Simple question. tires on my car are a bit unbalanced air pressure wise (40+psi with one of the front being higher than other tires). so i would like to find out a way to deflate them..

I've searched and i saw a few websites showing, you can deflate them by pressing on the air inlet with a small rock, bb bullets, tooth picks etc... (I guess what they meant by 'air inlet', is the center, pointy thing inside the valve stem..)

should i just stab the sidewall and rip it about an inch or so?
back up on nails?

 

On the back of most tire pressure gauges there is a little stubby button for exactly that purpose. Just press it on the tiny valve inside the stem and ..... hssssss.

 

got cha
thank you chow

 

You can usually use the dust cap itself. If it won't work inverted, just insert it at an angle.

 

i just freeze mine (to lower psi).

 

Remember to always slightly over fill then empty (or freeze) to the proper psi. To go with chows suggestion, I know I had to upgrade from the 75 cent pressure guage to the $2.30 guage, but it gives much more prcise readings and I get the the pressures perfectly balanced, which is good in the MINI where I can feel a small differance in tire pressures.

 

A Phillips head screwdriver does well also... choose a larger one that will depress the stem inside the valve but not get into the valve all the way.

 

OK, here's how I have done it for years, from racing karts, all the way up to my big kart---my 2003 MCS---addmittedly (is there one d or t? or two?) this is a cheap trick, but it works every time with very little practice...

First; go buy a tire pressure gauge---what ever flavor you want. DO NOT trust the air hose gauges---ever. Then...

Example;
Say I want 38 PSI in my tire; Using my handy-dandy air compressor, I intentionally inflate the tire to a bit over 40 PSI using the highly inaccurate gauge on the air compressor's hose...then I take out my precision digital tire pressure guage made out of extremely low weight "unobtanium racing alloy" (Lotus Patent), or you can use the $3 Pep Boys model, the technique is the same, and press it onto the valve stem to measure the intentionally too-high pressure. Now---no matter how good you are, me included, the pressure guage never seems to seat correctly the first time you stick it on, (that's good, it's a practice measurement) so some air leaks out. Adjusting my "angle" to get it just right, I put the gauge on again, and get it to seat correctly, and take a reading; It's way too high! THEN I take it off SLOWLY...so air leaks out. THEN, without changing my angle of attack, I instantly stick it back on and read again. It's still a little high, at 39 PSI. So, I put it back on, read the gauge, and THEN take it off slowly... you get the idea; I'm letting it leak intentionally as I put it on and off again, until I get it DOWN to EXACTLY the pressure I want.

Now, (this is important), as I get closer to the exact pressure I want, I'm jambing it on and off pretty damn quickly---so it leaks less and less as the gauge goes on and off quickly and zeros in on the pressure I want. I hope you get the idea; Putting it on and off slowly means bringing pressure down with large corrections, and putting it on and off quickly means bringing pressure down in small corrections. Try it a few times at your next filling and you'll be surprised how easy it is, and you'll never spend more than a few minutes getting perfect tire pressures again!

So, a little practice at this method and you'll see what I mean---and you'll get really fast at getting it perfect every time without yo-yoing up and down with the air hose again.

Oh, BTW, this method is VERY important at those rip-off gas stations where you get a few moments of air for fifty-cents. Just quickly over inflate all four, and then at your leasure cruise around the car and bring 'em all down to exactly what you want. (you can send me your extra quarters as a thank you!)

Good luck!!!

The "Y"
2003 MCS with a few goodies...
PS - Please fergive me spelling, I don't spell czeck when I talk about kars

 

^^ dang, that's a lot of work for just pushing the pin in the center of the
valve.

 

What he said

This ain't brain surgery. Stick a thingie in the valve and let the air out ... duh

 

I sell special pebbles designed just for this job. $5 including shipping. Just send me a pm and I'll send you a tire deflator pebble.

 

As a long time autocrosser, I was very happy to come across this tire pressure gauge:

http://www.longacreracing.com/catalo...id=840&catid=8

I hook it to our air compressor (or our portable air tank) and you can easily fill or bleed your tires to the pressures you want. Really easy to use.