How Much Air Does Your 'mechanic' Put In Your Tyres?

[goldfish]

Anyone who has read my posts in the motor section will know I have a lack of respect for these local mechanics. I simply wont let them near my vehicles, not even to put air in the tyres.

Well, I needed a new tyre for my Mio and hadn't gotten around to making some tyre levers yet. In fact I only found out 2 days ago that I had worn a couple of bald patches due to numerous sideways skids, so got a local to fit a tyre. Got it home and checked the pressure. Could feel it was over-inflated, and instead of the 30psi it should have it read just over 80psi. Anyone who knows about pressures will know that too much pressure, even on a moped, will lead to over-heating and distinct lack of grip. Well over double and you may as well ride in the direction of the nearest hospital to save time

If you can't be bothered buying a footpump a pressure guage for tescos may save you more than the few baht it costs

[torngseea]

Couldn't agree more. General proceedure seems to be: fill with air then hit tyre with big metal tyre lever to check pressure. Result: always over inflated. Over inflated 14inch Mio wheels on a wet,slimy rainy-season road. Nice !!

[PeaceBlondie]

The gauges on the pumps at the filling stations, if they exist at all, aren't reliable. Do they actually sell those gaugues that clip to your shirt pocket? I went looking in southern Mexico once, and the only guage they had was priced around $9 - ouch! I'm not sure those gauges are accurate here.

[Rimmer]

Got so fed up with the compressors not working on garage fore courts and incorrect pressures on the motor bike tires from the repair shop that I went and bought my own 150 psi compressor and tire gauge, total cost 3600 baht. Worth it in peace of mind alone

[soundman]

The gauges on the pumps at the filling stations, if they exist at all, aren't reliable. Do they actually sell those gaugues that clip to your shirt pocket? I went looking in southern Mexico once, and the only guage they had was priced around $9 - ouch! I'm not sure those gauges are accurate here.

At my wife's servo, the guage on the air system hasn't worked for the whole six years i have lived in thailand. The air compressor is a 300PSI job PTT special (not the usual 100PSI) & there is no regulator to the outside lines. Sit in the office for a day & you'll hear at least two tyre explosions. Makes you jump every time!!!

I keep telling someone to fix it, but hey tomorrow it will always get done....

Soundman.

[astral]

I check my own tyres, thank you.

[Trevor]

It would actually be safer to under-inflate for better grip, than over-inflate as all Thais do. 100 Baht will buy anyone an accurate +/- 1 or 2 PSI, Taiwan-made pen-style guage at Tescos. And newer bikes (<10 years old) even have the pressures clearly printed on the chainguards or fairings. What more do these people want?

Another thing: some inner tubes have micro-leaks (new tube is the only option, not patching), and they won't get replaced if the user tops up the tyres every few days. This is a common ploy to save buying a 200 Baht tube; patches are 30 Baht each. Secondhand dealers will fit new tyres with leaky old tubes, and it's down to the buyer to replace them. Always re-fit valve caps: keeps the cr*p out, and replacements are always freely available around any public tyre pump! Plus, normal loss-of-pressure through diffusion is high in the tropics, especially on bike tyres; really need to check and top-up weekly. Fortunately the pressures for one or two riders is normally the same on Thai-made motorcycles. As for a family of 5 or 6, who knows ... ?!

[technocracy]

Sounds like the 'mechanics' in Thailand are just as bad as here in Laos!

We have a Mitsubishi L200 pickup here and I had been going on to the wife that I NEED to check the tyre pressures and they seem waaaaaaaay over inflated. The fact that when you drove down a slightly rough road you filling would near enough shake loose was a bit of a give away!

Anyway after 2 attempts of buying some of the local chinese crap gauges I gave up until one of our visits to Udon where in Homepro I found a very accurate (read NOT made in asia) hand held test gauge (350 baht if my memory serves me correct).

In my joy I dashed outside and checked the pressure - bear in mind on the tyre wall it read 'Do not exceed 40PSI', stuck on the gauge low and behold an average of 45PSI all round!!!!! How the hel_l we haven't had a blowout I don't know . . . albeit that said we had numerous punctures. Drop the pressures down to the 28psi front, 32psi rear and it's a total different car!

[Luckydog]

This is a very important thread. It could save lives.....thanks mate.

[Bicko]

This is a very important thread. It could save lives.....thanks mate.

Yep it's true. I took delivery of a brand new Toyota Vigo 4 door 4wd pickup in Bangkok. On the way home to Buri ram hit a fair bump on the road at about 100 klicks and nearly lost the car. The back jumped out and the car was headed for the bush. Fortunately i managed to get it back on the road and reduced my speed for the last 200 k's. Bought a Michelin tyre pressure gauge when i got home and the pressure was well over 40 psi.

Tyre inflation stickers on the inside of the door frame show clearly 29psi. Not real smart and has not given me a very good impression of Toyota servicing.

When I dropped the tyres back to 29psi it drives like a dream.

Watch those tyre pressures or you could be in deep s**t

[Trevor]

HOT / COLD PRESSURES

Rated pressures are always quoted COLD. Allow for increase of around 3 PSI if HOT after running to that pum-num-mun compressor. That is, set HOT to 33 PSI if rated at 30 PSI COLD as printed. Purists might re-check once home and everything has cooled down, being careful not to let out too much air. Way-too-high tyre pressures contribute to numerous loss-of-control incidents, not to mention uneven tyre wear and shaking the vehicle (and occupants) to pieces!

[technocracy]

HOT / COLD PRESSURES

Rated pressures are always quoted COLD. Allow for increase of around 3 PSI if HOT after running to that pum-num-mun compressor. That is, set HOT to 33 PSI if rated at 30 PSI COLD as printed. Purists might re-check once home and everything has cooled down, being careful not to let out too much air. Way-too-high tyre pressures contribute to numerous loss-of-control incidents, not to mention uneven tyre wear and shaking the vehicle (and occupants) to pieces!

On the note of shaking the car to pieces my car had a drive shaft failure on the L200 when I wasn't in the country - bear in mind the car was less than a year old. They were confused as why it could of happened . . . once I had checked the tyre pressures I fully understood why it had happened!

But it is also good point about hot and cold pressures and something that should be remember - but also considering the temperatures in Thailand/Laos the hot and cold thing kind of blurs!

For cold check them at 8am in the morning before moving the vehicle ...

[raro]

Some Jet Stations (both in Pattaya on Sukhumvit) have now fully automated air pumps. You set the pressure, connect the hose to the tyre and wait for the *bing*.

Had new tyres a while ago (from the Cockpti Shop in Ban Chang) and they were ALL FOUR with more than twice the correct pressure. The car felt like hopping over the road and got me very close to loosing it in a sharp turn...

[lingling]

Some Jet Stations (both in Pattaya on Sukhumvit) have now fully automated air pumps. You set the pressure, connect the hose to the tyre and wait for the *bing*.

Those are seriously inaccurate - use a normal pressure gauge to check after using one of those.

[BangnaBound]

Another tyre care issue.

Why do the ‘mechanics’ here insist on over tightening lug nuts. While I recognize tighter is better that looser, I’ve never had a problem with wheels coming off my car in the west, so I don’t see why lug nuts need to be so tight that they require a 1 meter extension on the wrench to get them off in Thailand.

[kmart]

Another tyre care issue.

Why do the ‘mechanics’ here insist on over tightening lug nuts. While I recognize tighter is better that looser, I’ve never had a problem with wheels coming off my car in the west, so I don’t see why lug nuts need to be so tight that they require a 1 meter extension on the wrench to get them off in Thailand.

Because they havn't a f^cking clue! They lose what they can't break, half the time:D Thais are great at "modifying" shit, and doing shoestring budget repairs, but when it comes to sticking to procedure,- existing mechanical or safety blueprints.... forget it. The Japanese car showroom mechanics (Toyota, Honda; etc) are ok, but I always double-check anything they do.

Over-tightened lug-nuts are subject to embrittlement and shearing off, due to the local propensity to jump up and down on the wrench / use scaffolding tube as spanner extensions. Please check your own...

[C-sip-degree]

Another tyre care issue.

Why do the ‘mechanics’ here insist on over tightening lug nuts. While I recognize tighter is better that looser, I’ve never had a problem with wheels coming off my car in the west, so I don’t see why lug nuts need to be so tight that they require a 1 meter extension on the wrench to get them off in Thailand.

Because they havn't a f^cking clue! They lose what they can't break, half the time:D Thais are great at "modifying" shit, and doing shoestring budget repairs, but when it comes to sticking to procedure,- existing mechanical or safety blueprints.... forget it. The Japanese car showroom mechanics (Toyota, Honda; etc) are ok, but I always double-check anything they do.

Over-tightened lug-nuts are subject to embrittlement and shearing off, due to the local propensity to jump up and down on the wrench / use scaffolding tube as spanner extensions. Please check your own...

Guys

I think your pushing the 'Clue' statement a bit far!

Give it a rest, try going too a different garage folks if you’re seeing 1meter extension too tighten wheels your in the wrong shop....wake up....

Pneumatic impact gun are throughout TIT and yes if these are not calibrated via the tool and compressor unit they will over tighten, ‘world wide problem’ so if you do get a puncher and have too remove you will find that the small standard wheel nut lever supplied in vehicle may not be up to the job and you will have to try jumping up and down on this.

But the normal at every tire shop in the Kingdom is too make short work of removing vehicles tires using impact guns for any service required.

All tire pressure advice is good ‘sure’ check it out it’s your ride but don’t just stop there.

There’s a lot more you can add into your check list if you want.

Lastly about the TM hitting the tire which you have probably seen, but only on a bus or truck, if you had any experience you wouldn’t be knocking this technique.

Relax good garages are easy to find.

C-sip

[Bottlerocket]

A friend of mine and his girlfriend were riding back to Chonburi in her car when she remarked at how rough the ride was going. It's a mid-range Toyota saloon and normally rides quite smoothly. They pull into the next gas station and it turns out that at the last stop the girl had inflated her tires to 110psi!!! On 700C rims, ok, but on a car?????!!!!????!!!???

[Trevor]

A friend of mine and his girlfriend were riding back to Chonburi in her car when she remarked at how rough the ride was going. It's a mid-range Toyota saloon and normally rides quite smoothly. They pull into the next gas station and it turns out that at the last stop the girl had inflated her tires to 110psi!!! On 700C rims, ok, but on a car?????!!!!????!!!???

I think many Thai have the fallacious notion that the normal bulge in modern radial tyres must be ruthlessly eliminated in the interests of aesthetic appearance

A simple government information advert on television would help immensely. They need to tackle driving technique, drunkenness AND maintenance. But it won't happen ...

[jeffrosner]

Which side of the car?