I almost posted this in GD, but want useful advice.

I seem to get a lot of flat tires. My dad is close to 60, and has had maybe 5 in his life, my 30 yo ass is close to 30. I had 3 in one week when I lived in Dallas

My vehicles through the years have been Subaru Foresters, a Baja, and currently an Impreza. The Impreza is 18 months old 24k miles and had flat #3 last week (unrepairable too). The Miata I owned for 10 years also had 4 flats while I had it.

I don't drive anywhere unusual, just citys/highways, an outdoor range, and occasionally a client's driveway. My AO is the front range of Colorado.

What am I doing wrong? Is this normal?

Update Oct 24:

Based on some suggestions from replies, I ordered a real tire gauge last Friday. Got a Longacre 0-60 liquid filled gauge with a swiveling chuck (P/N # 52-52002). I feel like a dumbass for not buying one of these a long time ago.

Checked all the tires on my car and the wife's car with it and both of the 'pencil' style gauges and both of the el cheapo gauge style units I had. All four of the other gauge readings vary from test to test (on the same tire). All except one pencil were reading the pressure 2-5 lbs higher than it actually is (if the new expensive gauge can be trusted). Followed the instructions for equalizing pressure in the liquid filled gauge before using it. The new gauge is very consistent, same reading every time. It holds the reading until you press the release button too. The button can also be used to bleed the tire down to the desired pressure. Tossed the old gauges except for the 'accurate' pencil. I am going to take the new gauge to have it tested, to see if it is indeed accurate, need to get my torque wrench done too anyways. Will post an update with results.

Thanks for all the helpful replies, I am investigating learning how to plug on my own too.

Cheap, junk tires would be my first guess.

Yup, under inflation is the 2nd leading cause.

I'd guess under-inflation, too.

What max pressure is on the sidewall?  What pressure do you run them at?  How often do you check for proper inflation?  When did you last buy a new pressure gage?

How in the world are we supposed to diagnose this with no information, no pictures and no descriptions?

Get a rig that will take an E rated pickup truck tire size. I have never had a flat in the 25 years I've been driving, offload and on. And I agree with the guy that guessed you maybe are buying the cheapest things available.

Twenty years ago I was issued a work truck where I had 10 flat tires in the first 10,000 miles.  The final straw was getting 2 flats in the same day and having to call a co-worker over to borrow his spare.  Clearly the dealer stuck me we shit tires just to keep his bid low.  
       Sound to me like something an Impreza dealer might do.

Cheap tires, under inflation AND additionally if you’re getting outright punctures with nails, screws and heavy pieces of wire- that can be part of living in an area with a lot of construction. Los ilegales are always dropping  debris off their trucks. Once saw an entire box of nails get dumped off the back end of a truck.

Home improvement box store lots are usually littered with nails and screws, do you frequent these?

Don't drive through the dirty areas on the edge of the road and in intersections. That is where debris lands. Also how about the areas where you park and live ? talk a walk around

Tires are always good quality, I run only Yokohama, Toyo, and Bridgestone. I never buy poopoo tires.

All my flats are due to debris like screws, nails, staples, wire, even a needle once. Probably haven't curbed a tire for a decade. Last one was a long piece of sharp wire.

I do stay in the "rut" on the road, and NEVER drive my car or my service truck into a construction site. My job and home repair activities do send me to the home stores weekly or so.

Inflation is checked once a week, the gauge might a good place to start, thanks to those who suggested that. I have had that same gauge for around 5-6 years, it's not an awesome one, one of those "pencil" style ones. Perhaps I will order a good one from Longacre.

I run 35 psi all around, manual recommends 35 front and 33 rear. Max on the sidewalls is like 40 I think.

I've thought about the truck tires and a truck. I had my dad's 02 Suburban out a few years ago...got a big nail in one of the tires . He called me a couple years later asking how to lower the spare, since I am the only person in the family to have done it.

Walmart sells a round “Slime” brand digital gauge (the one with the little hose) for $10. I keep one in each vehicle and one in the garage. They’re accurate and when the batteries die every few years I toss them and buy another.

I’ve had similar luck. Granted, I drive off road a lot more than most. Also had a Miata...no spare tire (and nowhere to put the damaged tire/wheel was the biggest downfall to that car. I’d buy a lottery ticket if I ever wear a set of four tires out. Usually by the time the oldest is hitting the wear bars at least two are newer having been replaced.

This shit just happened to me this weekend... ripped a rope plug out of one of my 33’s in the middle of nowhere (didn’t have a chance to have a proper patch plug done prior) and left my 33” spare at home due to space constraints in the bed. The original under bed spare is kept at proper inflation but the last 15 years haven’t been kind to it apparently.  Had more plugs but my 12v compressor shit the bed two weeks ago. The ironic part is I ordered a new one that arrived the day I left. Long story short, put a rock shard through the tread and drove the last 3 of 12 miles back to camp on a leaking and then flat tire so I could borrow someone else’s compressor. Three miles takes forever on a disentigrating tire at 10mph. FML.

Attached File




Suggestions... keep some plugs and a compressor handy. The Viair 88p is a good compromise of price and durability. They’re $50 on amazon and a whole lot better than the garbage compressors you’ll find at Walmart or harbor freight. They’re DC and use alligator clips directly to your battery. Get a better air gauge. Accurate air pressure is much more important with lower profile tires, although if it’s a newer car the TPMS will let you know too...but don’t rely on it. If you can fit it, full size spares are a great idea. Subaru AWD’s don’t take to donut tires very well. Other than that...you either have luck or you don’t. My shit luck has cost me quite a bit of money over the years. Sometimes they’re in the tread and repairable...sometimes they’re not. I’m going to fab up a vertical spare tire mount for the hunting truck and just keep a 33” spare at all times.

Wrangler MTR-K.

I drive a lot off road, usually through old mine areas or the desert, full of iron spikes and/or nails from pallet bon fires. In 3 sets of MTR's I have had only one puncture that lost air (after I pulled the spike out with pliers). In the 3 sets of LT tires before them, I had at least 2 flats (sometimes more) for every tire - yes, more than 24 punctures in a couple years. I broke my heavy duty steel plug kit trying to patch that one MTR puncture.

They cost a damned fortune, hard to balance, ride very hard, but damn near indestructible.

I have 2 Viair 400P compressors mounted under hood for my on board air setup

Thanks for replies, a lot of good ideas. I have posted an update in the original post. Some replies suggested my pressures may have been off, indeed it seems they were. Won't help with road debris but better economy and handling is important also.