Hi

Did a search but nothing showed up, so...

Had a pair of Pzeros installed on my 993 in July last year (rears, of course). Last weekend when I was washing my car I noticed a small bubble had developed on the sidewall - about the size of a quarter, and raised maybe an eighth of an inch.

When I called Tire Rack about it they said it was likely ("99.9%") caused by impact damage and not a defect, and to take it to an installer to have it removed and inspected - Cust Support said it's likely I'll need to get a new one since it'll eventually blow.

Not that I don't believe them, but a 2nd opinion would be nice... does what they're telling me seem accurate? Any insight would be appreciated

TIA
Pete

 

I'm not a tire expert, but I agree. The tires have belts in the sidewall, and the bubble is probably there because a belt broke. This has happened to me years ago, a fat woman in a minivan cut me off, and I swerved to miss her. I succeeded, but I hit the curb instead, and there was a bubble where the tire hit. The tire was brand new not two weeks earlier, so I was damn pissed off. I wish I had just let her hit me.

Anyway, back to the question, you may as well have an expert look at it to make sure, but yeah, I'd get a new one.

 

They are most likely correct. What happens if you hit a pothole or something similar to that you can easiely damage the tire. What happens is the inside of the tire gets pinched and creates a little tiny slit in the tire. This will create an air pocket between the different parts of the tire and will eventually burst. I don't know if its something about the Pirellis but I see it happen in their tires more than any other tire that I get in the shop.

 

Be smart and be safe Replace it with a new tire

 

FWIW that is why I will never buy Pirelli tires ever again. I had a set of P8 tires in the early 80s and within a couple of months every tire had a bubble in it. Never had that problem before or since. Never again for Pirelli for me.

 

thanks all!

 

A couple of weeks ago, I got a bubble on my sidewall in my 04 Audi A4 with Pirelli P6 Four Seasons. The car only had 6000 miles. When I took it to the tire place he told me they had 2 Audis with the same tires, same bubbles, all relatively new cars, earlier today and another one the day before. The day I had the tire replaced, a lady came in with an allroad w/ Pirelli tires and it had 2 bubbles on 2 tires, one on the left side and the other on the right side.

I've had BF Goodrich Comp T/A's., OEM Goodyear Gatorbacks, and Michelins on my 951 and have never had any bubble issues with my tires. And I'm the type that avoids potholes like the plague.

It's gotta be a Pirelli thing...

 

well, to break the Pirelli bashing, I have 4 month old Bridgestone Potenza S03 Pole Positions on my VR6 and my front right has the same type of bubble. Not sure what happened, these tires have some of the stiffest sidewalls you can get.. we had to let one of the tires sit in the sun to get it to "pop" on when mounting it because it was so rigid!

I haven't had it checked out yet, but I have road hazard through my extended warranty on the car and I expect they'll take care of it for me. Cause them tires (they're only 17's) ain't cheap at $200+

 

FWIW - I used to have P Zeros on my 993 as well, and got two sidewall bubbles (once in the rear, once in the front). At first I thought it was a manufacturing defect. I now believe it was because I used to touch the tires against the curb when backing into a parking spot; It is worth mentioning that I now has S02s and havent had any issues...

 

Just had to replace BOTH rear P Zero because of a complete (almost all the way around) inside sidewall bulge on the right rear (60% tread left on both). When these wear out the fronts should be gone as well and we'll steer AWAY from Pirelli entirely.

 

I have heard of the same problem with the new Michelin PS2s. Go with Continentals Sport Contact 2s is what I have been told.

 

I also had problems with PZero asimetricoes, the inside sidewalls developed age cracks. I replaced them with Rossos which have been trouble free.

 

in the early 90's I had problems with 4 pirellis on my 300dsl, I made such a stink with them that they gave me 4 new ones installed.
now Im having the same problem with 4 Dunlops on my 993.
I have been making a lot of noise and Im making progress...... but no cigar yet!!!
Remenber the squeaky wheel gets the grease!!!

 

The day I put a Continental on any car I own is the day I'll start walking to work. Continental (General Tire) are complete junk. You don't have problems with bubbles, you just have belts seperating.

 

What he said.