Soft air

For sometime now, I have noticed that the pressure on my right front tire has been going low after a few days. The tire would lose about 6 pounds per square inch (psi) after a few days and if the weather was cold, it would drop the next day. I would usually set the tire pressure at 33 psi (cold) and about 35 psi after about two kilometers of driving. At first, I wouldn’t really mind it. I have an air compressor and a tire gauge to keep an eye on things. Then the left front tire started to act up. It would read 28 psi after an overnight park. Then I decided to have the tires checked to see if there was a puncture. So I went to the nearby tire shop to have the tires looked at.

The right front tire had a puncture from a nail. But that was not the only thing that we discovered. Apart from a punctured tire, the valve was also leaking. Compared with the puncture caused by the nail, the base of the tire valve was leaking more air. So the nail was removed and a patch was applied. Then the old tire valve was removed and a new one was installed. Then the tire was mounted back on the rim, filled with air and checked for leaks. Zero leaks.