YWW

It seems like most tire stores want you to replace the valve stem each time you get a new set of tires. Is that really necessary? I've never replaced my two cars' valve stems when replacing tires because I'm always concerned the new replacement stems were of inferior quality to the OEM stems. Your thoughts?

IS250ATX

we always replace valve stems... most valve stems go bad when theyve been on a car for a long time.. they crack and sometimes actually leak.. most of the flat repairs we get at work are due to bad valve stems... oem stems and valve stems used at tire stores are the same....

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I would replace them every time you change your tires. Now, the valve stem may not actually go out on you on your second set, but valve stem failure is pretty common at they are cheap, so you might as well save yourself the PITA if they do go out on your second set and just change them. On my aftermarket rims that use special valve steps, I usually rebuild them myself by buying a set that has similar rubber gaskets and replacing my old ones, and also replacing the internal valve with the new one.

Also like mentioned above, there really isn't any such thing as an OEM valve step. They are all the basically the same from a large supplier somewhere.

LexusPia

I disagree with the 2 replies that all valve stems are the same and usually come from the same manufacturer. I recently replaced my all-season tires with some Bridgestone Blizzak snow tires at a large local tire store (a national chain). The new valve stems they put in are much "softer" and don't have a wider base to fill out the valve stem opening in the rim like the previous design. Despite the same length as the old, the new stems are so soft that I can't even take a tire pressure reading with just one hand because the stem flexes so much when I press down with my digital tire guage. I have to steady it with one hand and take the reading with the other. I never ever had to do that on the old OEM stems even when the car was new. I took the car back in to the shop and asked them about it. They said they can only stock standard "generic" sizes to accommodate majority of the vehicles that come in. They don't order special valve stems with a wider base simply because of economics and to minimize stocking different sizes, styles to fit different rims. The service manager went on to say the OEM valve stems are usually better in quality (material) than their "generic" stems and they fit better too. My advice to YWW is to replace the old stems with new OEM stems everytime when you change tires and ask the tire shop to use them instead of their own standard brand.

Balling

you also have to take into account how much you change your tires
I change my rear tires every 2-4 months, so it doesnt make sense to change out the valve stems

the rule of thumb i go by is every year grab some new stems and screw them im (not the big part, the insert)