Does pitting chrome wheels cause a flat tire??
 

Hey guys so I took my 2005 TL with 17 inch factory chrome wheels into my tire store because i had a flat. The guy told me its because my.chrome wheel is pitting inside behind the tire. So it causes it to blemish and deflate the tire. Anyone ever heard of this??? Or am i being taken for my money. Oh yeah he showed me some rims i can buy through them to replace my chrome wheels.

Dude, if you remotely believe that, please sell your TL and cancel your Acurazine membership.

Or maybe you should buy his wheels.....

Think about it...How exactly did this supposedly cause the flat? Did the tire shop fix the flat? If so, how? Probably with a plug where the nail went through the tread...

How does pitting chrome cause a tire to go flat? Do little chrome bacteria eat away at the tire until it goes flat? Do you realize how many chrome wheels are on the street right now? Damn, we'd have an epidemic on our hand if pitting chrome caused flat tires.

Tell him to fix the damn tire and never go back there again. And tell the manager and complain to the corporate office (if there is one).

lol,

Haha just making sure. I have never owned any chrome wheels till i got this to. Thanks man.

The guy's not full of shit...

If the pitting is around the bead, it surely can cause the tire not to be able to hold air as it should. For example, here's a post from clublexus:
http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...hp/t60962.html

Thats funny shit right there....

Yes in only extreme cases. In 90% of cases with chrome wheels, you lose air pressure due to corrosion that builds up around the bead. The bead area of the rim is the inside lip of where the outside part of the tire gets held in place. Ive been a automotive technician for 7 years and have seen this happen once a week.

The fix is having the technician remove the tire off the rim and cleaning the bead of the rim. It would also be wise to use a coating of bead sealer before installing the tire to assure a good contact. If this fails and there is nothing wrong with your tire, you have the extreme case of porous rim.

http://www.familyguyfiles.com/epimag..._001270812.jpg
Knowledge is key, see my post.

:thumbsup: Years ago I've seen chrome steel wheels actually rust through and split at the bead area.

Here's some reading on the subject:
Tire and wheel bead sealing issues
Many times the reason for rechroming can be an air leakage problem. This is where the plating has lost the adhesion between the tire and wheel assembly (bead). Often times this condition is found when having new tires installed to older chrome plated wheels. Many factors can cause this issue, such as older plating, improper tire mounting solution, or fix-a-flat tire sealant. When performing a rechrome we will first remove the plating to examine the corrosion damage to the base material of the wheel. Unfortunately the damaged area may reveal more pitting/corrosion than was apparent with the old plating on the wheel. During the rechrome process every effort is performed to provide as much copper plating time to help fill in the porous holes caused by the corrosion. Due to the severity of the corrosion, this area may still be a concern once the new plating has been applied. Keep in mind, the chrome plating will be brand new, but the end result is only as good as the base material that it is plated on. If the corrosion is very severe, there are additional remedies that can be used to help seal the tire and wheel assembly.

Chrome flaking and "pitting" is a very real problem in the bead area. My friend had a BMW that would have spontaneous flats. Pressure would be fine one minute and the next you're on a flat tire. We overinflated the tires for a winter Vegas trip. When we left we had 45+psi. 60 miles outside of Vegas on the 15 we were on the side of the road in 30 degree weather with a hangover removing the subs to get at the spare. Not fun. This probably happened 10+ times on this car before he got new rims.

I experienced this on my car but only once before I got it fixed.

Next time take a look for yourself. Small pits are ok but all it needs to do is provide a channel for the air to squeeze past the tire and you have a flat. I would also check it when fresh to make sure they did not scratch the chrome off.

Turbonut got it right and it's not just corrosion. Many, many times when the tire is unmounted/mounted the chrome is chipped off and that's what causes problems. I've had it happen with powdercoating too.

With as many problems as I've seen with chrome rims not holding air, I won't use them.

I'm sure the quality of the chrome has an impact but no matter how good the quality is, it's not going to stop the "tech" from scraping it off as he unmounts the tire.

OP,

Instead of buying new rims from that guy, I have some swamp land in Florida for sale. PM me for details.....

Dude, WTH is your issue? Knock it off. Stop flaming him. He came here for advice.

Yes, and I'm giving him advice: His wheels are not causing his flat tire....

Let me be more clear. Did the tire shop show you any of this so called pitting? I'm going to guess "no". Is the rim of your wheel visibly pitted? Is your tire back on the wheel and holding pressure? I assume yes. If his is the case, then how could pitting be the problem?

I'm guessing the tire is back on and you'll have no more problems. If you do, I wouldn't go back to that shop. I've had chrome wheels on now for 7 years and 100,000 miles and no problems whatsoever. I think that guy was just trying to sell you new wheels.

Pitted/flaking chrome is well known to cause flats.

Whether or not this is what caused the OP's flat can only be determined by him with a visual inspection.

Did you read anything I posted? I'm guessing no.

I Hate Cars and Turbonut are speaking the truth. Ive seen it A LOT, ESPECIALLY on GMs (bonnevilles, GPs, ETC). (Im in the automotive field for a living) You can try to use an angle grinder and surface preporation pads, and CAREFULLY grind off corrosion/pitting, then reseal with beadsealer, but this is really only a temporary fix for a permanent problem. Chances are it will reoccur. May last a few months to a year or so. really no way of telling.

Nfnsquared, please stop with the bad/uninformed info.

Whats up guys?
i got a 94 Mustang gt 5.0 and ive been getting a flat tire almost everyday. Tire is brand new but i took it into a shop and they pulled the tire off the rim and showed me where the chrome on the rim was peeling off and in the tire. He said the chrome causes the tire to flatten?!?!? idk if its true or not. my alignment & everything else is fine that they know of. So i took it into another shop and have them grind the inside of the rim down. The next day my tire was flat AGAIN.... So idk, should i get a new rim

Fill it to @ 50 psi, then stick it in a large bucket of water, or your bathtub and see where it's leaking, then you'll know the reason.

I have factory chrome 5 spokes and have had flats caused by the chrome deterioration along the bead. You can wire brush and primer the bead and it should be ok. Very common issue on chrome wheels.

Disturbing to see long time members with such attitude, especially when they are absolutely incorrect

Got to remember, this thread is nearly 4 years old and in that time some have mellowed.

Or left maybe?


While the huge bucket of water or bath tub of water will do the trick, a spray bottle with a 20/80 mix of Dawn/water does the trick well too.

Spray around the bead of your rim, grab a beer, a chair, and wait a few minutes, if you see growing bubbles, may be time to replace the rim.

Good idea, but the problem I see with the spray bottle is that there are 2 sides to the wheel, and also the valve area along with the tire itself should be checked. Have also seen the wheel actually crack and allow air to escape far from the outside of the wheel.

Doesn't only have to be soap/water, pretty much anything that makes bubbles. Personally when I get lazy I use tire shine LOL. Just squirt a couple drops in the suspected area and check for bubbles. Works surprisingly well but just make sure to wipe clean afterwards since tire shine is a bit oily