Don't Buy tire pressure caps

[tubashaman2]

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[tubashaman2]

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[Todd S. Malicoate]

Schleppy, these aren't designed for big rigs. Cars and light trucks only, with a pressure range from 20-42 PSI.

More dangerous than helpful? Come on. Consumer Reports reviewed caps like these in this article and didn't mention any dangers inherent to plastic caps that engage the valve core all the time. Should these caps ever stop working or break off, the caps are designed to prevent leaking (see here for that source).

I sell these, and use them on my own car. If they do fail and start a slow leak, you have the colored cap to easily tell you there is a problem...if one fails catastrophically, you'll see the flat tire and replace the faulty cap, just as you would a faulty stem. Sure, there is a risk one might break and allow pressure to escape, but you can say the exact same thing for any standard valve stem - those fail too, and at a greater rate than these caps. Chinese-made valve stems that are entirely plastic are a much bigger problem right now.

These caps are a nice "quick check" and remind people to check their tires more often. That's a good thing. I don't understand why you brought up recent motorcycle accidents...are you saying these little valve caps are to blame? Was tire pressure even involved in any of those accidents?

As of the 2008 model year, all new vehicles are required to be equipped with an on-board tire pressure monitoring system so, as older vehicles continue to be phased out, these types of caps won't be an issue for long, anyway.

You do give some good advice...people should check their tire pressure at least every time they get gas, but they often don't. I can't imagine someone coming to your service facility to wait in line for a bay just to get their pressure checked. Let's be honest...you don't make any money doing free service checks, flat repairs, and rotations...you get them in the bay and then convince them to get other services done for a fee. I'm not saying that they don't need it, but you know that's the reasoning behind the free services. Perhaps you should read this review...I realize it's just one case and doesn't necessarily reflect your store, but you just can't keep the lights on and employees paid with free services.

[Todd S. Malicoate]

With all the wonderful bells and whistles on the new cars these days, why couldn't tire pressure be measured and show on the instrument cluster?

That's the new system called TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System). It's mandated on all new cars now. On some cars and light trucks you do have the pressure information "on demand" but on others it's just a warning system for when pressure drops by more than 10% on any given tire. On such vehicles the colored warning valve caps would be pointless and even cause the system to not work properly.

[Uncle Buck]

To me, the arguments of James and Schlep seem a lot more convincing than those of Todd.

[The Big Ben]

Me, I follow the recommendations of all of the sanctioned racing organizations and use nothing but a metal/steel valve cap.

Jeff "Even though I don't drive fast" Benedict

[lgb&dtuba]

I've used those caps in the past. Came out to find a flat tire, too. Never had that problem with regular caps. They're a waste of money, as far as I'm concerned, and cause more problems than they are supposed to prevent. Tossed 'em into the trash - good riddance. Haven't had a flat since.

[tubashaman2]

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[tubashaman2]

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[The Big Ben]

You wanna know why we do free flat repairs and rotations even if people didnt buy their tires from us? Heres why. We are all about safety. We can only repair in the RMA guidelines, meaning no nails in the sidewall or shoulder, no 2 repairs within 90 degrees of each other, sharp angles, dangerous tires,....and none of the better places like walmart, Discount Tire, Firestone, NTB, etc are supposed to do it.

Let's not forget that we frequently can do someone a good deed by selling them something. Making money is not bad. There is nothing shameful about pointing out to someone that they need something that we wish to sell them. Of course, you want to make money off them. That's the idea. You also are giving them peace of mind that their car is safe and someone "has their back" when it comes to their tires. They can say yes or no but will probably buy from you if you show evidence of need right to their face.

[tubashaman2]

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[Dan Schultz]

and TPMS does NOT measure the exact pressure. 5 PSI low can affect gas mileage and TPMS probably won't pick it up.

The TPMS on my Kia works with about a 6psi pressure drop. Problem is... the damned thing doesn't tell you WHICH TIRE IT IS! It's a real pain in the a** when the temperature suddenly drops after keeping the inflation adjusted for warm temps and highway driving.

[tofu]

[tubashaman2]

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[windshieldbug]

You could get a whole bunch more miles a tank just by drafting trucks!