Front tyres losing air

R

ROO3

Member
My winter tyres are losing a lot of air. In about 3-4 weeks they go down to about 25psi. Any reasons for this?
 
It's pretty irrelevant as to what the tyres are and what pressures are used. It's all to do with the bead seat (the area on the rim where the rubber clinches onto the wheel) being corroded to a greater or lesser extent. If the rim were cracked, then there'd be a far quicker loss of air.

The simple solution is to remove the tyre (having first marked the valve position, so there's no need to re-balance) and then clean up the bead seats, inner and outer, with a scourer and water.

Some garages will employ a thick rubber solution and paint it on without removing the tyre. This also works, but makes getting the tyre off again a pain.
 
They basically need cleaning, but internally. It's not difficult and if you were closer to Warrington, I'd do it for you - I fit and balance all my own tyres now (apart from the 22" beasts on the Jag, which are too big for my kit) and have saved a fortune over the last couple of years.

And, I know the job is done properly.

A garage will relieve you of around a tenner a tyre, perhaps a touch more, to de-mount, clean and re-mount the tyres.
 
I've got the same with one tyre on my winter set - loses pressure gradually after 3-4 days. The other night I was out next to the car when it was absolutely silent around us - and realised I could hear a quiet sizzling noise from the tyre. Listening and then prodding proved that the noise is coming from the base of the valve (it stops when the valve is held in certain positions) - so I presume it isn't quite seated properly. Should be an easy fix when I've got a chance to take it back to my tyre place.
 
The thing about winter tyres is that they are mostly used when there's water and salt around and this works it's way into every nook and cranny (by capillary action) and corrodes the alloy of the wheel.

Whether it's the base of a valve stem, or the bead seat of the rim, the way to deal with it is the same - remove and clean, then refit.
 
All 4 of my tyres used to deflate to around 25 psi quite quickly, but no further. The remedy was to fit metal valve caps, rather than the plastic ones supplied when the tyres were fitted.
 
What Michael (@Skipton01) said about conditions of use, et c.
I have had to have a new valve fitted to one of mine, and another is losing pressure.
I made an effort cleaning and drying them last spring before stacking them in my cellar.

Andrew
 
Can you rule out a pinhole puncture? I had just this last year. Shame as it was a new tyre and it was in the sidewall.
Geoff
 
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