Odd tire problem, can't find source!
 

I just got my new z06 replicas from AFS wheels on eBay who was great to deal with btw, and had them fitted with KDW2's about a week before they actually went on my camaro. When I pulled the wheels from my garage to put them on the other day I noticed two of the tires were completely deflated while the other two were full. I blew it off and thought nothing of it. Maybe Discount forgot to air them up or something, I don't know. Anyways, I put all four wheels and tires on and air them up to 35psi all around. I couldn't have driven more than 40 miles or so that day then park it in the driveway. I get up the next morning and check the tires and find the rears were at 20psi and 0psi.

I nearly flipped out and was super pissed th whole day!! I grabbed some Slime tire sealant at Zone hoping it would work. I had to drive from Houston to San Antonio which is about a good 340 miles or so and the pressure in the rears were about 27/30 halfway there.

Here's where it gets weird.. I assume the sealant worked (or at least prayed...) and get up this morning to drive to class and notice the rears are low again! They measured 15/15psi. Shit... I drove to class anyways and spend a couple hours on campus then came back to my car to check the pressure and to my amazement they were back to 27/30psi!??!?

The only thing I can think of is that they expanded in the heat of the day compared to the 40* this morning. I've never had new wheels before on any vehicle so I don't know if they have a break-in period to fit the tire or whatever, but this seems really strange to me. I'm really hoping the wheel isn't out-of-round and will need to be replaced. I highly doubt it, seeing AFS has a good rep, but nothing is out of the question. Any feedback is helpful!

My first thought would be to check and make sure that the valve cores are tightened properly.

A tire is not going to change in air pressure of 12 to 15 psi, by just driving . . . is your gauge bad?

Don't think so.. it's the pen-like type and is usually fairly accurate.

Somthing is not right... im either calling BS or saying your gauge is not accurate/wasnt used properly.

There is no way a tire will gain 15psi while stationary.. I can believe up to 5psi if they were sitting in the HOT sun ALL DAY..

Also, the "pen-like type" guages aren't very accurate..

My advice...

1. Buy a good gauge

2. check the scrader valve insert was properly tightened

3. Monitor tire pressure, if it continues to leak, have your tires re-seated on the rims.

Valve core is more than likely the problem. Seems to happen sometimes. Most tire techs remove the core and then air a new wheel and tire then replace it. Sometimes its not always on tight ehough.

If not, i'd check for screws/nails on the tire.

Lastly, and this is very rare, its possible you have a bead leak. Just bring it back and let them check it out...

First thing I thought was bead leak, but since the air pressure went up Id say your gauge is off... Ive had it happen alot, thats why I check each tire at least 3 times to make sure the gauge isnt messing up.

I was in a hurry that morning and apparently didn't push the pressure gauge on all the way (don't ask..).

They're both running at 28/30psi for the past three days, so I'm pretty sure they're good to go.

Thanks for the tips guys, don't know where I'd be without ls1tech!

I'm going to have to confiscate your BS flag since you don't know what it's for.
:eyes:

You need to get the tire slime out of those tires NOW. Take it somewhere to have looked at and most likely they will find the leak and can repair it for you. If you have the screw on valve stems, my bet is that is where the leak is. Oh, and don't forget to tell the techs you put that crap in there. They don't like those kind of suprises.

Why would I need to take the slime out? Will it harm the chrome or something?

You need to take the slime out as soon as possible for 2 reasons, first it will eat away and rust the wheel, and second you will never have a truly balanced wheel/tire combo with all that slime flying everywhere inside the tire. I know, i busted tires for 3 years, you do NOT want to leave that stuff in there, also some of it is extremely toxic if you accidentally breathe in the vapors as well.

I think there is a law that says you HAVE to warn the tire shop if you put it in there.

Well for one, it will eat away at your wheel and tire. Eventually leading to problems further down the road. Two, it will not balence out correctly at all. You will have a never ending heavy spot which will just shift weights. Lastly, no you don't have to warn about tire slime or fix a flat. It does help if you mention it, but for the most part you can see if a tire and wheel have that crap in already just by looking at the sidewall.

I know all this because i work at a Discount Tire, fix and flat and slime suck bad. But if thats what you need to get yourself down the road. Go Ahead. We disapprove of it, and hate working on cars with it, beacuse it does smell rank, but we have to. Lastly, its just not safe to have in your tire and wheel......Just go get some air at a gas station and go to a tire shop. In the end you'll save money and hassle for yourself and the people working on your car.

Well, under the circumstances at that time, I didn't have much of a choice but to put that crap in. It always reminds me that its in there every morning when I drive to school. I'm going to discount tomorrow to have em wash it out and remount the tires.. hopefully it works right this time. Fingers are crossed.

Good info :)
How can you tell if it's in there?

Well if you run on it long enough. You'll start to notice a ring around the sidewall. When we see such a thing, it can be one of two things......A heat ring, which is when a tire has been run on while had little to no air and destroys the sidewall. Or it could be a darkening of the sidewall when is from fix a flat.......I don't know why it does that still though.....