Car Tyre Valve Caps & Stems

Your Guide to Getting a New Dust Cap for Your Tyres

Those little rubber tyre caps that attach to your air valve have a high probability of getting lost. Many cold fingers have dropped the little buggers and not been able to find them again. Luckily, there are a variety of dust caps available on eBay to add a little bling to your car or bicycle.

You may well have a different sized tyre valve than your friend. The most common valves are Presta and Schrader, with Presta being slightly slimmer than a Schrader. However, when buying tyre valve caps, you do not need to know what type of tyre valve you have. Dust caps are universally sized, so you can fit them onto any type of car tyre valve. If you have a foreign-made tyre valve, then you may want to check with the manufacturer to ensure you can use the dust cap you want.

Although the functionality of a dust cap is important, they are also a cool accessory to add to your tyre. You can choose to replace your existing dust cap with a simple rubber cap similar to the original, or you can glam up your tyres by choosing one of the following designs:

• Dice - Available in multiple colours and styles.
• Legos - Also available in many different colours, not to mention various kinds of Lego blocks themselves.
• Logos - You can find most car logos on various styles of dust caps, though you're not limited to car logos: the world's the limit.
• LED lights - not limited to single colours, these will light up your tyre as you drive by.
• Other symbols - There are a variety of other symbols available as well, allowing you to show some of your personality through your dust cap.

Many companies manufacture car dust caps. Car manufacturers may offer branded dust caps. Other manufacturers like to create novelty items to help people personalise their car or bike. Some of the brands you will see listed include:

• Schrader automotive
• Richbrook
• BBS
• Gold
• Ace

Your tyres probably came with small rubber dust caps. You may feel this is sufficient, but the tyre valve dust caps that come with your tyres may not seal around the tyre air valve completely. They usually do not come with a rubber or silicone gasket to prevent air leaks. Luckily, most dust caps that you buy new on eBay do come with gaskets that help to seal off the air. This ensures that your tyres stay inflated after you fill them.