Oldfordman
Marysville, WA
Senior Member
Joined: 04/30/2005
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I retired from the Tire Industry 5 years ago and as a responsibility of my last position I purchased valve stems by the millions, from China. For the most part they performed as good as any US produced stems from companies like Schrader. The stems that caused us the greatest grief were manufactured in Europe and some from a US company that had leaking valve cores.
Just because they are made in China doesn't make them bad.
For what it's worth, a valve stem costs about $0.05 each when bought in bags of 500 from a manufacturer. They sell to the Tire Dealer for about $0.09 ea in the same bag. The Dealer will then try to sell it to the Customer for prices ranging from $2.00 to $5.00 each.
If one wishes to worry about valve "stems", the rubber ones are not as big an issue as those that are permanently attached to the TPMS sensor that is mounted on/in the wheel. If your local tire store does like usual when changing/repairing a tire, they will remove the valve core and toss it in a cup on top of the tire changer. When ready to inflate the tire they will merely reach into this cup and grab whatever core that they touch, install it, and then inflate the tire. The PROBLEM is that the TPMS sensor requires a specific core. The one that came with it IS the right one and the one they replace MAY or MAY NOT be the correct one. If you have a vehicle equipped with a Tire Pressure Monitoring System and are getting new tires be sure and select a Dealer that knows what they are doing. They won't be breaking the sensor or installing the incorrect core.
Life is full of choices. I choose to have fun!
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