New Tire Leaks; Sealant OK?

[Tom Grossmann]

I posted this on FB as well.

One of my brand new Hoosiers has a pin hole leak in the side wall. It drops about 1psi per hour. Is some kind of sealant acceptable?

[Garey Guzman]

I would replace the tire. I've never used sealant on a race tire.

The only reason I would use it on a car or trailer tire is to get to the next tire shop on a trip.

[Tom Grossmann]

I figured it would need to be replaced but thought I'd check to see.if there was an alternative.

[hdsporty1988]

About 30 years ago when I was running club ford, I got a small hole in a tire during a race day. Running on a small budget and having no spare set of tires, I put some Fix a Flat in the tire. To my pleasant surprise it worked! I ended up running it for several race days.

[DanW]

First of all, 1 PSI per hour is slow enough to last a 30 minute race or practice session without issue.
I have one right now that leaks slightly less than that. Race tires will leak, especially the ones with cantilevered sidewalls.

The leak may be hard to seal unless you lay the tire down on its side so the sealant can cover the pinhole. Another possibility is to dismount the tire and lay a little silicone sealant with your finger over the area.

[Garey Guzman]

Since you said "a pin hole leak in the side wall", I assume that you see the hole and it is in the sidewall. As soon as I read that, I thought about T1 or T2 at Willow Springs with a pin hole in the sidewall. That's a lot of load. For me, no way would I risk that.

OTOH, it the leak is between the tire and wheel, that's less of a deal breaker in my experience. If I cleaned the wheel properly and used a proper amount of lube (soapy water), I will have virtually no leaks. But if I'm lazy in mounting the new tires, they might leak a little, maybe even as much as you mention, though usually not that much.

[Rick Kirchner]

geeze - just put some soapy water on the sidewall of an american racer sometime....

If it's not an actual hole caused by a foreign object, but a leak caused by such a small amount of rubber on the sidewall, I'd take a paint brush and slather some on while dismounted and call it good.

[Tom Grossmann]

I seriously doubt Hoosier would replace it. It's more of a nuisance the a problem. I only expect slicks to hold for 24hrs.

[Lotus7]

brand new Hoosiers

seems they owe you a tire, no?

[FVRacer21]

seems they owe you a tire, no?

Most tires have 50/50 warranty - 50 seconds or 50 feet from when they were sold.....

On the other hand - most of the current Hoosier tires I have bought hold the air almost as good as a street tire, as long as you clean the bead area on the rim. There are rim sealers like this:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/STEELMAN-32...ant/1002649936

available but I have not personally tried them. I have had a few sets of rain tires that have side wall leaks (and American Racers fit this category as well). Sprayed the inside with Flex Seal or similar and made a big difference.

You might want to dismount, look at the inside, and call Hoosier if it is only one spot, and a visible pin hole. Let us know what they say.

PS - If you could get the leak to offset the pressure increase due to heat build up .............self regulating tires???

ChrisZ

[Tom Grossmann]

My tire guy is checking for me, so we shall see what happens.