Check Your Spare Tire

[inex01]

Yesterday here in Maryland the temperature was in the low 60s and a perfect Model A Day! Took the 31 Slant out and headed out for a nice drive to western Frederick county. The car performed so well and it was such a enjoyable drive. Then on the way back I decided to stop at Taco Bell and grab a bite, finished my Taco and then jumped in the car to head home, but she felt like a brake was dragging, well it wasn't a brake but a flat tire. I have the 8 ply radials on her and believe it or not these tires are like run flats because the side walls have so much rigidity. Well no big deal I then pulled out the jack and proceeded to remove the wheel and then pulled the spare off the rack and guess what? yes the darn space was as flat as the tire on the car! Why? I have no idea because it was a new tire and tube and never installed on the car! but flat it was. Fortunately my good friend who owns a towing company was close by and he came to my assistance with his portable air pump and I inflated my flat spare which as of this post is still holding air and has not lost even a pound in over nine hours? go figure! So to net it out check your spare tile so you do not end up like this dummy!

[RonC]

On longer trips I carry a battery operated Royobi tire inflator from Home Depot. It quickly pumps tires

[mhsprecher]

It was the stop at Taco Bell that did it.

[C26Pinelake]

If if is a side mount possibly it would not fit in the opening when inflated. If not the most likely cause would be a leaking valve core. Wayne

[Big hammer]

Mr McDonald stoping at Taco Bell made me smile! Nitrogen in tires will stay inflated longer than air! Nitrogen molecules are larger than air some say, a little pricey for me, so I just fill the spare when I service the four on the ground :-) thanks for the reminder!!

[pgerhardt]

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Originally Posted by Big hammer

Mr McDonald stoping at Taco Bell made me smile! Nitrogen in tires will stay inflated longer than air! Nitrogen molecules are larger than air some say, a little pricey for me, so I just fill the spare when I service the four on the ground :-) thanks for the reminder!!

By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.

Oxygen, cardon dioxide, and water vapor molecules are all larger than nitrogen diatomic molecules.

Oh! There is that retired science science teacher coming out again! Sorry.

[C26Pinelake]

Originally Posted by pgerhardt

By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.

Oxygen, cardon dioxide, and water vapor molecules are all larger than nitrogen diatomic molecules.

Oh! There is that retired science science teacher coming out again! Sorry.

You're sorry, what about us ? Glad you were not a rectumologist. Wayne

[H. L. Chauvin]

Almost Forgotten Times:

In late forties and very early fifties, we vacationed on many cross country rural gravel roads prior to interstates.

On a (2) week vacation, it was never uncommon to acquire one or two flats.

My Dad never left home without a hand pump, lug wrench, tire tool, extra tube, and tire patches.

We never felt odd ...... we saw many others fixing flats on the sides of the roads.

Never a bad idea to carry a tire pump & remain prepared in a Model A emergency like that of our parents and grand parents.

[Brendan]

don't have a spair

[aford193031]

Originally Posted by pgerhardt

By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.

Oxygen, cardon dioxide, and water vapor molecules are all larger than nitrogen diatomic molecules.

Oh! There is that retired science science teacher coming out again! Sorry.

I have thought the same that air is mostly nitrogen, so why pay for nitrogen only!

[5851a]

I had thought the advantage of the nitrogen was that it was totally dry and understood that. Our travel trailer came with nitrogen filled tires but where do you get more of that without going to a tire dealer? Thought maybe you could buy it in small take along containers but couldn't come up with anything. Some new cars don't even have spares, they come with a can of fix a flat and I assume a AAA membership. Argh

[inex01]

Originally Posted by Brendan

don't have a spair

Yea had one but the sucker had no air in it! my FAULT! should have checked it

[Big hammer]

For your pleasure try getnitrogen.net very good reading :-)

[Y-Blockhead]

Originally Posted by 5851a

... where do you get more of that without going to a tire dealer?

I just bought a set of new Michelins for my '06 F-150 at Costco ($70 discount) and I noticed it had green valve stem caps. Guess Costco uses N2 exclusively. They do free checks and refills.

Now when out on the road all I need to do is find a Costco. They should be in about every town by now, like Starbucks...

[30ccpickup]

Originally Posted by pgerhardt

By volume, dry air contains 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere.

Oxygen, cardon dioxide, and water vapor molecules are all larger than nitrogen diatomic molecules.

Oh! There is that retired science science teacher coming out again! Sorry.

And the soon to be retiered shop teacher says there is a hole in it. Sorry, I owe you beer.
Paul

[Charlie Stephens]

Originally Posted by inex01

Yesterday here in Maryland the temperature was in the low 60s and a perfect Model A Day! Took the 31 Slant out and headed out for a nice drive to western Frederick county. The car performed so well and it was such a enjoyable drive. Then on the way back I decided to stop at Taco Bell and grab a bite, finished my Taco and then jumped in the car to head home, but she felt like a brake was dragging, well it wasn't a brake but a flat tire. I have the 8 ply radials on her and believe it or not these tires are like run flats because the side walls have so much rigidity. Well no big deal I then pulled out the jack and proceeded to remove the wheel and then pulled the spare off the rack and guess what? yes the darn space was as flat as the tire on the car! Why? I have no idea because it was a new tire and tube and never installed on the car! but flat it was. Fortunately my good friend who owns a towing company was close by and he came to my assistance with his portable air pump and I inflated my flat spare which as of this post is still holding air and has not lost even a pound in over nine hours? go figure! So to net it out check your spare tile so you do not end up like this dummy!

My guess is that the air just leaked out through the tubes. Try filling and monitoring pressure and I think you will find this to be the problem. Of course its should be a loose valve stem. My wife bicycle uses 125 PSI and I have to pump it up if it sets more than a week. I have read that Bratton's has quality tubes for the Model A and I definitely would buy them if I needed some. My '32 (that I don't drive) has tires that are whitewalls on both sides (since they are not reproductions that places them in the late '30's I believe) and it can set about 8 or 9 years before they need air.

Charlie Stephens

[SteveB31]

Nitrogen is used in tires because it does not increase the tire pressure when it gets hot nor decrease the pressure when it gets cold. This way your pressure stays the same all the time.

[Vic in E-TN]

Steve and others:
It has been a few years since I took a physics class but what I learned stays with me. As gasses get away from critical pressure and temperature they behave according to the gas laws. Pure nitrogen and air have the same thermal coefficient of expansion. This means that if the temperature goes up or down 10 degrees they will behave the same and there will be no difference in the final pressure.

I remember when the nitrogen craze started maybe 25 or more years ago racers used nitrogen to get the same placebo effect. Maybe 15 years ago the ever sharp new car dealers started charging $100 per car to do the nitrogen thing. I have seen that price is now $200 for the same thing around here. People here may be a little more gullible than others or car dealers here need the money more. A possible reason that could have some validity is the recent introduction of tire pressure monitoring devices. Keeping water vapor from them may prolong their life.

Vic

[MikeK]

A bean burrito and a hose with a Schrader chuck is all you need.

[700rpm]

When I was 17 I worked in a Shell service station, when we gave real service (1962). A regular customer brought her '49 Chevy in every month for a lube and oil change, AND a change of air in her tires. She wanted fresh air, and Mr. White, our boss, insisted that we change it out, so we did.

And wasn't there a comment on the Barn recently about using helium in your tires for a better ride? Like kind of floating along the road by raising the car up a bit...? Helium would make them easier to lift too, wouldn't it? Though now that I think about it, 35 lbs of helium would weigh the same as 35 lbs of "air."

[MikeK]

Originally Posted by 700rpm

...? Helium would make them easier to lift too, wouldn't it? Though now that I think about it, 35 lbs of helium would weigh the same as 35 lbs of "air."

Well, not exactly. The 35 is pressure, not mass. If you figure the mass of the air in an A tire and then the equivalent mass of the same volume of 35psi compressed Helium the tire would be about 25 grams lighter. Less than an ounce difference.

[40 Deluxe]

I'm sure every tire shop has an air/water separator on their air lines, so you're not going to get much, if any, water vapor in your tires. If you have your own compressor at home, you do own an air/water separator, don't you? Unless you take on-ramps at 120 MPH, I doubt you will notice a pound or two difference in air pressure. Have you ever seen a tire 'degrade' on the inside from plain air like the nitrogen scammers claim? Me neither! I've seen a lot of cars stored for several years, some many years, and there is still air in the tires (not nitrogen, but plain air)!
One of the largest tire retailers around the Southwest, Discount Tire, does not use nitrogen. A few years ago General Motors sent a bulletin to its dealers advising AGAINST the use of nitrogen.
In short, using nitrogen in your tires is nothing but a money wasting rip-off!