I have tires purchased in 2015 on a 2012 car with a persistent leak in 2. I do not believe the dealership replaced the valves or sensors when they put on the new tires. I am thinking 12 year old valves and batteries are do for a change and could likely be the cause of the leaking. The tread is still good but I am looking to just get 4 new tires with new valves and sensors and maybe not have any more problems.
A local shop has this on their site:
including our exclusive tire brands, Hercules® and Vredestein.
Are these worth considering or should I just grin and bear it with a Michelins or Goodyears.
Also any problem with a cloning of the sensor info?
I tried that, did not see anything. Changing tires and valves should eliminate 2 out of 3 possible sources. So say it is the casting that has a slow leak, junk yard for replacement or spray some kind of sealant?
Whether you replace the tires or not, I would do as @Tester suggested and mix up some soapy water. Pump the tires up and swab it around the valve stem and rims to look for bubbles. Take the valve cap off. I had a trailer tire go flat over night after pumping it up due to a stuck valve core. Wheels can rust where they seal the tire so you will know if they will need cleaning of the rust or not and maybe bead sealer. Either way it is better to know where they are leaking to advise when the new tires are put on.
I recently encounted the slow leak problem too, in my case it was random slow leaks on various tires.
Your solution is correct, at that age, valves, batteries and tires are all at or quickly approaching their demise so your best and cheapest solution is to bite the bullet and replace it all.
I’d add that as important as your tire is the quality of installation so I’d first find a qualty Independent tire shop that has the knowledge and experience to properly mount and balance your tires AND will take the extra few minutes to do things like clean/wire brush your 20 year old rims to avoid future slow leaks.
And BTW Hercules tires are manufactured by Cooper and Vredestein is owned by Apollo Tires of India but still manufactured in Holland but possibly not for much longer.
And if I remember Cooper does not have a great rep. I will talk to the locals; American Cycle and Tire. Should I expect the pricing for the tires alone to be close to TireRack?
Almost certainly true. I don’t subscribe directly, but I do have subscriber access through my public library. I sign into my account from home and have access to all online materials including Consumer Reports.
Yeah I’ve bought two sets of those over the years for my Pontiac and like them. With inflation and higher oil prices, I think I paid about $600 out the door at my local dealer. (Compared to about $1100 for Goodyear on the Acura.)
All things considered I have never seen much advantage price or otherwise in ordering tires on-line. There was very little difference in overall total price, plus the negatives of not having a local dealer for free rotations, balancing and service.
I just deal with a local dealer. I needed white wall tires once to last about a year and the dealer sold me some recommended off-brand, made who knows where tires for about $100. They actually were very good tires in rain and snow and were quiet. So I just pick the brain of the local dealer.
I also have had the General Altimax RT43 tires. they are a good all-around all-season tire. the only complaint I have with them is the side walls seem to be weaker than other tires I have had. so, belt shifts might be a problem in high pothole areas.
I’ve had bead leak problem on older tires before. The way I test them is remove the tire, then place it on the ground, shimming as necessary, testing w/a spirit level so it is perfectly horizontal. A little soapy water around the rim, check an hour later, a sheet of bubbles points to the culprit. In my case it was where the tire weights were located.