Re: Valve stems -- interesting problem
OK here's the deal. I've dealt with many, many tires throughout my career so far, and I have never seen a bad valve stem cause any kind of massive tire pressure loss (aside from physical damage from curbs, sabotage, etc).
I've seen valve stems cracked so badly that the brass tube was exposed all the way around and they still did not leak.
Now I'm not going to say I haven't seen them leak, because I have.. many times, but when they do leak it is a very, very small leak. When I encounter one that does leak, you can usually make it leak worse by pushing inward on the stem (hissss....), but these stems are typically angled outward slightly, and while spinning at speed inertial forces push it outward actually slowing or stopping the leak while moving.
It's not uncommon to see some dry-rot on the rubber parts of the stems after a year or so.. possibly due to poor quality and what-not, but I don't feel this necessarily makes your car unsafe to drive, or would lead to a massive blow-out of the stem.
If you are savvy enough to check your tires' condition and pressure on a regular basis (like you should do regardless), you should be savvy enough to catch problems with valve stems long before they reach the point of becoming unsafe.
9 out of 10 times when I see a tire leak at the stem, it's not usually the stem itself but the schrader valve leaking (most due to missing caps).
This is still a very informative thread though. If you're overly concerned about it, get the bolt on style stems, or at least the TR600 high-pressure stems (regardless of pressure ratings, they do seem to be built much, much better). Also get the shortest stems you can get without interfering with access.
One gallon of gas - $3.49
One used four wheel drive SUV that gets 30+ Miles Per Gallon - $15,999
Purchasing it used for $5000 UNDER bluebook because the dealership did not realize it was a hybrid - PRICELESS
|
