MTFCA Forum

After new tires and tubes were mounted in 2015 my car has yet to be driven out on the open road. The pressure drops from 32 psi to 19 psi in 30 days. This seems excessive although someone once told me that they will hold pressure better after they have seen some use out on the road.

One of the tubes had a leak from new (purchased from Coker through a local supplier) but the supplier did not ask for any detailed explanations about how it happened and replaced it right away.

I don't know if tire tubes have a distinctive style or look to them which would allow their brand to be identified, but after reading on the Forum that some makes are prone to splitting I would like to know if anyone with some experience could identify these tubes as "likely suspects".

Here it is just out of the package: Here is one of its brothers posing with the rim and tire: Here is the soapy water giving away the leak: My intentions are to finish the restoration of my car this year so things will need to be in perfect working order in the next months. I would hate to throw away unused tubes but if the probabilities of a blow-out are high I would rather know it now and look into getting something else more reliable.

Seems lately there are two good tubes...Blocked, from Europe and Hartford that Langs sells. I've had great success with the Hartford's. Matter of choice I guess. Have no idea if either brand has them in the 450 size.

Do the Hartford tubes have a blue stripe running the perimeter like this?

Several things which could be a cause, but which one?
1.If the tube has been setting folded for a long time, it could crack where it was folded.
2.A very small almost undetectable leak at the valve core could cause the problem
3.I notice in the pictures, you have split rims but I don't see any tire flaps. It is very common for the tube to get caught or stretched at the location where the rim is split and could cause a leak.
3.When the tire is inflated, the valve stem must be completely straight at the hole in the rim. If it is leaning to one side, it will put strain on the tube.
when you get ready to install a tire, first inflate the tube and submerge in water and look for bubbles coming out of the tube and stem. If there are bubbles, you have a leak.
Then let out all the air and install the tube in the tire. Next install the flap carefully placing each side inside the tire to lay flat inside the tire. use a little air in the tube to keep it straight but not enough to expand the tire at the bead. Then with the rim retracted, slide the tire on one side and then the other. Start at the valve stem and work out in both directions. You might need a couple tire tools to pry it over the edge. Then expand the rim being sure to get the stem centered and pointing straight out. Inflate the tire at least to the recommended pressure and then let out all the air. This first inflation will stretch out the tube and the release of the pressure will equalize the stretching of the tube so it is not stretched thin or have a wrinkle in it. Then finally inflate to the recommended pressure.
Norm

I've gone thru the tube game on my 30 x3.5 clinchers. Started with Hartford rubber stems and had two fail at the stems....cut on the sides by the edge of the clincher tires. I then ground out a little material on the tire bead where the stem was and no more flats. Nonetheless, it bothered me enough that I ended up buying five Blockley brass-stemmed tubes and haven't had any problems since. I inflate my tires to 65 psi and after sitting on jackstands from November to April the tire pressure had dropped around 3 psi. I use flaps and think they do a good job of protecting the tube. You have a little different situation but I will say without reservation that if you can get a Blockley tube in your size you will not be disappointed. It is a quality product made by people who believe that quality counts.

The Hartford Tubes I have seen do have the Blue line plus their name in bold letters. To me, that’s a great sign if the manufacturer puts their name on it as they have confidence in their product. Blockley do exactly the same with both their Tyres and Tubes.
Alan In Western Australia

I figured that putting the manufacturer's name on the tube was a thing of the past.

Here's the only one I have with a name on it. It was put in the spare tire around 1965.

As I recall, I used to buy Wards tubes for under $5. They never has 30 X 3.