Driving into work today my "low tire pressure" warning light comes on. This has happened FOUR times previously this year. I bring the car in to get the tires checked and I've had to get the tires patched or replaced. So, again, I will be bringing my car in for yet another tire check, resulting in time lost and money lost from my wallet. WTF are there bolts, nails and other sharp objects on the road? This seriously pisses me awf.

Posted by fedge Driving into work today my "low tire pressure" warning light comes on. This has happened FOUR times previously this year. I bring the car in to get the tires checked and I've had to get the tires patched or replaced. So, again, I will be bringing my car in for yet another tire check, resulting in time lost and money lost from my wallet. WTF are there bolts, nails and other sharp objects on the road? This seriously pisses me awf.

ignore the tire pressure monitor.
it is the biggest piece of horseshit ever installed on a car.
this time of year, they start freaking out.
also, ask to see the shit that was pulled out of your tire. no one is that unlucky.

ask your tech to show you how to reset the system

I have also noticed that the TPMS can trip due to RF interference. The can also be hacked.

tire pressure changes due to the temperature changes outside.
my tires are filled with nitrogen, apparently nitrogen doesn't expand or contract with the changing weather.
instead of taking your car to be serviced every time the light comes on, buy a tire pressure gauge then go to a gas station with an air pump and check your tire pressure.

-you can also buy a puncture/plug repair kit($10). you just pull out the nail or screw, insert the plug and inflate the tire- which is exactly what the mechanic does.
*make sure you do this where you have access to an air pump.

Posted by logtec tire pressure changes due to the temperature changes outside. my tires are filled with nitrogen, apparently nitrogen doesn't expand or contract with the changing weather. instead of taking your car to be serviced every time the light comes on, buy a tire pressure gauge then go to a gas station with an air pump and check your tire pressure. -you can also buy a puncture/plug repair kit($10). you just pull out the nail or screw, insert the plug and inflate the tire- which is exactly what the mechanic does. *make sure you do this where you have access to an air pump.

All good answers... except the Nitrogen.

I don't have a problem with nitrogen, I have a problem with Dealerships and mechanics claiming that if you have nitrogen filled tires, you need to have only nitrogen injected. Air and nitrogen can mix inside a tire just fine, only you're back to expansion contraction again with any air inside. I've never had nitrogen, and I'll never PAY to have nitrogen. Air is free.

I keep a tire puncture repair kit around. You'll need the following to do your own repair....

1) Repair kit
2) Lifting jack (can be the jack that the car has already, or better yet a floor jack / hydraulic jack or bottle jack.
3) Tire pressure gauge
4) air pump or compressor
5) Pliers to remove debris

Optional:

1) Spray bottle of soapy water to find the leak
2) Tire removal equipment, easier to work with it off the car.


Instructions:

Identify leak, might need to inflate again and spray with soapy water until leak is found.

Remove debris if still in tire

Deflate tire

Install plug and patch as per kit instructions

Inflate tire to proper pressure

Spray repair to test for leaks

Install tire again if removed.

Drive away.

that's kind of a great thing about my 07 Cobalt SS... it was the last year before tire pressure monitoring horseshit.

Posted by Nvr2loud All good answers... except the Nitrogen. I don't have a problem with nitrogen, I have a problem with Dealerships and mechanics claiming that if you have nitrogen filled tires, you need to have only nitrogen injected. Air and nitrogen can mix inside a tire just fine, only you're back to expansion contraction again with any air inside. I've never had nitrogen, and I'll never PAY to have nitrogen. Air is free.

The new vehicle I bought comeS with free nitrogen for the lifetime of the vehicle... Or so they say.
This vehicle is only 2 months old, so I can't really say if I'll continue to use it.

Posted by Samurai that's kind of a great thing about my 07 Cobalt SS... it was the last year before tire pressure monitoring horseshit.

I've had the tire pressure monitors on the last Acadia (2008) and the current Acadia (2010) without any real bother. As the temperature dropped off each fall, the monitors would advise of the lower pressure, I've just got the gauge and the compressor out and topped-up for the cold weather. They don't seem to be too sensitive... however I hate automatic crap like that, If I'd had the option I wouldn't have had them installed. I'm sick of being protected from myself LOL.

Posted by Nvr2loud I'm sick of being protected from myself LOL.

thank you.
that's my thought as well.

Just a thought here but as a former tire guy in the south we advised not "toppin" the tires off in the winter due to the fact as you drive, and the tires warm up, it will actually be slightly over inflated. Dunno if that holds true in the frozen north.

Posted by jeepdave Just a thought here but as a former tire guy in the south we advised not "toppin" the tires off in the winter due to the fact as you drive, and the tires warm up, it will actually be slightly over inflated. Dunno if that holds true in the frozen north.

Yes, lower pressure in the snow, however, high enough pressure for safety (above the sensor limit)

'Crap on the road' nearly screwed me over yesterday.

Coming home from work the same route I take every day I have to exit a 3-lane highway via a 2-lane ramp which turns and merges into a different 3-lane highway. They've been doing construction in the area right before this ramp for about a month. This created a lot of grit and rubble on the off-ramp. It was a mix between loose fresh asphalt, bits of tire rubber, and dirt/grit/pebbles from off the highway. I was basically a shitload of little marbles all over the road.

The ramp is a 90 degree left curve which slopes downward to cross underneath the highway you were just on.

Yesterday the road was wet from earlier rain and made the marbles even worse. When I came though the curve going 70 MPH (my car normally can take it faster than that) and started turning I noticed I began sliding to the right out of my lane (I was in the left lane) even though I was turning left. Like winter driving I wasn't sure if there was someone to my right so I was hesitant about steering into the direction of the slide.

Due to the marbles, in less than a second my car was about 45 degrees off axis to the left side and the tires (with great treads on them still) refused to catch. At that point I knew shit was about to hit the fan. There was no saving this one. In my mind I'm thinking about preparing for impact and watching my insurance payments sky rocket just waiting for it to happen as everything starts to happen really slow. Oh, and of course since this off-ramp is going under the highway, it's through a little bridge where the shoulder is very small. That is of course where I spin and I can either crash into a bridge at 70 or stay on the road.

So, my car can only drive sideways for so long at say 60 MPH now before it finally grips and spins. When the spin came I was ready for it and let it happen (not like I had a choice not to let it happen). The best part of this though was that I was able to take it out of gear (manual transmission) soon as it spun so, my engine didn't stall, and my transmission didn't get fucked due to driving backwards while in a forward gear. When I regained control it was at the 180 degree point and stabilized it exactly then.

That meant I was now pointing backwards looking at the two lanes of cars behind me (well now technically in front of me) staring at me. BUT, I didn't just spin and stop. I was able to spin 180 degrees but still keep my forward momentum and keep moving....backwards. I'm now rolling backwards at about 30-40 MPH still while keeping it in the same lane I started in. After 20-30 feet of backwards travel I cut the wheel to the right so that the car whips around to my left.

Then there I am still going about 30 MPH in neutral but now at least traveling forward again in the right direction. I ended up in a different lane after the second 180, but was stabilized with out hitting anyone or anything else. Then I just shifted back into 3rd gear and GTFO of there like nothing happened.

I think my front-left tire did go off the road because the side of my car was plastered in grass and dirt that the tire kicked up. It looked like I went off-roading in my 4-door sedan. But no damage and everyone okay. I hate unexpected surprises like those. I never expected to slide off the road when it wasn't winter or snowy/icy.


TL;DR spun out in my car due to road debris, was driving backwards at 30-40 MPH with other highway traffic, then straightened it out and continued on without stopping like a boss.

good job, Trent!
excellent work.

i love those emergencies that you can't plan for... this gas station i go to is on the inside of a banked corner. On wet roads, I can yank the e-brake spin the car 180, pop the tranny to neutral and roll up to the gas pumps perfectly.

it's talent mixed with stupidity.

oh, you guys cursed my mom... she got a roofing nail in her tire tonight.
even the spare was flat.

Posted by Samurai good job, Trent! excellent work.

Thanks man. I gotta thank a lot of it on video games. Coincidentally I was recently playing a game where you can drive and shoot guns from moving cars and stuff. In the game I spent a lot of time driving backwards and doing wild spins. That practice couldn't at all of hurt.

How this for making your day....driving over a nail as big as a railroad spike...With new 20 in hankook tires and new wheels on my 2004 CHEVY SS TRUCK