Tire sidewall failure

[jaimoe]

this is what a sidewall failure looks like. Happened on the Fla Turnpike last night at 75 MPH. I did manage to get it woaed up and off to the side of the road. Tire was a 1 year old Continental Extreme DW 295/35/18. Air press was at 28 PSI before failure. I think Continental owes me 70% of the cost of a new tire at least. I think the rim can be saved, didn't affect the bead seat at all. The bead of the tire is still on the rim you just can't see it in this pic.

[littlemags]

wow...dont see that to often unless something slit the sidewall. make sure you check the other side due to size of tire.... outer quarter "might" be bitting into the side wall slightly....

tire company will want to inspect tire too...so if you are looking for money make sure you dont get rid of that

[Rice_slayer]

Better question, who the heck buys conti tires? They are probably THE worst tires made...

[vertigyn]

Wow - that's crazy.

If you are ever in the Tampa area I have an extra rear anthracite FR500 wheel you can pick up =) Just an almost imperceptible flat spot in the deep dish - I found a killer deal to replace it, otherwise it'd still be on the car.

[jaimoe]

thanks but mine are Hypercoat not anthracite.

[Gallows]

Your were lucky to keep control with a tire coming apart like that.

[wigsite]

That is a tire that went flat and then was driven on until you could safely pull off. The wheel ate up the sdiewall. Glad you were able to keep it under control. My old Saturn got a flat at highway speed, it is a little scary until you get slowed down.

[jaimoe]

I don't think so because the bead is still intact and on the rim. I found no evidence of the tire going flat. Ever since I got the tires I had the feeling that the rear of the car was unstable. With my drag radials on it went away. I had been attributing that feel to the tread design. Now I believe it was the sidewall being weak and then it finally failed.

[Rice_slayer]

That kind of failure IS due to driving on a tire that is loosing air OR a tire that has been driven flat and worn away the inner liner. The bead remaining intact means nothing, almost every tire I have had that has blown out like that has both beads still intact, but the sidewalls are gone away. I've done a crap ton of tire repairs in my first year as a Tech. , I have seen many blowouts like that. 9/10, it's due to what I mentioned, the other times are usually due to tire seperation or improper mounting of the tire (beads ripped beyond acceptable limit etc etc.).

[jaimoe]

I inspect my tires weekly. This car is my dd. i take pride in it. Tire pressures were NEVER low. I still maintain tire had a manuf defect.

[Rice_slayer]

Not saying you don't but our cars don't have TPMS systems. Could be likely that you picked up a nail or something in the tire and it started going low on the highway. Again, tire defect is possible, Conti's are the worst, like THE worst tires made...

[bris09]

Why only 28psi of pressure? Typically that is too low for a low profile performance tire. Normally they call for 44psi. I set mine at 40psi with the tire cold. Always go by what the tire calls for not the sticker on the car.

[vertigyn]

Originally Posted by bris09

Why only 28psi of pressure? Typically that is too low for a low profile performance tire. Normally they call for 44psi. I set mine at 40psi with the tire cold. Always go by what the tire calls for not the sticker on the car.

By "what the tire calls for" are you referring to what's on the sidewall? If so, that's max psi and you are going to have a blown tire in the near future. 40 is way to high for normal driving. I learned that mistake with an old talon - put 40 in all the tires and then took a road trip from Tampa to Atlanta. Blew one tore en route and developed a nasty bubble in one after returning home.

If you are running 40 you probably have some crazy traction issues. And I bet the middle of your tires are getting a lot of extra wear.

I run 32 up front and 30 or 32 in the rear depending on my trip/use. I only go above 32 up front for autox events to help fight sidewall roll.

[falcongtho3]

What's on the sidewall is the max. rated pressure, mainly for heavy load carrying or extended high speed runs. No way I'd run 28 (memories of exploding Firestones on Explorers), but I find that about 36 front and 34 rear is a good place to be with even tire wear.

[MRS.SHKR]

28 seems a little scary


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[Rice_slayer]

Originally Posted by bris09

Why only 28psi of pressure? Typically that is too low for a low profile performance tire. Normally they call for 44psi. I set mine at 40psi with the tire cold. Always go by what the tire calls for not the sticker on the car.

Do NOT listen to this at all, this is completely backwards of what you are suppose to do. NEVER fill to the max on a tire, your are just asking for blow outs/thread seperation/bubbles etc etc. You are suppose to go by the sticker on the door, but when it comes to say putting an Light truck tire on an suv/truck when it came with P rated tires, I usually up the PSI 3-5. Same with low profile tires, I run 32-35 psi in mine when the door calls for 30 for our cars.

[bleedingfordblu]

thats from riding around with no air. ive seen it hundreds of times

[Thunderbolt]

30psi on the door sticker is way too low for my Mach. I can feel it when I'm driving. I've got mine at 35psi all the way around. It's super smooth for me at that pressure.

[bris09]

Originally Posted by Rice_slayer

Do NOT listen to this at all, this is completely backwards of what you are suppose to do. NEVER fill to the max on a tire, your are just asking for blow outs/thread seperation/bubbles etc etc. You are suppose to go by the sticker on the door, but when it comes to say putting an Light truck tire on an suv/truck when it came with P rated tires, I usually up the PSI 3-5. Same with low profile tires, I run 32-35 psi in mine when the door calls for 30 for our cars.

I have been doing it for 20 years. I run 40psi on a tire rated for 40. How is this different from running 32psi in a tire that calls for 35psi max. I have never had uneven tire wear or a blow out. I always get at least 25k miles out of a set of tires. I wud never run 28psi in a tire on one of our cars. As John mentioned, that was a big cause of the problems with the Firestone tires on the Explorers. At the end of the day it is your car and your tires, run whatever you want to.

[falcongtho3]

One thing that many people do not know is that the speed ratings on tires (started in Europe) are at the max load indicated on the sidewall of the tire, at the highest speed the tire is rated for, for a period of 90 minutes without failure.
That's the reason for the max high pressures indicated.

[Rice_slayer]

Originally Posted by bris09

I have been doing it for 20 years. I run 40psi on a tire rated for 40. How is this different from running 32psi in a tire that calls for 35psi max. I have never had uneven tire wear or a blow out. I always get at least 25k miles out of a set of tires. I wud never run 28psi in a tire on one of our cars. As John mentioned, that was a big cause of the problems with the Firestone tires on the Explorers. At the end of the day it is your car and your tires, run whatever you want to.

I was just in school for this, and the manufactors recommended pressure is the best for normal driving conditions. Inflating a tire to max inflation is common practice for better fuel economy (less rolling resistance) but also run the risk of uneven tire wear, and in some cheaper tires, I have seen the tire start to actually seperate throughout the whole tire and have VERY small leaks in the threads due to the high pressure being used in them. Only time I would recommend using the max pressure rating is if you are towing something.

[bris09]

I don't run cheap tires. It's shame people don't realize how important it is to run a good tire. A cheap tire can make a car handle like crap.

Normally the pressure on the car is the ideal pressure to supply a more comfortable ride. Personally I do not care for how the Mach handles at 35psi. Too soft.

On a side note I run the work truck at 4psi below the max, they have over 84k miles on them, have even tread wear and a few thousand miles left on them.

[Rice_slayer]

Tire pressure on car is best suited for fuel economy of the car without affecting the tire wear. It's not unheard of for people to run less PSI for comfort reasons, I have a customer at work who has his tires at 29psi on his F150 when it calls for 35psi, tires wear fine too.