I have some old tires on my car that have some dry rot cracks on them and everytime i fill them they lose the air after , i just checked and my pressure was 34psi when i filled them and today the day after it dropped to 20psi according to my gauge.

I dont know if the tires are just really old and thats why they are losing air slowly ? If so I need to replace them soon before the problem gets worse.

 

if you get a spray bottle and fill it with water,add a squirt if liquid dish soap,mix well and spray down your tires,any leaks will quickly become apparent as bubbles.Dont forget to check valve stems too!

 

getting a tire repaired at a shop costs like 15 bucks at the most

and dry rot cracks on the sidewall can make it blow out

 

Tires on old, corroded wheels can leak at the bead. My mom's old Subaru suffered from continuous slow leaks, the beads were in pretty bad shape corrosion wise. Tire shops usually have some bead sealer which is this black tar like stuff that they brush on the bead to help keep the air in, they may not even charge to do it. Another potential cause is porosity of the wheels themselves, although it's not too likely. Damaged beads (curbing) can also cause leaks.

That said, it's likely the tires, which need replacing anyway, since they're not safe to drive like that. So get new tires, get them to clean up the rims and apply bead sealer on the beads, you could also coat the insides of the wheels to cover all the bases.

 

Everything you just said sounds right, the rims were off a car that was sitting in the junkyard and 2 of the tires were flat when I bought them and had some dirt in the sidewall where the tire goes onto the rim and even that at first was making it lose air , im sure there is still some dirt in there. Aside from that the dryrot cracks cant be good, especially when I'm taking a hard corner going sideways popping the clutch to go sideways getting those tires spinning.

I plan on going with 205 50's on my 15 x 6 , 91 Na rims on my s4 na

Anyone have any recommendations for tires ? I want tires that handle well and drift, good all around tires for racing/drifting. Does having the lower profile mess up the accuracy of the speedometer ?

 

It's not the profile that messes up the speedo, it's the diameter, so yes, going to a 205/50/15 will mess up the speedo. A harder tire will be easier to drift and will last longer. Tires that are good for racing aren't good on the street because they don't last long at all (R compound).

 

but the 205 60 15 is the stock size, im only going to lower the profile to 50 getting the 205 50 15's because ive been told they make the car understeer less and are better for drifting. I just dont know what brand tires to get because I'm on a tight budget I dont have too many options to go with.

 

running a smaller diameter will just make your speedo read a little faster than you are actually going... so not a big deal, might even help you not get a speeding ticket. lol. also the smaller diameter will make your car accelerate a 'little' better. but the downside is, you will get slightly worse gas mileage on the highway (and a lower top speed, but I doubt your N/A will get that fast anyway).

as for tire recommendations, and if you don't have a LOT of power, and want to race AND drift on them. I'd just get a budget 'high performance summer' or even 'high performance all season' tire. nothing too sticky or you won't be able to spin them. but nothing too bad, or you won't have much control/feel to the car. its not real critical though what tires you actually get. just look on tirerack or something and choose something in your price range that got good reviews.

 

I was looking into the kumho sport tires they are only about 60 bucks each

 

You can get Dunlop Direzza DZ101's in the size you are looking for from Tirerack for $50 each.

 

Um...205/50 15s are TWO INCHES smaller in diameter than stock...that's a pretty huge reduction. At least run some 205/55 15s....

 

if you are looking to drift don't buy new tires. drifting = tearing them up. no need for new grippy rubber if you are going to drift on them.

first, get a few sets of wheels. 15 x 6, 15x7, 16x8, etc. anything that you can fit a oem size on. then, go ask local tire shops if they would be willing to sell you used tires. many of them welcome to the chance to resell under the table for cheap.

 

At around $50 a tire, he's not going to have new grippy rubber. New yes.... Grippy? Well....

 

Running a 205/50 instead of a 205/60 will make your speedo show 6.5% faster than actual speed. The change in profile of the tires will have little or no impact on whether the car understeers - you can affect that to a degree by playing with tire pressures. Go 3 - 5 psi higher than stock in front, and it will help reduce understeer.

 

Speedometer won't be accurate while sliding sideways anyway

 

What kind of pressure do you run in your tires ? Ive been running 34 psi on all front/rear since someone else told me thats what he runs. I want to get brand new tires because I want something that will last and ride smooth. I dont have money for new sets of rims for my car, I just want something I can practice drifting on and will hold up for awhile and be good quality for the money. I plan on going to a drift event someday after I learn more about drifting and practice more (maybe at a drift event in a parking lot).

And as far as 205 55 15's , I havent seen those on any sites. Ive also heard better reviews on the kumhos ast , the dunlop direzza fell short in test comparisons thats why it has the cheaper price

 

If you are going to be drifting on it, why tear up a "good" tire?

 

i think you are seriously over-estimating the life span of a tire when you are serious about drifting and you can actually drift.

 

If you want to drift and have the tires last, get the hardest (highest tread wear rating), cheapest tires you can find. That means those huge milage rated all seasons, and most won't be available in the 205/50/15 size, but many will be in the 205/60/15 size.

 

So the higher the treadwear rating the better ? 400 means it will last longer than a tire with a 280 ? How about the tire temp rating and traction rating, hows that affect things ?

I want a tire that performs well , not just some cheap tire that wont burn up fast. I know from being with my friend that drifts that if you have a tire that grips too much or that slides to much, it will make it very hard to drift because it will make the car slide uncontrollably and be hard to handle , or it will not want to drift at all because the tires are too sticky and not want to slide at all. I want the tires that will perform without any of those negative side effects and still last some decent mileage, I dont expect them to last forever.

I dont plan on drifting alot, just for fun, but if I ever did get serious about it I would probably buy another set of rims for tires to drift on.

 

A high treadwear rating should last longer, and should grip less, but this is a very big variable. Some 280's will wear out faster than other 140's. It's a self assesed number, so the tire companies give it to their own tires, it's no international standard or anything. Treadwear is a very bad measure of grip though, it's highly variable.

Drifting with little grip is easy. It was incredibly easy to drift my car at this one winter autocross I was at. It was slushy and these snow tires suck, I've got no LSD and a mostly stock suspension, and it was fine. Too much grip will make it hard to get the back end out.

These days nearly everything is A/A rated (traction/temp), so it means very little to nothing.

Define decent milage.

 

There's no one right pressure - it depends on the weight of the car, the suspension set-up, the tire and the style of driving. The way to figure it out is to chalk your tires. Make a heavy chalk mark in 4 places around the tire. Mark from just onto the tread, up onto the sidewall. Now go run some hot corners. Is the chalk worn off right up to the edge of the little triangle marks on the sidewalls that indicate where the treadwear indicators are? No? Drop 1 psi and try again. Worn farther than the little triangle marks? Add 1 psi and try again. When you're using the tread right out to the TWI triangles, you're making use of all the tread.

Now, you can add or subtract a little from that. Generally add a little air to the end of the car that needs more grip (staying under about 40 psi). You can affect the balance of the car substantially that way.

 

45k - 60,000 miles

The one tire that was losing pressure actually blew a hole in it today, not really really bad but it was a good thing I wasnt far from home because the tire was going flat fast and I could just tell because I could hear it rumbling on the road.

I'm looking into getting new tires for xmas as a gift , from what the reviews say the best cost efficient tires are the Kumho Ecsta Spt 205 50 15's. I plan on posting a thread asking for input for those who may be riding on these tires, but from the reviews and tests results I saw they are pretty good.