Edward

Hi Shant,

I'm late to the thread, but just wanted to say that I'm glad that the tire issue is the most serious of your concerns now. It could have been worse as I have, due to a tire failure in another car years ago, been spun around in a 180, continued backwards at 50+MPH, across three lanes of hwy, over an enbankment (still backwards), and came to rest with the car at a 45-degree attitude ripe for rolling over...then the cat catches the brush under the car and it's ablaze within minutes. Again, glad to hear you're fine

Edward

Shant Ohannessian

I see, well i apologize as i thought you were referring to me.

I was being sarcastic about the 45-47psi. I know for a fact that max psi you can go on the tires is 40psi

Well i just got home and i saw the new tire with the wheel mounted. Im very pleased.

Shant Ohannessian

Thanks Martin,
Im going to look into the wireless tire pressure. Sounds like a good investment right now

Hey Edward
Glad you made it out of that one! thanks for the concern

Martin S.

Great post Todd...Mr. GT2 man.

graham_mitchell

Shant,

Sorry this isn't what you want to hear but I agree with the others that tire mistreatment at some point in its life is to blame, nothing or no-one else.

By the way, unless I missed something you didn't respond to the revelation that the tire had been punctured and repaired in the past - I think this may be a crucial point.

Just be happy that this incident was resolved relatively cheapy and swiftly and most importantly that you are still ok!

Shant Ohannessian

Yeah i didnt mention it at first because for 1, i completley had forgotten that that tire had been repatched until Dave said so, and 2, it had had a patch for over a year without any leaks so it was a non-issue to me therefore it never crossed my mind.
Thanks for everyone that replied.

Todd Serota [TracQuest]

Cy:

You've pretty much got it. Generally, a patch is better than a plug if you're only doing one, but I've done both, as was done on Shant's tire. The closer the puncture is to the sidewall, the less likely you'll be able to patch/plug it. It's a judgment call in each situation, but clearly right in the middle of the tire is best. I've had a fair number of punctures right in the middle that I've had patched/plugged and had no problems - even with hard track use. Of course, given that I've been using the same set of R compound tires (Toyo RA-1's of late) for street and track, they don't last long enough for the patch/plug to suffer the gradual deterioration of which Dave spoke.

Shant:

Just so there's no misunderstanding, 40 psi isn't "max." In fact, for 16 and 18" wheels on 993' and 996's, Porsche amazingly recommends 36/44 psi front/rear. This is much too high for the rear in terms of performance, but won't damage the tire (other than perhaps wearing the center prematurely due to over-inflation). Otoh, if you take a car to the track and drive very hard starting at 44 psi, your hot pressures could be as high as 56 psi, and I'd say that's definitely flirting with danger. I know the average driver's tires don't increase in pressure that much at the track, but if a very skilled, experienced driver is driving hard, there can easily be a 12 psi increase, especially if the car isn't set up perfectly and one end or the other is sliding.

Anyway, for most tires, 40 psi hot is optimal in terms of dry stick. I've had many instances where my tires got up to as high as 48 psi hot on the track for a variety of reasons. They suffered no damage and I reduced the pressures to approx. 40 psi hot.

Martin:

Thanks! Looking forward to seeing you again at Infineon in a few weeks. Prepare yourself for some amazing food and wine as well. I just did the banquet menu at The Lodge At Sonoma and I'm in the process of acquiring the wines I'll be serving there (this is the only banquet at which I serve wine in addition to encouraging people to bring wine). I'm awfully hungry and thirsty already!

Matt Vaughan

Why do you think Michelin is to blame here? Things can go wrong on ANY tire if it's not operating within spec.

Dirt Track Racer

We may be a little backwards in the woods of Pennsylvania, but we don't patch or plug max performance tires around here. Especially rear tires with rear engined cars. You get a nail, you get a tire. You want to play, you gotta pay.

This is why.

DTR

(looking forward to the triptopane induced coma that Darleen is cooking up now)

911

I need to clarify the above statement as this is mine. This was just a general concern that I had because I've only used Wheel Enhancement twice, and the car that received the new tires is no longer mine ('86 Carrera: I gave it to my mom that very day as an early Xmas present).

However, I must say that both times I went to Wheel Enhancement they were exceptional with their professionalism & customer service. Also, on both occasions I watched my tires being mounted, and the wheel technician handled my wheels & tires as if they were his own. I was really impressed with their quality of work as they make it a top priority. Due to these reasons I still plan on using them in the future for my tire & wheel needs.

Rich

DJ

My tire has gone flat
Pretty sure I might have checked
Take the blame? I shan't.

Sam N

I love Haiku!

Good to hear no one was injured. I sold my Yamaha R6 to a young guy who also owned an E36 M3. He experienced this type of tire failure at triple digit speeds and lost control of the car. There were 3 people in the car, all wearing seatbelts EXCEPT for him. He was ejected and was paralyzed from the waist down.

Keep an eye on your tires. Plugs and patches may not be the wisest thing in the long run, especially when you expect to push the performance envelope. Also, wear your safety belt!



Sam

JimBob Jumpback

Bubba shunt,

Ol JimBob dun had a similiar esperiance wit mine mishelin tired. i gotz me a lawyer bubba an i iz gonna sue mishelin an dat bubba ober at weal enhazmat. now i dint git dat tired frum doz enhazmat bubbas, but dey keep be sendin me sum emales bout enhancin my speshal bodee parts so i iz jis gonna sue dem ober my tired two.

so hear be wat happenin ta ol JimBob an it be jist likey bubba shunts prollem. i got sum hi proformanse mishlen tireds as dey wernt been made rite. dat tired dun gotz a big ol flat place on da treaded parts. i dun notised it wen i dun hitted da breaks reeel hard an dat tired dun stucked on one spot an dere waz smokey commin of da tired like yall couldn beeleeve. well i dun lookin at dat tired an it twasnt round an dat is why it dun sticked at dat spot an got awl smokey.

so now we'awl knows dat mishlin iz ta blame fer awl da tireds prollems an we kin sue dem fer bad deesines. yall iz wun smart bubba dere shunt cuz most udder bubbas wuould a looked at da tired b4 blaymin mishlin and doz enhazmat bubbas awl over dis hear boord.

Yur Fren,
JimBob

STLPCA

With just 1 month left, this one will surely get "best post of 2003."

Philip in AL

Martin s
Where can i buy this wireless system?