Forum:
I had my first tyre blow-out yesterday. This of course is not amazing news but how the car reacted may be of interest. Incidentally I have never had a tyre go flat whilst driving, which ain’t bad for 600,000 miles of driving. I always wondered what it would be like and now I know.
The tyre that had the bursty-thing was the RH front and it happened at 75mph on the M40. The tyre hit something, which I never saw, and there was a loud bang from the impact and that was that until 20 seconds later I felt the steering go slightly heavy but nothing startling and I initially thought I was imagining it. Then a flapping noise from the right hand side started and it was then the penny dropped that something was amiss. Very quickly after that it was very obvious the thing I had hit was now causing a rapid deflate of the tyre and I could now really feel it begin to tug on the steering. The sequence of events was quite quick but nothing outrageous happened and it was all easily controlled - bit disappointing really.
So getting from the centre lane to the hard shoulder was now important and luckily traffic was light. So I hit the hazard lights and pulled across, and my next thought was I hope the wheel rim will be OK – it was. I knew which tyre was the problem so I figured my arse will be very close to the traffic when I am putting the spare on, so I pulled as far over as I could and then as I rolled to a stop I did a half left turn of the steering wheel which left the front of the car slightly angled in to give some sort of protection for me. It also fulfilled the Highway Code requirement for leaving a stationary vehicle on a motorway hard shoulder with the front wheels turned left, which I assume is to prevent the car rolling into the motorway.
Now being a bloke who doesn’t like surprises my regular two-monthly check of the spare tyre has finally paid off after 40 years and it was sitting there fully inflated and ready to go. So after a quick jack-up it was off with the ‘flatty’ and on with the skinny spare, which didn’t fill me with confidence. Driving on a McVities Digestive biscuit wheel is just so wrong. They don’t look good.
My prediction of having my rear end close to motorway traffic was fulfilled throughout the wheel change and it was a very uncomfortable experience being so close to the traffic. Some Traffic Agency dudes turned up as I was setting the jack and they did give some reassurance by setting their flashing lights on and generally just being there and I was all wrapped up inside ten minutes. I wasn’t far from where I was going and not much motorway driving left so I finished the last 30 miles with the skinny on and apart from having to drive at 50mph it was fine.
The ‘flatty’ looked undamaged apart from a small nail sized hole in the centre of the tread but with only a millimetre left until it was on the tread-ware-indicator I chose to trash it along with the other tyre on the left to maintain the same tread pattern on the same axle – you can’t be too careful with tyres. I had Goodyear Duragrip asymmetric tyres fitted, at a small place I know in Reading, and I am very happy with them especially at £105 total. The 300 mile drive home was less jittery compared with the Pirelli P3000 tyres that came off with the car having better directional control – nice tyres that track well.
I have no experience of asymmetric tyres so they are something new for me. I shall have to have a read up on the benefits, and see how they work out.
So there we have it.
Regards
Phil
I've only experienced a
I've only experienced a "rolling" flat in a Commer Van (NOT the most stable of vehicles) when I was hitching on the A1. Driver clipped the curb with the NS rear tyre and (apart from the bump) no one noticed until it caught fire. Was quite difficult to put out.
Partly based on this, and "common sense" I always assumed a front blowout would be worse, and put my dodgier tyres on the rear, but apparently the "official" story is otherwise. Your account tends to confirm this, which is interesting.
So I'm wrong again, which isn't.
Very much depends on the car.
Very much depends on the car. I've had two blow outs on Citroen 2CVs, both on the rear. A slight increase in noise was all that gave the game away. Wife had a blow out on a Citroen AX on the rear and that also failed to cause any drama at all.
I am slightly concerned about the silly, small space-saver in my Sirion. I'd better at least check the pressure!
1998 Sirion+
1986 Citroen 2CV
Goodyear Duragrip
As a follow-up on my replacement tyres - Goodyear Duragrip - I like them a lot.
The Goodyear website says they are for small cars and I have to agree because they suit my Sirion very well. The Pirelli tyres they replaced always felt wrong but the Duragrip ones feel very right. I know that isn't scientific but tyres are a very subjective topic - one tyre that is good on one car is bad on another. My main observation though is the Duragrip ones are definitely giving better directional stability and the car isn't wandering and it follows the line better.
I like them so much I am contemplating replacing the rear Pirellis, but being on the rear axle the treads are not wearing out and are too good to throw away. We shall see.
Regards
Really, you should fit the
Really, you should fit the new tyres to the rear axle. As you've discovered, if you don't swap the tyres about, the tyres are more likely to degrade than wear out. The ones on the back of my Sirion have lots of cracks, so replacement is going to have to happen before too long.
There's also a school of thought that says more grip on the rear is better as it makes oversteer less likely.
1998 Sirion+
1986 Citroen 2CV
Tyre Swapping
Dollywobbler,
You are dead right about rear tyres never wearing out on front wheel drive cars and having to swap them about to maximise tread usage. I have always managed my tyres to spread the wear and that was the plan when I fitted four new tyres some time back. I was monitoring the tread wear and was due to swap them front to back but the puncture got there first.
I am leaving the new ones on the front because I am contemplating binning the back ones sooner rather than later so I can fit new matching ones and equilibrium will be restored. I prefer to have matching tread all-round, and with ABS and traction control systems this is actually recommended. It seems a waste but I don't like the Pirellis one bit and at £50 a tyre it ain't so expensive. I don't get all bent out of shape like most people about replacing tyres - they are important and if you think about it they are actually good value compared to all the parts that are required on a car.
I also left the Goodyears on the front because I was sick of pulling little wheelies from a standstill with the Pirellis. Not only was this annoying from a wheel spin point of view but the traction control would kick in and start rattling. So far with the Goodyear tyres I have had no drama.
As for the over-steer element, I don't get that far into the handling envelope to worry about that. I do drive fast in a straight line but cornering is something I take very seriously. My formula for cornering is speed + bends = be careful. Also with the late Sirion and the high and upright seating position the brain feels like it is about to tip over way before it really is and it prevents any sort of desire to corner really fast.
Regards
Dunno, I don't think I drive
Dunno, I don't think I drive fast either, but I've had two instances with front wheel drive cars where the back rather suddenly came unstuck. You don't necessarily get much warning.
The first was going downhill, on a wet road, in a Metro. I often coast going downhill (OK, whole other debate) but I wasn't doing that on this occaision, which may have comtributed to the accident.
Encountering a very sharp bend, I lifted off the accelerator, spun 180 degrees, and went though the hedge backwards (probably the best way to go through a hedge) stopping a couple of car lengths from a cliff edge.
The second incident (In a Skywing, in Taiwan) was very similar, but opposite lock and a bit of accelerator pulled the tail back in line (and lane)just in time to avoid it being hit by an oncoming vehicle.
I THINK what happened is that the engine braking (on the front wheels only) caused by lifting off the accelerator tranferred weight forward and unstuck the rear.
This wouldn't happen with RWD, and it wouldn't happen (at least not so much) in neutral using the brakes.
We had an offside front
We had an offside front blow-out with a Saab 94 once. 65-ish on the M4 near Swindon. The driver remarked that she felt a brief pull on the steering wheel, then nothing. I persuaded her to let the wheel go for a second or two. Nothing. Dead ahead. Then passengers in overtaking cars pointed at the front corner of the car. We pulled over. Flat as flat can be. What a great car!
Not so great was finding a spare tyre with reinforcement wires poking out of it. It was along walk into town to get a spare.