Blowing the trumpet for Speedline wheels

[marky]

Having bought a very nice spare wheel from another member some time last year I now have 5 good 15" Speedlines. They must be really good wheels. I have been driving for 38 years and the Excel is the only car that I've used that I never have to put any air in the tyres!! They never go down - I check them every few weeks and they have not gone down - not even a fraction of a pound! In 18 months I have put less than a pound into them. I am very impressed!!

Mark.

[Simpatico]

IMHO "old" alloys didn't corrode anywhere like as bad as their modern counterparts.

[AndyC]

One one of my current cars, one tyre goes down noticeably but the coating has peeled near the rim, on the newly refurbished ones, I occasionally check them but the only air I seem to have to put in is as the weather cools, so the air contracts.

[Lotus-e-Clan]

I had a leaky tyre on the Clan (old school wolfrace rims)...so bad it went down overnight no matter how much air I put in.

• * Sprayed the rim/tyre bead area with Windolene (wheel off flat on ground) to find the leak and there where many (bubbles) on the inside bead.
  
  * Removed the valve insert completely (allows the tyre to completely deflate and compress when standing on it).
  
  * Sprayed more Windolene onto the leaky bead and then stood on the wall of the tyre to allow the Windolene to penetrate the bead area.
  
  * Jumped up 'n down a bit to manipulate/move the bead.
  
  * Refitted the valve insert, pumped tyre to pressure.
  
  * Stayed inflated ever since!

Have done this to two leaky tyres/wheels now and worked both times.

Don't completely understand why it works -but hey ho!

[MalcolmH]

It was me who sold Mark the Speedline. Glad to hear you're still pleased with it!

My car has the Oz wheels, and in the couple of years I've owned it the rear n/s tyre has always gradually gone down. In advance of my Brittany trip, I took it to my usual tyre place (who are excellent) expecting to to shell out for a new tyre, or at least a repair.

They said they'd tested everything, and could find nothing whatsoever wrong with the tyre or rim. They pumped it up again for me, but - lo and behold - it went noticeably down again within a couple of days. I was taking the footpump with me anyway, so just made a mental note to regularly check & re-inflate it whilst away.

As the boot was going to be fully loaded, I put a bit more psi in (taking the rears up to 30, fronts to 28). And to my surprise, both rears stayed fully inflated for the week-long trip! And the n/s one still shows no sign of going down. So for some reason that extra bit of psi did the trick.

[Lotus-e-Clan]

Yes - it sounds like the bead needed settling/bedding -in. High pressure, plus extended manipulation/flexing/heating under heavier than normal load during the trip will have done it.

Not a million miles away from the reason mine stayed inflated after static manipulation under my feet, I guess - but a different approach.

Tyre fitters are pretty limited when it comes to the (air) bleeding obvious!

[MalcolmH]

Very true, Peter.

It's not often that my first-choice way of dealing with a problem, ie; more or less do nothing, actually works. But in this case it seems to have!!

[marky]

I love the windolene and stomping technique!! - have to remember that one in case I ever need it in the future.

Glad you got your tyre sorted out Malcolm - hope you had a good trip.

Mark.

[MalcolmH]

I did, Mark - thanks for asking. I've put a bit more detail in my 'Fan Fail' thread under 'General'.

[smithersoli]

I always ask tyre fitters to overpressure the tyres and then let then down to the correct pressure for this reason (i swapped wheels and tyres around a lot at my local quickfit when I was trying to make my 17's fit under the arches.

Amazing how a leak or a bulge in a sidewall shows up more at 40 psi than it does at 25 and if you don't run the car on it, then you aren't going to damage a tyre doing so, as the dynamic loads are far greater. I also found I had greater control over the pressure being accurate in the tyres cold that way.

[chrisw2811]

Having watched while assorted car and motorcycle tyres have been fitted to various loose wheels that I have taken to tyre shops (including a full set for the Excel, which filled the back of the Picanto), many tyre fitters seem to remove the valve core (so that the air rushes in and will rush right out again) and inflate to around 60psig to seat the bead in the rim BUT they don't seem to do much more than bounce each wheel a couple of times and then deflate the tyre rapidly. So I think it can be very hit or miss whether or not a good seal is made with the rim. The chap who fitted the tyres to my Speedlines took his time and did a good job (it was also a nice warm day), and I very rarely top up the pressure (2 or 3 times a year and only 1 or 2 psig).