considered a bad Idea. (But I understand why you did it). You don’t want something that encourages the nuts to come loose in future. I would suggest a strong detergent or something once you get that tire off.
I just mentioned what Sears wanted for a car horn, and up-thread I mentioned I have whatever the equivalent of “white-coat syndrome” (with doctors) with unfamiliar car-repair shops / mechanics. It’s not so much they see me coming yet I have a non-discernable mid-Atlantic (not a New York or Long Island) accent and at that point I reckon the price is upped to “Yank”. As a contractor, I know that nobody who inquires about whether I’m Canadian or whatever has hired me. Graduated from NYU? Been in the UK for eight years? Meaningless. For some remote role (out of Dublin IE) the guy asked me what timezone Bath was in. Uhhhr, London? I think it was non summer-time so I should have said Iceland or Lisbon. Or Dublin.
Perhaps ask around your co-workers or friends for the name of a good reliable mechanic to use next time the car needs service?
While it’s always possible that a privately wealthy foreign guy is driving a 2008 Toyota with leaky tires, he’s not the best mark for a pushy salesperson. Is this the same car you backed into the birdbath? Can’t you lean more into your ‘Yank automotive background’ and less NYU and academics while at the shop?
For best luck, go on a quiet time & day. Tell them about the leak and, if you think you need to, go on that you won’t have funds for six weeks or whatever to take away the sales pressure today.
Not necessarily true. Picked up a nail in a tire last year. Drove over to one of the big tire chains (Big O Tires), they fixed it for free. No push for new tires.