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Old 12-16-2004, 08:42 PM   #1
turner
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MY02 RS, 5MT

Default air loss opinions

After twelve days my left front tire reads a half pound less air than the right. I'm thinking this is too much difference in too short a time, but since I'm not an expert I thought I'd see what you guys think. I don't have great confidence in the shops I've taken the car to and like to be as well armed as possible before speaking to anyone.

-- I bought a more accurate tire gauge than I had when I first noticed the difference.

-- I fill the tires a little over what I want, let the car sit all night, and reset the pressure the next morning before driving the car. That's my starting point for checking this situation.

-- After that, I always check the tire pressure in the morning before driving the car.

-- I have replaced the valve core.

-- I put some soapy water around the valve stem, didn't see any bubbles...but for that amount of air loss I might have to watch it for hours.

-- There has been too much weekly temperature variation for me to tell how much pressure the tires actually lose in twelve days, but the left front is always that half pound less than the front right.

All I can think of at this point is to have the valve replaced, the tire reseated and balanced.

Thanks.
-- t
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Old 12-16-2004, 08:47 PM   #2
ms3p
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1/2 pound of pressure could be just because of outside temerature difference. I wouldn't worry about it.
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Old 12-16-2004, 09:40 PM   #3
WickedSTI
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Soap up the wheel weights also they will leak very slowly.Brad
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Old 12-16-2004, 10:06 PM   #4
gregr01
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If you go to a tire shop and tell them you're losing 1/2 pound of air in a tire over 12 days, they're going to think you're nuts.

You could easily lose that by being the least bit untidy when simply checking the pressure.

If the loss is consistent over and over, every two weeks, you may have a bad valve, valve stem, leaking bead, leak at the weight (highly unlikely) or nail/screw in your tire.
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Old 12-16-2004, 11:20 PM   #5
Uncle Scotty
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.....W O W......

First thing in the am, check your tire pressures......then...Let the car sit, one side in full sun and the other side shaded for a couple hours....check the pressures......THEN tell us about some silly 1/2 pound difference in pressure...
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Old 12-18-2004, 09:15 AM   #6
turner
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...Thanks for your comments. My questions are usually pretty goofy, but There's always someone willing to help and I always learn something. This time: check the wheel weights. And yeah, I figured for the 1/2lb the tire shop guys would think I was nuts. The foreman thought I was nuts when I mentioned in passing shaving a replacement tire or tires because the circumfernces of all four need to be within 1/4" of each other. Then some "specialist" thought I was nuts when I told him the RS doesn't need five quarts of oil. There's more. It's a jungle out there.

-- t
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Old 12-19-2004, 01:52 AM   #7
greg donovan
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i would say it is due to the little whosh of air that is lost as you check the tire. it is hard to not loose any when checking. plus there could be small bead leaks that you wont notice untill the drastic temp changes in the winter.
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Old 12-19-2004, 03:00 AM   #8
Impretzle
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Lol, where did you get a tire gauge which is accurate to 1/2 of a pound? Why don't you wait 24 days and see if it's a full pound lower. Then you can start worrying
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Old 12-19-2004, 03:43 AM   #9
YinUCSD
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or... maybe you just ran over a small nail causing a slow leak. put your car up on jackstands and check every tire for nails/puntures. or take it to like discount tire and they'll check it for nails or poor mounting.
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Old 12-19-2004, 11:38 AM   #10
turner
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...yeah, thanks, all that has been addressed: air whoosh, punctures, ambient temp/sun...doing the 24-day check now. I was using a pencil-type gauge but noticed a variation when checking the same tire twice so I bought a dial-type with a release button so the pressure can be set initially right on. I guess I'm trusting the needle between pound marks... (One of the digital gauges claims 1/2lb accuracy.)

I noticed the difference some time ago and have been slowly going after it. The results are always the same. I basically asked the question because I realize it's a very small amount and could fall within normal behavior for a tire. And as I mentioned earlier, I appreciate the remark about being thought nuts showing up in a tire shop about this. But the rears don't show any difference one to the other...and if it is an actual leak, leaks don't get smaller so I just feel better tracking it down.

Thanks again.

-- t
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