Deflating problems!

[greg.harvey]

Hi all,

I have Paul Matty (I believe) repro Lotus wheels on my +2S which had new Uniroyal tyres on about a year ago. Ever since then, the darned things keep going down. Every time I go to use the car after a few weeks I spend 15 minutes with the foot pump! They never went down before with the old Goodyears that were on them. Anyone have any tips for stopping them from leaking? It's irritating more than anything, but could do with sorting it...

Cheers,

G

[gino1]

Hi Greg,

If the rims are not adapt for tubeless tyres then I would suggest you have inner tubes fitted.
Gino
S3 Elan
Milan Italy

[greg.harvey]

Hmmm... thanks. I'll look into it. Surprised the Goodyears didn't leak. Maybe they had inner tubes?

Ps - like the sig - seen it in a few places - updated mine!

Pps - My girlfriend's from Milan! Whereabouts are you? We bought an old '71 Fiat 500 in Milan the Christmas before last and brought it back here to the UK.

[rgh0]

Pump up the tyres and then put some soap solution on the outside of tyre and wheel. Look for small bubbles forming in the solution.

If they form on the side wall of the tyre itself it is the inner butyl rubber layer in the tyre that is letting air by, only solution is replace the tyres or put a tube in.

If they form at the rim where the tyre meets the wheel then the bead seating area is either out of tolerance or needs cleaning up to ensure a good seal between the tyre and rim.

If its on the inside of the rim then it is porosity or other faults in the wheel itself

Hope this helps it should be able to fetect the source of a leak that takes around 3 weeks to loose tyre pressure. Iit does with my Hoosier street TD tyres which are designed as tubed but which I run tubeless and thus do not have a butyl rubber inner layer to seal the air in properly.

Rohan

[greg.harvey]

Thanks Rohan. I'll try that. Like you say, will at least identify the root of the problem...

[Si_130/5]

Hi Greg,

I had the very same problem with my alloys. The cause turned out to be the wheel itself (the bit under the tyre) which was covered in powdery oxide, flaking the paint off and ensuring a hopeless seal with the beading.
If yours are recent Paul Matty repros then this might not be the answer but mine started going down every three days so I've had them refinished and polished.

Hope this helps,

Si

[Jason1]

I thought of you Si when I saw this post, I thought you might respond

How are the wheels now??? Have you got air in the tyres now?

I look forward to seeing it at Silverstone, leave the euro box at home

Jason

[Si_130/5]

Hi Jason,

The wheels look good but the Dunlop SP10s I've ordered still haven't shown up and the dreaded words 'back order' have been whispered!
I'd better leave the eurobox at home or Club Lotus won't be pleased as my +2 is booked on the stand.

Si

[Jason1]

Guys

Have you seen this stuff before??? It's called 'Flat Free'

http://www.netparts.co.uk/store/index.p ... MAodDV8Uwg

It looks like it would do the job, I saw it advertised on TV.

I don't know if it's any good?

Jason

Si, one day I will see your car

[thor]

Greg, I don't have a solution but would just emphasise for the others here that don't share our luck; the positive side of a small Italian girl as a passenger not upsetting the fine balance of the +2, my fianc?e is from Milan too......

[kayenney]

Yes, Flat-free and similar concoctions seem to work well, BUT, when it's time to replace a tire, what a mess!

Ken
'69 Plus 2
NW Florida

[simonriley11]

If it helps your investigations I fitted a new set of Matty alloy wheels about a year ago and fitted the existing tyres (Goodyear Eagles I think). I have done about 5,500 miles since and have lost no pressure in any of them, so it looks like the wheels are ok.

[greg.harvey]

Thanks to all for the replies! Really useful.
I'll start work on this when I get back from my hols. Off to the Le Mans 24 Hour in about... oh... an hour and a half! Must pack!!

Cheers.

Ps - LOL @ thor ... indeed!

[Si_130/5]

Hi Greg (and anyone with this problem),

Here's a little post scriptum for when you return - If you have the original Lotus alloys the edge of the rims are unusually far from the wheel centre which means the 13" tyres must be severely stretched when getting them off and on. In the hands of a nomal tyre fitter this can be a recipe for disaster as the beading is easily chewed off or cut into by their machine. This happened to me when mine were removed and I lost a tyre which had about 20 miles on it that I'd intended to use as the spare when the wheels came back from the refinisher. The beading on all the others was damaged too.

Enjoy the trip,

Si

Jason - the tyres have just arrived and it should be running by next week.

[Robbie693]

Hi Si,

Are there any specific instructions I could give to the tyre fitter to prevent this from happening? Apart from just 'be careful'

I'd be interested to know what you think of the Dunlops when you get 'em fitted...