[MuffinMan910]

in the past two months, my front drivers side tire has gone flat 5-6 times and has been remounted 3 times

the following scenario is whats happens.... tire is fine for a week, i check the psi every day before i go to work to make sure its fine. then randomly one day after sitting for hours it'll be completely flat. its happened in my driveway, at work and at friends houses. i then fill the tire back up with air and its fine for another 4-6 days, again checking the psi daily. it'll then go completely flat again after sitting for hours and when i go to refill it with air again, the seals are completely shot and it won't hold any air.

i then go to get my tire remounted, garage has no clue whats happening, no punctures, valve is fine, rim isn't cracked, garage uses plenty of sealant. then a week later, repeat all the above steps

it went completely flat again today so im at the point im wondering is it the tire? or is it the rims?

anyone have opinions? i'm on runflats so if its the tire i'm going to buy 4 new tires non-run flats

if its the rim, it'd get a new rim and wouldnt need to buy new tires

additional info: front tires are at 40-50% so wear shouldnt be an issue

[tuco44]

Well, it's the rim, the tire or the valve stem. Can't the shop detect a slow leak using water?
Just an old school method.

[MuffinMan910]

Originally Posted by tuco44

Well, it's the rim, the tire or the valve stem. Can't the shop detect a slow leak using water?
Just an old school method.

shop used the soapy water method and so did i

valve isnt leaking and when it goes completely flat its a bad seal. when i refill the tire the first time it seems to temporarily fix the seal. when it goes flat for the second time the seal gets so bad an industrial compressor can only get it to 20psi; enough to use the soapy water technique and see the seals shot

[Billfitz]

I had a similar issue years ago. The tire was fine for weeks, then went flat. They replaced the valve stem, it was fine for weeks, then went flat again. After two more repetitions it was decided that the wheel had a casting imperfection where the valve mounted. It took a few weeks for the wheel to cause a leak to occur in the stem, once it did it went flat over about a two day period. Soap solution didn't reveal it, because the leak was too slow. I'd bet your wheel is at fault, and since the problem is probably too small to find a new wheel is probably the only cure.

[ibimmer954]

It could also be a small imperfection in the tire. It might only show itself if you stop with the tire rotated so that the imperfection is in a certain configuration. I remember this question was on Car Talk at one point. This was the answer given.

[MuffinMan910]

Update: after filling it up yesterday (after being fine for a week), it's now lost 3psi over the course of 20hours. I'll take it off when I get home from work and see if a soapy solution will work now

Is there any test at all to see if it's a slight casting imperfection?

Tire rotation could be very valid since it's doing things consistently but during random times. Could a tire had a minor imperfection in the rubber around the seal to cause the seal to go bad?

[Billfitz]

3 psi loss in 20 hours won't show up in soap bubbles. To find it that way you'd have to wait until the leak is more severe, say 3 psi per hour.
I'd guess that a rough casting is wearing the tire in one spot, eventually causing it to leak. When you remount the tire that worn spot gets shifted to a smooth section on the wheel, where the tire damage is slight enough that it can still give an airtight seal. But it's not a cure, as the bad spot on the wheel just wears away at a new spot on the tire until it's worn enough to leak again. Finding evidence of damage on the tire wouldn't be easy, but shouldn't be impossible.

[KGB_123_99]

Deformed rim with a manufacturing defect. I have had this happen with aftermarket rims once, was replaced free of charge. Never with OEM...

But if it's a deformed rim, I would think that this would be happening from day one.

[lvblkjack]

Dismount the front tires and swap left and right.

[Jbrock22]

Bad rim. Slightly out of round. Chinese rims?

[metallicpea]

It could be a few things, but I would guess a small puncture in the tire that only shows when the weight of the car flexes the tire in the right spot. Try marking the wheel/tire position when the overnight flat occurs. That might help pinpoint the area of the leak and help find it.

[sygazelle]

Your neighbor's fukin with you ;

[sygazelle]

Have you considered that you have a neighbor who might be playing a joke on you?

[MuffinMan910]

I actually have considered that someone's doing it but it's happened at too many locations; not necessarily always in my driveway

Rims are oem 403m, not aftermarket but that doesn't mean there can't be a defect

Swapping front tires from drivers side to passenger side is a great idea though... Didn't think of that. Great way to get the true reason

[kenwelch]

Originally Posted by metallicpea

It could be a few things, but I would guess a small puncture in the tire that only shows when the weight of the car flexes the tire in the right spot. Try marking the wheel/tire position when the overnight flat occurs. That might help pinpoint the area of the leak and help find it.

I have seen this many times. The tire should be unmounted and thoroughly inspected on the inside with a bright flashlight. Even small cuts will leak when parked in just the right position. I like your idea for marking the tire before inspection.

I have also seen rim beads with defects (dents, nicks, and flaking chrome/coatings).

[zinner]

I bet it's a defect in the tire that only presents when the tireis clocked a certain way. I would also mark the tire and note the position when it's flat.