Tire Slime Question

[sidebox]

I know there has been talk of Tire Slime here, but I want to get a definitive answer from someone who has successfully used it.

I have been having issues maintaining tire pressure. I like to ride at 20 PSI (for speed/distance), and after a couple rides my pressure is dropping to about 15 PSI.

The instructions on the Slime say to use the included tool to remove the core from the tire's air valve and fully deflate the tire, then squirt in the Slime, replace core, re-inflate. After reading this, I emailed FM and asked them if I should just do as instructed, they said not to deflate the tire. I don't see how else I can put the Slime in the tire though. How did you guys apply the Slime? I've emailed them back, but they seem really busy right now, so I'm hoping I can get a real-world answer from one of you guys.

Thanks!

[germx]

I wanted to slime mine, but amazon wouldn't ship it here, and we don't have slime here.
I did use the local version of it tho, which comes in a pressurized can.
It's used to inflate and repair the tire in one go, in case of a flat. So that one specifically really forces you to deflate the tire first, at least to some degree.

Worked treat, so good luck with the slime. (Sorry if my answer is pretty useless to you ;))

[Boogieman]

@sidebox
I've sucessfully used slime to stop a slow leak on my OW.
Once you remove the valve core the air will exit the tire (no way around that), but you will reinflate when you are done adding slime.
I put in about 4oz (half of an 8 oz bottle), this solved my pressure loss issues.
I ride at 23-24psi.

[sidebox]

@germx @Boogieman thanks guys! I'm just going to go ahead and follow the instructions like Boogie did. I was going to do 8 oz, but I'll start with just 4 and see if that does the trick.

Edit: That was easy... and yes, I just popped the core, which drained the tire, and squeezed in about 6 oz. I rode around for about 30 minutes after I pumped it back up. All seems well so far. I'll come back to this thread and update in about a week.

[golfer17]

How thick do you guys think the tire is? I had a pebble just smaller than an airsoft bullet get lodged in and when I took it out it left an indent probably a few millimeters deep. Should that be a problem?

[germx]

@golfer17 I think it's pretty thick. I've had pretty much everything stuck in my tire. Gravel, glass and metal filings. They seem to go pretty deep, and leave the tire looking a bit like a cheese if I were to pry them all out. Hasn't been a problem yet, even with the metal, which goes pretty deep.
Quite a few did slime the tire, because of slow leaks, but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone popping a tire or anything. It should be all good. Not quite sure if it's better to remove pebbles or leave them in, but at least for me it's extremely pointless to pluck them out, since I'd get new ones after one ride.

[SC720]

@golfer17 Totally normal for pebbles to get stuck and leave dents, they will come and go. The tires seem to be pretty tough so far.