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Old 11-23-2011, 06:54 AM   #1
Pebble Pounder
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Regina, Saskatchewan
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Default Flat-spotted tire

Had a weird experience yesterday..I was out testing some new gearing in the Wraith, bashing through the snow and ice ( finally above zero so you could be outside without freezing)
after awhile, I noticed a bad wobble in the right front wheel. Looking at it closely, I had two significant "dents" in the tread that would not re-inflate.

I'd played around with a bunch of different foams before deciding what to run with R-35 ripsaws on CAC EZ-loc beadlocks and it got me wondering if I'd forgotten to change out one of the memory foams that I'd tried.

When I got home, the tire was still flat-spotted, so I pulled the wheel and started to dismantle the beadlock. As soon as I'd loosened two bolts, the tire tread popped out to it's normal profile.

The only thing I can figure is that the pressure relief hole in the rim was plugged, and I'd hit something in at least two places with that wheel that compressed the foam, pushed enough air out of the inside of the wheel to keep the foam deformed, and wouldn't allow any air in for re-inflation.

My first thought at the time was snow/ice, but even after 20 minutes drive home in a warm truck, and another 1/2 hour on the bench before I started to pull the wheel, I'd expect any snow plug to have melted out...??? All of the rest of the snow on the truck and packed into the wheels was gone by the time I started working on it.

Any other ideas? On one hand, it's good to know the wheels and tires are sealed up tight enough for that to happen in the first place ( BTW, the foam in the tire was bone dry) despite splashing through a bunch of puddles, etc). On the other hand, I don't want to flat spot a wheel like that and have to dismantle it to get the foam to re-inflate.

I'm thinking today I may add an extra relief hole to the wheels, just to improve the air movement a bit
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Old 11-23-2011, 07:13 AM   #2
I wanna be Dave
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
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if its sealed (if the hole is plugged) just going out in the cold air can bring the air pressure down, and memory foams suck when it gets cold as they get hard as a rock.
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Old 11-23-2011, 07:47 AM   #3
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Yeah, just drill more or larger vent holes in your rims. I use 2) 1/8" holes per wheel. I have a couple of un-vented wheels (scale spares) and I noticed the other day that they are "flat" like yours because they're cold now (out in the garage). Their vented matches are just fine.
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Old 11-23-2011, 07:51 AM   #4
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Hillsboro, OR / Kapolei, Hi
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Drill and tap the hole. That way you can seal them up again if you want to go swimming.
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