tyre looks flat

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Hi,

I checked my tyre pressures last week and all was fine, the car has not moved since however over the weekend I noticed the back tyre looked flat however when pressed its solid.

When I kick it though, it look like it comes away from the rim slightly but again, still maintains its hardness.

Any ideas?
 
Car tyres aren't like bike tyres.
Pressing your fingers into them isn't going to tell you if they're soft or not!
 
Far from drunk :)

Just stuck pump on, pumped up as pressure dropped, heard a release of air from the tyre wall so stopped the pump, pressed finger on air an it stopped, continued pump to 30psi then took finger off and stopped pump.

Couldn't hear the air release then..... odd..... new tyre I need no doubt
 
Yes, 18 inch....

The tyres are crappy unbranded sport one durband or something on the back.

They were all round when I brought the car and when I got the fronts changed, the wall on the inside when deflated was cracked and in real bad condition even though there was plenty of tread on them.
 
I thought may be the wheel is corroding on the inside and bubbling near the edge where the tire meets the wheel causing air to escape. When highly pressurized this can temporarily stop it, so this could be your scenario. Have it checked out as they could need a rub down.
Nitrogen is recommended over air for alloys as there is no moisture content to cause rust and doesn't retract and expand in different weather.
 
get it into a tyre place and get it check out from your post on condition it sounds like a replacement is in order.
 
Is it only flat on the bottom?
 
It was or did only look flat at bottom yes. It's due an mot so ill get it checked out aswell. It is very odd though.

At first I thought it may just be because the car sits often but doubt it would just happen to one
 
Sounds like a very old, poor quality, perished tyre. I wouldn't trust anyone to ride in a car with a tyre in that condition.
 
:) keep the jokes coming !!!!

Another Question.....

Speed ratings..... i have just put the reg into blackcircles and it comes back as.... 195/45/17 81W

Now thats for the wifes car, however her current tyres say 215/40/17 87W

Which is abit odd.... would you be more inclined to go with the ones already on when looking for new ones?

Anyone recommened any decents branded tyres too as i dont wanna purchase value rubbish !!!

She currently has uniroyal sport 1 x 3 and 1 pirelli 7000 (dont know why different)
 
81 & 87 is the tyres load rating the W is the speed rating..
 
Greg said:
Don't bother with those sites where you put the reg in. They are far from reliable.

I agree, but he should still check what tyre sizes are correct for her car.
If they've had it from new, chances are what's on there already is right.
If its pre-owned, could be someone has fitted wider tyres to the wheels previously.
 
Have not had it from new, so I have in idea if they are wider or not..... its a Suzuki swift 1.3 attitude.

Never knew choosing some tyres was so hard or time consuming.
 
That model came with 17" alloys as standard so if a couple of those tyre sites give the same results I'd go with that. Unless you drive it like a granny I wouldn't leave the cheap tyres on either, they're the one thing between you and the road. I remember when I bought one of my previous cars and it had poor tyres on. Nearly spun it on a roundabout in the wet at low speed, never again.
 
Well it varies from 195/40/17 to 225/40/17 possibly 45 on one of them.

They have on at the min uniroyal rainsport tyres which ain't budget but are pretty expensive compared to others.

She doesn't drive like a granny surprisingly

On comparison to mine, I have crap.... durun sport ones on the back..... and nankang on the front..... which on a Leon tdi fr I think is poo.
 
Fpressed finger on air an it stopped, continued pump to 30psi then took finger off and stopped pump.

Do not put your finger on a high pressure gas leak, its not likely but the gas can act like a hypodermic needle and inject its way into your skin and cause some really really nasty damage.

I've seen it happen with hydraulic hoses before and it often results in loss of fingers and hands :thumbsdow
 
Now thats for the wifes car, however her current tyres say 215/40/17 87W

She currently has uniroyal sport 1 x 3 and 1 pirelli 7000 (dont know why different)

Well it varies from 195/40/17 to 225/40/17 possibly 45 on one of them.
Assuming that the Suzuki Swift is meant to have the same sized tyres...

If she has two different size tyres on the front, then change one of them ASAP so that they are identical (definitely identical size, and ideally make and model too).

Ideally, all 4 tyres should be identical (model and size), but the front two are most critical for a FWD car.
 
Sorry, didn't mean size.... was referring to what was currently on and what one of the sites said. Couldn't remember if it was 40 or 45.

On mine, the backs are the ones I'm replacing so is it worth switching the fronts to back and.putting new ones on front
 

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