Rotating the air in your tires.

[trof]

It's a common misconception that the air in your tires should be "changed" periodically, i.e. the "old" air should be removed and replaced with "fresh" air.

Not only is this an "old wives tale", it could be very dangerous. So called "fresh" air contains many more pollutants (which could DRASTICALLY affect the chemical compounds in your tires) than the pure air that was installed at the factory.

Think of the air in your tires not as "old", but "broken in". It has achieved a more acceptable coefficient of compression. It's more "comfortable" for your tires. Think "new shoes" versus older, more comfortable, sneakers.

You SHOULD, however, periodically ROTATE the air in your tires. I do it every 3000 miles, although the manufacturer says every 5000 miles is sufficient. IMHO, sooner is BETTER. It should be accomplished in this manner:

1. Have two (2) U.S. DOT approved containers for the air. You'll see why in a minute.
2. Drain the air from front left tire into one container and the air from the rear right tire into the other.
3. Fill the front left tire with the air from the right rear tire, and vice versa.
4. Repeat this procedure with the front right tire and the rear left tire.

It is VERY IMPORTANT that rotation be accomplished in this manner. Due to the rotational inertial forces contained in tire air, to rotate front left to rear left will cause a reverse-corriolus effect, thus INCREASING the internal wear and tear of the tire and causing adverse steering forces. Many's the time I've pulled some neophyte out of a ditch because he paid no heed to this warning.

It's a good thing you asked.

[LSK]

1. people actually do that? I thought that was a joke?

[trof]

9. Dead serious, my friend.

Extends wear by 100%.

[Oeditpus Rex]

2. Is that the procedure for radial air or bias-ply air?

:shrug:

[trof]

7. Radial. And NEVER mix the two!

Very dangerous.
May cause detonation.

[Zuiderelle]

3. Um, ok, I'll go right out and do that.

:crazy:

Maybe I can use the wading pool in our garage to exchange all that air instead of a DOT approved container.

Or I could use a politician.

[trof]

12. OK, but don't say I didn't warn you.

[Zuiderelle]

13. I think I'll just replace all the air with water.

[trof]

21. If you do, be sure and use distilled.

[texas1928]

51. If you use a politician, you are in for a lot of hassle.

Who wants to have to lobby their tires to move when they want to go some where. And they always want to get taken on a fancy vacation.

[spinbaby]

4. And don't forget Internet spring cleaning!

Remember to shut down your computer on April 1st.

This year, the cleaning process will take place from 12:01 a.m. GMT on April 1 until 12:01 a.m. GMT on April 2. During that 24-hour period, five powerful Internet search engines situated around the world will search the Internet and delete any data that they find.

In order to protect your valuable data from deletion we ask that you do the following:

1. Disconnect all terminals and local area networks from their Internet connections.

2. Shut down all Internet servers, or disconnect them from the Internet.

3. Disconnect all disks and hard drives from any connections to the Internet.

4. Refrain from connecting any computer to the Internet in any way.

[DS1]

5. It's getting really hard to find Kosher air these days

[trof]

8. Ah, you must be running Firestein RodeGrabbers.

Your local rabbi will have a list of approved kosher air suppliers.
And look for the union label.

[texas1928]

6. But the air in the front tires is heavier than the back tires.

That will screw up my gas mileage.

And Check your radio fluid levels.

[Oeditpus Rex]

10. Also — and this is VERY important:

Replace muffler bearings every 10,000 miles.

[texas1928]

30. I just take them off and regrease them myself.

So much easier, and saves a ton of money.

[Oeditpus Rex]

34. Well, that's fine

if you have Rogenschutzer™ bearing races — the kind that aren't welded.

But will Detroit use those anymore? Noooooooooooooo!

[texas1928]

36. I just cut and reweld.

it is faster.

[trof]

37. Look, I know a thread hijack when I see it.

I've been a victim of this insidious tactic many times before.
People don't want to hear the truth in the OP so they try and take the thread off on some wild tangent.

THIS THREAD IS NOT ABOUT MUFFLER BEARINGS!
Go start your own thread.

Yes, it's important.
And you really should use lithium grease.
But there's a time and a place for everything and this is NOT the time or the place for a discussion about muffler bearings.

DO YOU READ ME?
ARE WE CLEAR?
Thank you.
:-)

[trof]

11. Only on front wheel drive cars.

The procedure I show is for FRONT wheel drive vehicles.
You should reverse the process for rear wheel drives.
For all wheel drive the procedure should be reversed AND inverted.
Glad you asked.

I have one of the new sealed radios.
No need to check fluid level, ever.

[Zuiderelle]

14. You shouldn't mislead people. Everyone knows you must invert first before reversing.

[trof]

15. Well, on Renaults that would be correct.

But not on American or Japanese made cars.
The same for Korean made cars, but every 2000 miles.

[texas1928]

31. I just take it to the dealer. They have coupons in the area wide phone book.

Makes it really cheap. Or you can take it to GAS PASSERS.

[trof]

39. GAS PASSERS comingles their air in a mass storage tank.

You may get the air from a '52 Buick Roadmaster running recap blackwalls.
Not good.

[texas1928]

46. They used to...

Now they have a machine that pulls it from two tires at once and then has a reverse capacitor on it to push it to the new tire. No more contamination. 60 minutes did a story on it, didn't you see it?

[Rosie1223]

16. Damn! I had my tires rotated on my lunch hour

and I don't see anywhere on the work order that they properly rotated the air as well!

I'm going back right after work and demand they complete the task properly. Thanks for the heads up.

[pokerfan]

17. What should motorcyclists do?????

They don't have left/right tires. And the front tire doesn't have enough air to fill the rear.

Sounds like bikers are screwn.

[trof]

18. You can get a can of factory air at any Harley Dealership.

Most bikers get the 10,000 Mile Air that's already broken in.
Costs a little more, but they say it's worth it in ride comfort.

[pokerfan]

19. Thanks!

Can I use HD air in my XV1000?

[trof]

20. Woops. No, for a Yamaha you need Ichi Ban Tires Gasses.

It's cheaper online from eBay.

[lost-in-nj]

22. OMG

When our daughter was going to get her very first oil change in her first car her father looked at her and said

don't forget to tell the to change the air in your tires...
so they don't rot....

as she was getting ready to leave she wrote a list...

oil
ww fluid
check anti freeze
change tire air

she said "can you think of anything else"

well we were hysterical.....
laughed for an hour I think....

before she left we told her she didn't have to do that....

we still ask her if she got her air changed when she gets her car serviced...


lost


LOL

[texas1928]

56. I worked with a girl who was complaining about her radio not picking up a signal.

We told her to check the radio fluid. She actually took it to a local shop and asked them to do it. She said the mechanic laughed for about 10 minutes.

[Kutjara]

23. I don't use air in my tires, because I've heard...

...air is a greenhouse gas and I don't want to contribute to global warming any more than I have to. Anyway, my car looks so cool riding on its rims, it could easily be mistaken for one of those exotic Italian supercars with the ultra-low profile tires. The constant grinding noise slightly undermines the illusion, of course, but apart from that and the constant stream of sparks, you'd never know.

[trof]

24. Bet the sparks look cool.

[Kutjara]

25. People certainly notice me.

Which is the real purpose of having a cool car, anyway.

[Recursion]

26. Similarly, you don't need to "change" your oil

It's fine to just keep pouring new oil in as the old oil burns off.

[trof]

27. Are you still using the toilet paper roll filters?

;-)

[Recursion]

29. Trof, my first car was a 1976 Ford Ranchero

My preventive maintenance consisted of, and I'm serious about this, pouring in a quart of oil every morning to replace the quart that had burned off the previous day.

[trof]

32. Well then...in effect you're rotating the oil in your car.

I think that would work.
;-)

[CreekDog]

28. You should have this done by the dealer

otherwise it may void the warranty on the air in your tires. :think:

[trof]

33. Look, Mr. Moneybags...

Not ALL of us can just have Jeeves whip the Bentley into the dealer every time the ashtrays are full.

Some of us serfs have to do our own shade-tree mechanic maintenance.
And if we get some grease under our fingernails we don't have our secretary tell our manicurist to drop by.
Jeez...
:eyes:

[CreekDog]

35. Gasp!

Failure to have ashtray maintenance performed by the dealer's certified service technicians can invalidate your warranty! :yoiks:

[azmouse]

38. Is today April 1st ?

:popcorn:

[trof]

40. Nope, that doesn't come until 1 April.

This is your basic nonsense/stream of consciousness/snappy rejoinder thread.
I love 'em.
:-)

[azmouse]

41. Will we have more of these threads on 1 April?

I sure hope so! :hi:

After playing on the battlefield that's called GD: P for a few days I need a good laugh...

[trof]

44. Well, you ever wonder what happens to the rubber?

The rubber that wears off your tires?
Where does it go?
I have a riff on that too.
Stay tuned.
;-)

[tavalon]

42. I've heard of rotating the tires, but rotating the air?

Never heard of it. And the only time the air gets replaced in one of my tires is if I have had a puncture.

[trof]

43. More people are finding out about this.

I just bought a new Prius and the owner's manual covers it.

[FloridaJudy]

45. And how often

Should I get the flux capacitor filter changed?

[texas1928]

47. Every 10,000 time travels.

[trof]

48. Intergalactic, or intragalactic?

There's a BIG difference ya know.

[texas1928]

49. Don't matter, they all count the same.

Time travel is time travel.

[trof]

50. I think you're messin' with my head.

:silly:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

52. So if I suck the air from the LF tire while my husband sucks the air out of the RR tire

we could accomplish this task quite quickly?

What happens if you don't rotate the air?

[texas1928]

54. It settles, and then your tires get square.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

58. How can it settle when the tires move?

Pardon my ignorance...

[trof]

57. 1. NEVER try this orally.

2. You don't have the lung capacity.
3. There are ingredients in factory air that are designed to prolong the life of your tires. But they could be detrimental to your health.

See the disclaimer:
"Factory air is ONLY for use in tires.
Possible side effects if used for human consumption may include (but are not necessarily limited to) shortness of breath, dizziness, rapid heartbeat, elevated blood pressure, that 'burning' sensation, blurred vision, B.O., halitosis, impacted wisdom teeth, dry mouth, chapped lips, acne ('zits'), joint pain, and iron deficiency anemia.

Also...shake well before using, take with food, do NOT take with alcohol."

As you can see, this method is NOT recommended.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

61. OMG! Not halitosis!

:rofl:

[trof]

63. Yes mam. It's a well known fack.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

69. When do you start talking about lubing the johnson rods?

[trof]

70. It's in the chapter on strunches, but that's Off Topic.

[texas1928]

64. you forgot, Give you an awful case of the wind.

[trof]

53. Look, folks. This started out as a simple PSA thread.

Now it's morphed into stuff about muffler bearings and radio fluid and time travel and motorcycles and I don't know what all.

Lets just concentrate on the OP.
It's important.
And you needed to know about it.
And that's what I'm here for.

I sure don't want this to become the next 'kudzu' thread.
Far from it.

Thank you.
trof
:-)

[Gormy Cuss]

55. I refilled my tires with cans of

Whoop-Ass when I lived in Massachusetts. It helped me get through the rotaries.

[trof]

59. I think you're screwn.

Possibly.

[CreekDog]

67. what about the universal velocity joint?

does that need the special air too? :shrug:

[trof]

71. Ambient is fine.

[Fox Mulder]

60. Shit, while I'm at it...

I should change the blinker fluid and rotate the handles on the doors.

[trof]

62. Yeah, ya gotta stay on toppa that shit.

Or it'll get away from ya.
Ya know?

[CreekDog]

68. that's a job for the dealer

they have special tools and certifications to ensure that when you have this done by them, they will keep your car running right. :)

[trof]

65. If this doesn't make the DUzeys, they're FIXED!

Yeah, that's a throw-down.
Lets see what ya got.
Wusses.
:grr:

[doc03]

66. I'll tell you what I have done for years, when you get

a new car drain out the air and replace it with helium. The helium will make the average car about 800 pounds lighter, I have found I improve may gas mileage by around 20%. Sometimes it's hard to find a service station that carries helium though, if you call around you can usually find one in any area.

on edit: Helium is usually sold by the pound, I think it was around 50 cents the last time I bought it. It will usually cost about $11 per tire since most tires carry about 30 pounds of air or 22 pounds of helium.

[trof]

72. Wow! Gotta try that.

I bet my Prius would get about a brazillion mpg.
Thanks.
:thumbsup: