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Every time I try to disprove the "if it's too good to be true, it probably is" maxim, I fail. I found what I thought was a great deal on a pair of Toyo tires in 315/25/19. New with factory labels still affixed. Recent DOT production date. Super price - seemed too good to be true.
So I'm tooling down the street (fortunately not really fast) when I hear a muffled pop and then the rough ride can only mean a flat tire. It was more than a flat; it was like the entire sidewall of the tire disintegrated - some sort of defect with the tire.
Complete separation of the sidewall. The tire bead is just gone:
At this point, it appears the tire seller is going to refund me, it doesn't look like the wheel got damaged, and the car and I were totally unscathed. But it could have been a much different outcome had this happened on the highway. I plain lucked out. No more "bargain priced" tires for me.
Wow, that is catastrophic. Since tires are probably the most important safety item on the car, good idea not to skimp here. Just curious, could it be they were installed incorrectly?
Just curious, could it be they were installed incorrectly?
No, installation was flawless. Actually, it's fairly difficult to not install a new tire correctly. It's usually when a tire is dismounted that a bead gets damaged or something and when it's re-installed, then you can have issues. This tire had been mounted only once.
That is really hard to believe. Where did the metal bead reinforcing wire go? Did it stay on the rim?? It looks like there were none. Or dId the entire sidewall separate from the bead?
Actually, it's fairly difficult to not install a new tire correctly..
Not to be argumentative, but installing these type of tires is easily screwed up. They are a tight fit on the rim...I have seen damage done to side walls during installation. Not to say this is your issue, I just wouldn't generalize as you have in your post.
Looking at the nature of the failure, my bet is on installation. That chunk of the sidewall that is missing is most likely where the pry bar went in to 'bend' the last little bit of tire over the rim. If there is too much leverage applied as the wheel is turning on the drum, one can break the cords, damage the sidewall and then have a sidewall fail.
Chances are the failure started before the rims were back on the car. Chances are also in your favor that the shop is aware of problems like these, and will refund your money/replace the tire without question.
I have seen damage done to side walls during installation. Not to say this is your issue, I just wouldn't generalize as you have in your post.
Originally Posted by 2fcknfst
Looking at the nature of the failure, my bet is on installation. That chunk of the sidewall that is missing is most likely where the pry bar went in to 'bend' the last little bit of tire over the rim.
I concede it is possible to damage the outside facing tire bead during a mount (so maybe I generalized a bit), but that's not the side that failed here (the inner sidewall failed). When mounting a tire, you can literally slide the inner tire side bead onto the rim by hand, so the chances of the inner bead being damaged during an initial mount of a new tire are almost slim and none since the inner bead is moved into final mounted position on the rim with compressed air. It typically is never touched by the mounting equipment or a tire bar. With a reverse drop wheel, which the wheel this tire was mounted on is not, you can possibly damage the inner bead during a mount since the mounting process is the reverse of a standard rim. This brand new, never mounted tire failed on the inner sidewall during the first fifteen minutes of being driven on, and it had nothing to do with the mounting of the tire or the tire being punctured. The defective tire has been returned to vendor (along with its mate - can't be trusted after what happened).
I concede it is possible to damage the outside facing tire bead during a mount (so maybe I generalized a bit), but that's not the side that failed here (the inner sidewall failed). When mounting a tire, you can literally slide the inner tire side bead onto the rim by hand, so the chances of the inner bead being damaged during an initial mount of a new tire are almost slim and none since the inner bead is moved into final mounted position on the rim with compressed air. It typically is never touched by the mounting equipment or a tire bar. With a reverse drop wheel, which the wheel this tire was mounted on is not, you can possibly damage the inner bead during a mount since the mounting process is the reverse of a standard rim. This brand new, never mounted tire failed on the inner sidewall during the first fifteen minutes of being driven on, and it had nothing to do with the mounting of the tire or the tire being punctured. The defective tire has been returned to vendor (along with its mate - can't be trusted after what happened).
Perhaps - but there are two other possibilities, 1) the tire was mounted on something else before you got it, and 2) in order for the strands in the sidewall to fail, they were subjected to a great deal more force than the 44psi running pressure could produce.
Where did the metal bead reinforcing wire go? Did it stay on the rim?? It looks like there were none. Or dId the entire sidewall separate from the bead?
The entire sidewall separated from the bead, The bead (what was left of it), along with the reinforcing steel cable, had to be cut off the rim using a Dremel. Due to being advised to not permit further product disparagement, I am closing this thread.
07-10-2018, 03:27 PM
Tire Blow-out
