Maintaining proper pressure in the fifth tire

Arizona Kim:

the power button for the radio is on the dash. i was not going to admit it, but it took me about 3-4 days for me to find it also. all the other controls were on the touch screen or the steering wheel, so i limited my search to that and turning the volume down real low...

there is also a volume control knob if you want a slightly faster way of changing the volume.

 

radio power button



thanks Dave! I think I spotted that button just yesterday but I still haven't turned off the radio/cd player it's just too dam comforting to have it always on :lol:

it also took a few days to discover the hidden storage area just underneath the CD player that opens when you push in on the dark plastic
and it's deep enough even to hold loose fav CD'S
not too sure if I risk scratches but they don't move around much and that's been the best use I could come up with the extra storage for now

 

If you're worried about draining the 12V aux battery, power up in Park mode. The battery will be recharged from the HV battery, and if the HV battery starts to get low, the ICE will run to top it up again. I've sat in the car for an afternoon listening to music and reading my book; the engine ran once for about five minutes.

Sure, it will use a bit of fuel and dent your mpg score, but, hey, nothing's free, is it?

 

There are alternatives to removing everything to check the spare tire pressure. Check this:

http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?L1..._3530&SKU=44407

You can use this to make your spare pressure available just by arranging the hose through a convenient location hole somewhere in the tire cover/mat. I'm sure there are other manufacturers of the same item, I just Googled for a spare tire air hose and this one can up in the list.
BillT

 

Anybody that has ridden a bicycle extensively, knows that the tires will only hold the desired pressure for a few days at most. That is because rubber is porous. Butyl tubes used in high pressure bike tires (120 psi) can hold the air longer than latex tubes, but they all still leak air at a steady state. The thickness of the tube/tire helps in slowing down the leakage.
The extenders sold by most auto speciality places are cheap. The hose is the same that is used on bicycle pumps, which is fine for short duration usage, but not for static usage. It will end up being the weak link to your backup spare tire. Even the connector to the valve stem is bicycle pump quality.
I have found stem extenders (Google) used for tandem truck tires, that are made from high pressure hose with steel braid, but the web sites don't sell these items to consumers.
If anybody has a source for such items, I would be interested.

 

hmmm my bike has inner tubes and the front ones i dont think ive put air in them in 2 years.

the back ones only last me about a year at the most, and those i seem to have to put air in every 2-3 months.

 

OK this is dumb and I am totally too lazy to get up, go outside, open the hatch, and get at the tire, but (there is always a but) can't you turn the tire over and store it stem up?? I will look at it tomorrow. Yes I am a lazy butt.

 

nope.

well you can, but it wouldnt fit right. there is a raised mount that the tire bolts on to.

the wheel is recessed on the side where the stem is (obviously it cant be the other way around because the stem would stick out beyond the wheel that way.

i guess its done that way because the tire isnt wide enough to center the wheel in the tire. so the wheel is flush on the mount side so the tire sticks out far enough i guess.

 

The spare in my wife's Subaru is mounted valve up. You could make use of the extra space inside the wheel if it could be mounted the other way around (ie. the Prius and my Odyssey). However, I was happy to be able to check the pressure without removing the tire. Perhaps an intentional design so people would be more likely to check it?

 

If that spare is 9 years old, you should really be looking to getting it replaced. I dont think I would want to trust it. Tyres over about 5 years old are not very safe as the rubber will deteriorate.

 

If you haven’t already, go read Danny’s thread at http://priuschat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=3808
regarding the use of nitrogen in car tires.

1) N2 leaks out at a slower rate.
2) N2 helps preserve the tire and rim.

I’m surprised Toyota does not use N2 . . . . or do they ? (I don’t know)

 

One of these would be well worth $12.00 and it would fit nicely under the tire.

http://www.tri-specialties.com/DisplayDeta....aspx?which=265

 

I don't think it would do much for a car tire, not nearly enough volume.

 

I'm sure it would i it were exposed to the elements. I would think being in the car and covered it would be fine. It looked quite shiny. However, I'll ask my dad. He had a rubber products manufacturing business for 35 years, I guess he would know

 

actually the can although small will expand quite a bit. for the relatively low pressure of a car tire, that one can will probably do as much as two tires, one for sure.

 

You might note that it is from a "bike, swim,run" shop. If it will fill a bike tire without exploding it, I don't think it would do much for a car tire. I have a similar cartridge in my inflatable life vest, I would guess the volume is at most 1/4 that of a car tire. I do wish they had more info on the site, like can you slowly add pressure, or is it like the life vest, everything all at once.

 

i had a similiar looking can (although mine was a full size aerosol) that was supposed to fill two full sized car tires. i never had a chance to use the can so i dont know how well the can worked.

i do remember reports of some cans having no pressure in them. i dont know if that was from the cans being old or the valve being defective.