How Long Can Car Sit on Flat Tire Without Damaging The Rim

What if your car’s brand new tire get flatten overnight or while driving or somewhere you parked car? Then, how long can car sit on flat tire without damaging the rim?

Fortunately you are on the right place if you you have in such a situation right now. Here we will find out that how long can car sit on flat tire without damaging the rim if you haven’t any situation to fix it or replace it.

How long can car sit on flat tire

The best for your tire and overall car health is that when your tire get flat, repair them on the spot. Although I know that such perfect situation is not available for everyone.

Situation may not be the same for everyone. You may be far away from city when your tire get flatten or may be your house far away from the service station. Or you may be your are in the middle of a highway and don’t have a spare tire.

Absolutely not, not a single second. Despite of all these let me tell you one thing that a car can never ever sit on a flat tire. Absolutely even not for a single day

This is because rim is not designed to carry the whole weight of car without aid of tire. If you do so then not only your tire will get permanent damage but also lead to Mismatched Tire, Bend tire, damage of Drivetrain and tire structure integrity also.

If your car sit on flat tire for long then you will have to replace whole wheel instead of repairing the tire.

Why is it necessary for a car tire to be inflated whereas it can also easily sit on a flat tire?

When you know about the importance and the function of a normal pressure tire then you will easily know how long your car can sit on a flat tire.

Car wheels parts

Car wheel consists of two things

• One is the rim
• Second is the rubber tire

Before the time of tubeless tires, a tire also contained a tube inside it. But now these tires are replaced by tubeless tires

Function of a rim

A rim can be made up of aluminum or steel. Steel rims are mostly heavier than aluminum. The function of rim is to provide the shape and the structure to a tire like bone due to the flesh. So that there is no direct connection of a rim with a road and a car’s whole-body weight. So that means it is only designed for the structure and the shape of a tire.

Function of a tire

On the other hand, tires are designed to carry air pressure and to carry the whole-body weight of a car. This means tires will always be in direct connection with the road.

Sitting of a normal car

So, when tires are designed to carry the whole weight of a car then obviously a normal car will always sit on its tires rather than that of rim.

Which thing a car sits when tire goes flat

Flatten tires disturb the process which means the rim makes a direct connection with the road. Which definitely risks the integrity of a whole wheel and car. Therefore, when tire get flat a car whole weight goes on the rim

What happens when car sit on a flat tire

These are the consequences that you can face when a car sits on a flat tire.

Damage rim integrity

When the tire gets flat the whole body weight goes on the car rim. As we already know that rim is not made for that purpose, when the rim holds that pressure it damages it completely. Where you just have to fix the puncture now you need to completely change the wheel of a car.

So constant pressure can damage the rim structure and whole integrity

Mismatched tire

When your rim gets the whole car pressure for a long time it bends. And this leads to mismatched tires.

Mismatched tires can be of any factors. In this case the mismatched tires are due to the size of the rim. Because when the rim bears the car weight it becomes bent and changes its size. It will lead to change your wheel completely with rim and tire

Damage of drivetrain

When you drive your car with mismatched tires this will lead to damage to the drivetrain of a car completely. Drivetrain consists of different components including engine and motor. The main function of the drivetrain is to drive energy from the engine to the wheel of tire. So, if the drivetrain transfers energy to mismatched tires it will impact it negatively. Because drivetrain requires matched tires in this whole process

Drivetrain consists of these:

• Engine
• Transmission
• Differential
• CV joints
• Axles
• Driveshaft
• Wheels

Flat spot

Flat spot is the worst condition of a tire and it happens when your car sits flat for almost one month.

Weakened points

Tires consist of three parts; one is repairable and one is not repairable. The sidewall and the soldier points come into the non-repairable portion of tire.

When your tire gets flat your car sits on the rim. This makes the shoulder and sidewall point of your tire in direct connection with the road. Which will definitely weaken your sensitive tire part. Furthermore, if it carries the car weight for a long time it will tear up your tire.

As tell you earlier that sidewall and shoulder of a tire is not repairable

What if I leave my car sitting on flat tires for a good few month

If your car is sitting on a flat tire tire for more than a month then not only it will cause flat spots on the tires but damage the whole tire completely.

How long can my car sit without the tires flat spotting

We have already discussed in detail that if your car sits on a flat tire for almost one month then severe flat spots occur on your tires. So, your car can sit on flat tires without having flat spots on it for less than one month.

Why even new tires can go flat overnight? (reasons)

Mounting Problems

If the rim of your car is corroded then putting on even a new tire cannot help you out. Corroded rim makes small air spaces. So, when you put a new tire on the rim it does not completely seal. Therefore, when you park your car into the garage the air moves out from these air spaces. These spaces are the result of tire corrosion.

Before mounting new tire on the rim must check out the condition of the rim

Dents in rim

Dents in the rim also produce an air outlet. These dents are mostly produced when your wheel hits a pothole or curb. So, when you park your car, you must check out your rim.

Improper Sealing

Have you sealed your new tire in the right way? If not then it will not keep air inside it. Your new tire will be deflated overnight

Defective Valve Stem

Must check your valve stem before buying a new tire. Although new tires come with new valve stems. Because if you mount a tire on the rim that has a faulty valve stem then the wheel would not sustain air inside. Your tire will fully deflate overnight due to this faulty valve stem.

So faulty valve stem is another cause of deflated tire overnight

High Temperatures

We all know that heat causes expansion and cold causes contraction. Therefore, in summer or in hot weather normal pressure tire become bigger due to increase in temperature. So, this is the reason for deflating tires overnight also, especially on summer days.

Can I leave a flat tire overnight?

No you car can’t ever sit on a flat tire. This is because rim are not made to bear the whole car weight without tire support. If it do then instead of repairing tire you will need to replace the whole tire.

Now what should we do if we are in a situation where we can’t repair ours tire.

In this case you have these three possibilities and you have to go for them priority wise

First priority (fixing flat tire)

If there is a possibility of fixing flat tires then I will not suggest allowing the car to sit on flat tires overnight. I will must recommend you to fix your flat tire to prevent furthermore damage

Second priority (elevating car)

If you are in such a situation that you can’t repair your car tire immediately then this is the best option for you. Elevate your car from the side where your tire is damage

Third priority (leaving car on flat tire)

On the other hand, if there is no such possibility of fixing a flat tire or elevating car then you can allow your car to sit on a flat tire overnight.

How can a tire go flat overnight?

Puncture tire

Maybe you don’t know that your car tire got punctured. Tires can get punctured easily when you drive your car on sharp objects like nails, screws, shards, wood pieces and glass pieces etc. Your tire will get flat easily in 30 to 40 minutes.

After that your vehicle would sit on its flat tire overnight.

Slash tire

Always Park your car in a safe place so that no one can slash your car tire. Because it will not only flatten your tire but also rip off it completely. And this leads to changing your whole tire rather than repairing it. This is another reason of flat tire overnight

Slash a tire is a legal crime and it come under vandalism action. So if your car have been a victim vandalism and want a legal action then you will need to tell if your tire was slashed by someone. Otherwise it will seem to be an accident and nothing will happen against the perpetrator

Valve stem leak

Maybe you don’t know that your valve stem is leaking. Although it is a slow process, it will make your tire flat overnight. Normally Valve stems get leaked when it deals with chemicals, dirt, and road debris continuously.

Damaged wheels (Rim)

If you see your car tire flat in the morning then check your wheel completely. If you found any corrosion on your car rim then certainly it means that your car rim is responsible for flatting tire overnight

Heat:

Heat increases the air pressure inside a car tire which results in deflating the tire overnight. I have experienced it in Florida summer weather.

Tire bead Leaks

The sticking sand, small stones, and debris into your tire bead result in deflate tire overnight. So, whenever you park your tire must clean your tire bead

Read Also: Why Do You Only Slash 3 Tires Instead Of 4?

How long can a tire sit flat before sidewall damage?

Damage on Sidewall of the tire starts when car sit on flat tire for prolong period. So, it takes almost thirty days for flat spots to get into the worst condition. But I will suggest that the car sit on a flat tire for not more than fifteen days.

How long does it take a tire to go flat?

Slashed tires will flatten immediately. On the other hand, if a tire gets punctured it takes about thirty minutes depending on the load on the tire.

Car tires go flat when not used

Many of us experience this but no one knows the actual phenomena behind it. Tires are made up of rubber and it is porous material. It doesn’t matter whether your car is sitting in the driveway or in the garage or on road.  Whether your car sits in one position for a long time or not, the tire will deflate after a long period of time.

 Car park in the same position for a long time also loosen the valve stem. So, this is also the reason of tire deflating, when car not in use for long time

How to fix flat spots on tires from sitting

You need to inflate the tire so that it comes into its actual round position. Now just drive for about 15 minutes, flat spots from the tire will move away. In other case flat spots will remain permanent if heavy loaded vehicle is parked for long time

How long can you drive on a tire with fix a flat

You can drive on tire with fix-a-flat for almost 2 to 3 days. And the effectiveness of the tire with fix-a-flat depend on these factors.

Tire damage

Damage of the tire is the main factor on which effectiveness of a tire with Fix-a-Flat depend. Tire with fix-a-flat show effectiveness only if the size of the punctured tire is less than 1/4th of an inch.

Otherwise, if you drive it will give you potential damage to your tire, if the puncture size is greater than 1/4th of an inch. In this case fix-a-flat would not give you any benefits

Quantity of sealant

Amount of sealant plays an important role when it comes to the effectiveness of Fix-a-Flat. Neither excessive nor insufficient quantity will help you in fixing the puncture. You will have to use moderate amount of sealant according to the size of puncture in order to fixing that

Weather and Road Conditions

Cold weather freezes the sealant and as a result of mismatched tires can cause road accidents. I will definitely forbid you to use fix-a-flat in the winter season. Please save yours and your family life

On the other hand, Fix-a-Flat doesn’t give you any benefit if you drive a car on dirt roads, uneven terrain, newly surfaced roads and paved roads after applying that. Other than this you can get into severe accident.