Hello, I had this problem with my cars that sat for 6+ months. I asked a friend of mine who is in the tire business and this is what he told me. As the outside air pressure and temp affect the air in the tire (when it goes from summer to winter and back again), the air will contract in the winter (or colder weather.) This creates a less than perfect seal along the rim of the wheel, where the tire actually seals. This less than perfect seal will allow a very small amount of air to get by. Over time, the more air escapes, the worse the seal, etc, until the tire is flat. When you drive the car, the friction on the tire heats the air, it expands and the seal is restored. This is why tires don't loss air on your dialy driver. This is also why you can just re-inflate the tire and it is fine. There is nothing wrong with the wheel or the tire, that is just how it happens. All of this made sense to me, so now I put my cars that are in storage on jackstands and store the wheel and t! ires elsewere and on their sides to prevent flat spotting. Before I go to put them back on I re-inflate them to the correct pressure. This is always a good idea if you plan to store for more than 1-2 months. Just my pennies, Charles. From: Roger Howard <rdhoward@xxxxxxxxx> Date: 2003/06/18 Wed PM 04:49:42 EDT To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: Re: [FWDLK] Flat tires A well-meaning but too-talkative neighbor of mine recently caught me out washing my car and began to talk...I try to humor him/tune him out, yet one thing he said stuck with me..he had a rim that developed a rusthole or some sort of pinhole in one of the welds that holds the rim together...this was the reason his tire kept going flat...next time have your tireshop somehow check the rim to see if this is happening to you ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nick & Barbara Nichols" <3nichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, June 18, 2003 1:25 PM Subject: [FWDLK] Flat tires > Here is a general question: Why does a tire go flat after sitting for > a couple of months and then is fine when you put air back in it. I > have taken the tire to a tire shop and they can't find any slow leak. > The tire is only a few months old and the valve is new. It goes on > my '59 Custom Royal. I've had this same problem over the years with > other old cars. It's one of those things that always has me curious. > Nick Nichols > > -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- > 2003 Calendar voting results and ordering information is online! Please visit: > http://www.forwardlook.net/calendar2003 for more information. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2003 Calendar voting results and ordering information is online! Please visit: http://www.forwardlook.net/calendar2003 for more information. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- 2003 Calendar voting results and ordering information is online! Please visit: http://www.forwardlook.net/calendar2003 for more information. |