Causes of Car Tire Pressure Loss
You might be asking yourself why do my car tires keep losing pressure? Whenever your tire goes flat or the TPMS signals pressure loss in one or more tires, your first reaction is to go looking for a puncture or tear. But what if you don’t find any visible damage? The fact is that there are many causes of tire pressure loss, both noticeable and indiscernible. For almost all the sources of vehicle tire pressure loss, you’ll realize that they can be solved through prevention or replacement. However, nothing is fool proof and carrying a portable car tire inflator would be very handy when tragedy occurs. Wear and tear The most obvious source of car tire under inflation or deflation is damage of the rubber that meets the road due to aging or reckless driving. Tires bear the full impact of our roughness on the road. We drive over the curb, fly over crater like potholes, and speed through corrugation and debris. Yet through all this, the rubber bears the whole weight of the automobile and its occupants and surviving through the ordeal without an injury becomes a mirage. Valve stem failure The valve stem is that aluminum, steel or rubber knob, roughly the size of your little finger that sticks out of each car wheel. It is the point through which air gets into the car tire and remains trapped in there. Once the tire is full, the tire valve is made of a spring loaded valve that gets sealed due to the pressure of air inside the tire. However, because it juts out of your car tire, it can over time crack, and the rubber can become brittle and porous due to sunlight and ageing. When that happens, air will slowly seep thought the cracks, depending on their severity. Flexing the valve stem rubber should reveal the cracks and in case they are there, you need to replace it. Mounting defects Car tire mounting defect can also be a source of pressure loss. The tire attaches to the wheel at the rim and a mismatch of dimensions is common. A wider rim compared to the tire width reduces the tire sidewall curvature that would enable it to flex properly when driving over rough surface. This may cause the tire bead to slip out of the wheel, creating leakage points. A narrow rim in relation to the tire may on the other hand cause the tire to distort sideways especially when negotiating sharp bends under speed. The rim can also develop a dent when you hit a pothole, a rock and so on, leading the tire bead to lose traction. Temperature fluctuations The ambient air expands when it gets hot and contracts when it’s cold. The air you’ve pumped into your car tires is no different and a dramatic temperature change causes loss of tire pressure. Assuming no leakage, the tire pressure drops by about 1 PSI for every 10 degrees Fahrenheit fall in temperature and likewise rises by 1 PSI for every 10 degrees rise of ambient or friction temperature. In both cases, the tire pressure monitoring system will signal a false fall or rise in tire pressure. Therefore, if your tire changes by 2-3% of what you had in the morning when there is a sharp temperature change, don’t rush to refill or deflate the tires as the pressure will return to normal with time. Ageing of the tire Rubber weakens and loses elasticity with time. This may lead to the rubber seal breaking and the tire bead to loosely hold on to the rim.
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