G
Guest
Guest
I've been plagued for a year by a very slow leak in my front left wheel.
The pressure would drop from 32-ish to 22-ish over perhaps a month, but
there was no obvious sign of a leak (no visible bubbles when immersed in
water).
Prior to our recent trip to France I decided to push the pressure up the
36 psi all round, and in fact I think the garage air-line gauge I used
was a bit out because when I got home it registered 38 all round. In my
never-ending quest for economy, and in view of the increased load, I
decided to leave it be. Also my (stock, 275 / 70 R16) tyres wear
slightly more at the edges than the centre at the official 32 psi, so I
think extra pressure makes sense.
Now, six weeks later, the tyre has held its pressure, and I can only
conclude that it was weeping around the rim, and that the slight extra
pressure has given a better seal and cured the problem. I'm on the
standard alloy wheels which, I seem to remember reading somewhere, are a
bit prone to sealing problems as they get older.
I don't offer this as a scientific test as it may just be luck, but if
you are suffering a slow loss of pressure it might be worth pushing it
up an extra 10 psi or so for a few days to see if it solves the problem.
Incidentally someone is bound to ask if the extra pressure has affected
handling. The answer is either not at all, or slightly for the better
on windy roads - it's hard to tell. Certainly there are no handling
problems, and grip in the wet seems OK.
Christopher Bell
Devon, UK
1996 1HD-FT
____________________________________________________________
Electronic mail messages entering and leaving Arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses
The pressure would drop from 32-ish to 22-ish over perhaps a month, but
there was no obvious sign of a leak (no visible bubbles when immersed in
water).
Prior to our recent trip to France I decided to push the pressure up the
36 psi all round, and in fact I think the garage air-line gauge I used
was a bit out because when I got home it registered 38 all round. In my
never-ending quest for economy, and in view of the increased load, I
decided to leave it be. Also my (stock, 275 / 70 R16) tyres wear
slightly more at the edges than the centre at the official 32 psi, so I
think extra pressure makes sense.
Now, six weeks later, the tyre has held its pressure, and I can only
conclude that it was weeping around the rim, and that the slight extra
pressure has given a better seal and cured the problem. I'm on the
standard alloy wheels which, I seem to remember reading somewhere, are a
bit prone to sealing problems as they get older.
I don't offer this as a scientific test as it may just be luck, but if
you are suffering a slow loss of pressure it might be worth pushing it
up an extra 10 psi or so for a few days to see if it solves the problem.
Incidentally someone is bound to ask if the extra pressure has affected
handling. The answer is either not at all, or slightly for the better
on windy roads - it's hard to tell. Certainly there are no handling
problems, and grip in the wet seems OK.
Christopher Bell
Devon, UK
1996 1HD-FT
____________________________________________________________
Electronic mail messages entering and leaving Arup business
systems are scanned for acceptability of content and viruses