I searched real quickly for this topic. No avail. Doesnt seem to be touched in this forum either...

Valve stems are those short rubber thingies that popout of the wheel where you attach air. So you can put air into the wheel.
(Correct me if im wrong here)

So, anyone have any recommendations where I can find valve stems?

Are there any kinds of valve stems that I should stay away from?
(Known brands which air leakage problems?)

Are there any kind of valve stems you would recommend?
(Answering this one would be a great plus!)

Like are there valve stems they use on tires in Nascar? or F-1? (heh) that are used for our street wheels/tires?


Thanks in advance.

- Ulysses

 

valve stems are valve stems, they should be the least of your concern
they are cheap, hardly ever fail, and don't leak.
get whatever they give you free when mounting your tires

 

Thanks bri, but it would be nice to know which ones do fail and which ones to avoid. It would be nice to also know which ones are good too. I'd like to know what im putting on the wheel. It isn't just to slap a valve stem on, but to also get more informative on the subject as it hasnt been touched.

 

Valve stems (except for specialty ones designed specifically for certain wheels - RARE) all have the same guts - called the valve core. This standardized unit is considered the brains of the operation. Rubber valves (the default) use the same valve core as the metal valve stems that come with my SSR Competitions. So, a metal valve stem that clamps to the wheel looks better and can be reused, but one should replace the valve cores every time he gets new tires as preventative maintenance. A rubber valve, however, that is replaced at each tire replacement costs less and requires no valve core maintenance because they're already put together.

 

Thanks Dexter, as always, you are the Takahashi Ryousuke of Tires. Though, where do you get those metal valve stems? This seems like a minor (yet cool) modification to do on a wheel.

 

Perhaps you can help, Dexter...what happens if the valve stems on these "rare" wheels were stolen. I have a set of SSR's and this just occurred to me.

 

woah !? they stold your metal valve stems or just the caps?that sucks. i can give you some rubber valve stems,just let me know where you are. i work w/ tires and as fas as leaking goes it usally happens w/metal valve stems.but on some wheels u can only use a metal valve stem.all most all have valve cores which can be replaced.hope i helped you in someway.let me know if you need any other help...

 

Dexter-
When you buy tires at TireRack, do they include the valve stems, or do you have to get them when you mount them?

 

They should be included with mounting and balancing fees.

 

The only thing you should be careful about regarding metal valve stems are the possibility that the metal locking fastener within the stem itself can fall out. When this happens, like it did to me, the fastener actually gets stuck between the tire and the rim, making the most irritating "klink, klink....." sound in the whole world below 10 mph. Then you have to spend money to unmount, remount, and re-balance your tire. Not fun at all.