Re: Mr. Bubbles tire leak check

["Lane Flynn" <vortexic@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Skip Bogard advised the Mr. Bubbles method of checking for tire leaks.  This
is fine, but if you don't find anything, take the wheel to a place with a
mounting machine that doesn't touch the rim (anyplace that works on the
run-flat tires should have one) and make them unmount the tire and check
from the inside.  My Michelin Pilot SX MXX3 245/40ZR17 (stock rear tire from
a 96+ M3) on the left rear had lost air a couple of times, so I took it to
NTB.  The techs (two guys, one with a German accent, were both doing this)
filled it to 60 psi and did the bubble check, finding no leaks.  This was a
Thursday, and the tire held fine over the weekend.  When I parked it Monday
morning it was fine; when I got back to the parking lot Monday afternoon it
looked (no gauge on hand) totally flat, so I put on the spare and took it to
another place the next day.  When they dismounted it, the sidewall
collapsed; it had been destroyed by the heat from no air.  Fortunately I got
a decent deal on a new tire from NTB for the inconvenience ($200) and the
shop that had dismounted it put the new one on for free.  Still a huge PITA
to be riding around on the spare for a week waiting to get a new tire in
(actually, last Saturday, I was grateful to have a cheap steel wheel instead
of that nice ///M alloy, but that's another story :).  Just be sure to have
the tire checked and patched professionally if you can't find anything and
go to a reputable place so you can at least get a fair deal if their
check/patch fails.  My $.02.
- --Lane Flynn
BMW CCA #158896
94 325is now with 4 ///M wheels :)

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