When to use a rubber... valve stem! | Metal vs. Rubber Valve Stems

In this video, we give you TIPS on VALVE STEMS! Which one is better for your set up? Metal or Rubber valve stems? Scott, answers this question and more in our latest wheel tech video.

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[Trig]

This video is proof why the internet is amazing. I was wondering I wonder what's better rubber or metal valve stems and here I am.

[Chris]

I work as a car mechanic, and where I work the way we decide on what valve to use is like this: if the required tire pressure for the car is below 3 bar/45psi, regular rubber snap-in valve it is. If it's above, we'd use a high pressure snap-in valve. For ZR tires, it's metal valve stems.

[tuckerhoefer]

My 69 c10 still has the metal ones on it from 1983 when my great uncle bought a matching set of wheels for it, it held air in the tires for the 12 years since he parked it outside in 2009, still driving with them and they hold air better than any of my other vehicles.

[JoeBManco]

There is a reason the all outer rubber ones are the industry standard and you've explained that very well.

[nicholaswilliams]

Rubber ones can be yanked out and shove a new one in without breaking the tire bead too. Pretty handy on the trail. All my rims on my kenworth have metal valve stems but pickup, car, jeep, hummer, motorhome all have rubber because I can change them on the fly if needed.

[robertsison]

best video for this subject! thanks for making this video.

[Ian-nyux]

This is actually useful and underrated. They both have pros and cons. But most of my headaches came from metal valves when the core is harder to inflate or don't get to inflate at all versus rubber valves which i rarely have issues with at all. But on one occasion my motorcycle's front wheel's valve cracked and air escaped out quickly while riding on the expressway. That was as scary as I was at the overtaking lane with wiggly and uncontrollable steering. I highly suggest replacing it every year or so even before the tires need replacing out of safety. Great video btw. Underrated.

[ExploreAnywhere]

I watched this to learn about how metal stems look cooler but learned they suck 😂 I’m still getting metal lol

[corey]

I am painting up an old set of steel VW wheels. They had metal valve stems that I had to remove for paint work. I came here to research if I need to keep them, or just install new rubbers. The thing I noticed is that these metal stems appear to be brass, not aluminum. But since the rubber seals are so old, I probably won't reuse them. But a brass valve likely would not have the corrosion issues that aluminum might.

As others have mentioned, metal stems are much better for ease of inflation. Also, twice in the last 25 years I have had rubber stems split apart and begin to leak within a year, probably due to crappy rubber compounds from the foreign supplier. Both times I had my tire guy swap out for metal stems and never had another issue. Those were both summertime vehicles only, kept out of the weather unless they were being driven.

[TheJediJoker]

The biggest advantage of a metal valve stem is ergonomic: it doesn't move around when you connect something to it, be that a gauge or a fill hose, so it's easier to get a good seal on the first try. This can be an advantage in racing with pit stops. Still, I have to imagine that the aluminum stem is heavier than the rubber one, making it harder to balance a wheel and adding (however minimally) to rotational and unsprung mass. This is in addition to all the drawbacks stated in the video. As a non-competitive track day driver who tracks his street cars, I use rubber stems.

[robdillingham]

Many motorcycle wheels benefit greatly from metal stems that are angled 90 (or even 110 degrees) due to low clearance from brake discs or other parts. A straight stem on a motorcycle points at the center of the wheel like a bicycle tire but has maybe 5 inches of clearance rather than the 15 inches or more that a bicycle wheel gives you. Much easier to check pressure and add air with an angled stem.

[ericrichardson]

Metal valve stems are commonly found on motorcycle, aluminum alloy rims due to thickness of rim where rubber valves will not fit properly also they have a cool factor about them, but most other rims standard rubber valves are common like on steel rims and are easy to use and moderately easy to replace

[williamajthompson]

One area where the metal ones are better. Is in the lawn, garden, ag, industrial, and commercial departments. As a small engine mechanic and small equipment mechanic. The metal ones are better because you can get a metal stem that doesn't require you to break the bead on the tire. The go in, and you tighten a nut that Forces a large grommet to expand and seal up in the rim. This works great for loaded tires on garden tractors, commercial zero turns, sub compact and compact tractors. As I don't need to drain out the tire, and break down the tire. I just cut the old stem, knock it into the rim, and insert the metal stem. Use a wrench to tighten and expand the grommet. Air it up, and it's good to go. No need to drain out and catch all the fluid and then refill the fluid. With requires a special catch basin, pump, lifting a heavy loaded wheel. Too much B's to get a 15 minute job done that becomes an hour or 2 job.

[cardo]

An excellent and informative vid. A question for you if you don't mind, are rubber valves as resilient to wheel cleaning chemicals as metal valves?

[tonyvarone]

Rubber valve stems have been in service forever and will give more than acceptable service life in most conditions. BUT: There is a reason NHRA requires metal valve stems for anything running faster than a 11.99sec. 1/4mile as well as most all heavy and medium duty trucks, trailers, equipment, busses and transit vehicles are running brass, stainless steel or steel valve stems. Add in the effects if ozone and UV in the deterioration of rubber and the advantages of metal valve stems with an encapsulated EPDM seal substantiates thier use further. And unfortunately there are several valve stems on the market that are natural rubber and plastic composites that deteriorate rapidly. The natural rubber stems are exponentially susceptible to UV and Ozone damage compared to an EPDM valve stem. SAE 1205-1206 is the standard on ozone requirements. Also, several companies are marketing TPMS systems with external stem mounted sensors. There have been countless instances of rubber valve stems breaking off after the sensors have been installed. (There is a reason factory TPMS systems generally use inside the wheel sensors) Valve stems should be changed at every tire change. Several may disagree but why even consider taking the chance. Great video BTW, rubber (EPDM) valve stems will serve most of the masses well for sure but for us, it's brass, chrome plated brass, stainless steel or steel all the way (never aluminum) and especially in street motorcycle applications. And dry nitrogen in lieu of compressed air if available. Just my 2c your mileage may vary!

[Charkatak]

I have experienced a some issues with a metal valve stems. Mostly it was some sort of a corrosion where air would leak. Aftermarket sensors such as Autel seems to offer rubber and metal TPMS sensors. I am researching these at the moment as one of my vehicle's TPMS sensor batteries might be going out soon.

[emmettturner]

2:38 “These don’t really ever leak… but when they do they leak on the valve stem” Sorry, but there are still millions of those defective rubber valve stems from 2006-2007 in circulation today (2023). They appear perfectly fine until several months after you install/use them. They will degrade extremely fast and can literally fall off the wheel. Sixtyfiveford just described how his pack of 100 rubber tire valves from a few years ago have been failing in everything he uses them with… some in as little as 6 months.

He made a short just the other day about using his manual tire changer and that’s where I noticed he had these defective rubber valves.

[nomoreblahblah]

Good information. I never considered metal valve stems. I always used rubber valve stems

[tomsgarage]

About 12 years ago, there was a huge batch of Chinese made rubber valve stems installed at Big O Tires that would crack open and leak horribly because they were made using a defective batch of rubber. They had a recall for them, but most people didn't know about it. I had two of them crack open and leak all of the air out on one car, luckily while the car was just sitting in the garage. So I'm wary of any valve stems now.

[driftergonewild]

Working PSI of rubber is 65psi ( according to google) so for truck and trailers rubber is unfortunately no go :(