Discussion
My first one! Exciting... or not, but at least I was travelling on a straight road.
Didn't hit anything, at least nothing I could see. Warm day, clear view, 50mph. Tyres fitted approx 1 month ago, pressure checked at 36psi a day or two ago. Front right just went bang and the wheel trim flew away into a field.
Very surprised when I got the wheel off though, look at that square, manufacturer defect?
Didn't hit anything, at least nothing I could see. Warm day, clear view, 50mph. Tyres fitted approx 1 month ago, pressure checked at 36psi a day or two ago. Front right just went bang and the wheel trim flew away into a field.
Very surprised when I got the wheel off though, look at that square, manufacturer defect?
Certainly not sabotage. You'd never manage to do that damage to the inside face of a tyre while it was on the vehicle. Tyres are strong, you'd never get the leverage at that angle with the tyre on the car.
Tyres do just fail in weird ways sometimes. My guess would be that the tyre deflated for some reason and the weird looking damage is a result of a couple of slightly weaker cords on the tyre letting go due to the forces put on them post-deflation; once the one the sidewall has failed the shoulder and bead will fall apart under the strain.
Equally it could be a manufacturing defect which caused both the deflation and the damage.
Tyres do just fail in weird ways sometimes. My guess would be that the tyre deflated for some reason and the weird looking damage is a result of a couple of slightly weaker cords on the tyre letting go due to the forces put on them post-deflation; once the one the sidewall has failed the shoulder and bead will fall apart under the strain.
Equally it could be a manufacturing defect which caused both the deflation and the damage.
kambites said:
Certainly not sabotage. You'd never manage to do that damage to the inside face of a tyre while it was on the vehicle. Tyres are strong, you'd never get the leverage at that angle with the tyre on the car.
Tyres do just fail in weird ways sometimes. My guess would be that the tyre deflated for some reason and the weird looking damage is a result of a couple of slightly weaker cords on the tyre letting go due to the forces put on them post-deflation; once the one the sidewall has failed the shoulder and bead will fall apart under the strain.
Equally it could be a manufacturing defect which caused both the deflation and the damage.
I first thought it had been cut with a 1mm angle grinder disc but you are right as if that was on a vehicle you would have cut the rim at some point. Very weird and a bit scary as that could have been a very sudden and total loss of pressure.Tyres do just fail in weird ways sometimes. My guess would be that the tyre deflated for some reason and the weird looking damage is a result of a couple of slightly weaker cords on the tyre letting go due to the forces put on them post-deflation; once the one the sidewall has failed the shoulder and bead will fall apart under the strain.
Equally it could be a manufacturing defect which caused both the deflation and the damage.
I think I would change all 4 if the same make and age...as a precaution. How old are the tyres?
Thanks for the opinions all.
I guess vandalism is possible, but surely they'd just puncture it to cause a nuisance.
NDA said:
Wow! That's really very weird - I've not seen anything like that before.
Could there be a contract out on you?
Potentially, but I don't have any known enemies. Maybe my boss, but he'd have easier ways to kill me. Could there be a contract out on you?
I guess vandalism is possible, but surely they'd just puncture it to cause a nuisance.
Batfoy said:
No way, that's been cut surely? Unless this is a wind up.
No 100% legit. Pulled over immediately to investigate, then drove slowly to a gravel layby. carinaman said:
What do the sides look like end? Would they should whether the cords had been cut by a knife or something?
I am not a tyre expert.
Fairly straight but not surgical knife straight.I am not a tyre expert.
Caddyshack said:
Very weird and a bit scary as that could have been a very sudden and total loss of pressure.
I think I would change all 4 if the same make and age...as a precaution. How old are the tyres?
Yes it made a hell of a bang, wheel trim flew into the field at quite a rate! It's a 2021 Peugeot Partner works van from a fleet hire company, so I'd imagine they'd not go for new tyres because I don't like the ones fitted. I think I would change all 4 if the same make and age...as a precaution. How old are the tyres?
kambites said:
Tyres do just fail in weird ways sometimes. My guess would be that the tyre deflated for some reason and the weird looking damage is a result of a couple of slightly weaker cords on the tyre letting go due to the forces put on them post-deflation; once the one the sidewall has failed the shoulder and bead will fall apart under the strain.
Equally it could be a manufacturing defect which caused both the deflation and the damage.
My thoughts pretty much. Equally it could be a manufacturing defect which caused both the deflation and the damage.
Doofus said:
Well something has been deliberately cut, otherwise the bit that came off would still be attached to the rest of the tyre. If the whole piece blew off, then it would still be lying in the road somewhere, and the OP wouldn't have it with him, surely?
Ah, I went back after I'd fitted the spare (which annoyingly was pretty much bald even if just legal) to try find the wheel trim, but only found this. Being the inside it must have hit the suspension unit or something and ended up pretty much where it let go. GregK2 said:
If only 1 month old (assuming bought new) I think my confidence in the tyre would be rocked.
I'd like to think the chances would be low! That said, if it was a bad batch or something then maybe? Something doesn't add up. Both the main part of the tyre and the piece that detached, are present and have neat edges. How did that blow out at 50mph but you have found and retained the detached portion?
In any case, if it did blow, those radial lines look so neat and straight, I don't think any tool could cut such a straight line, so I'd say definitely a manufacturing defect.
But there's got to be more to this story than the OP has revealed so far!!!
In any case, if it did blow, those radial lines look so neat and straight, I don't think any tool could cut such a straight line, so I'd say definitely a manufacturing defect.
But there's got to be more to this story than the OP has revealed so far!!!
InitialDave said:
I think it's been driven over a steel C channel or similar lying on the ground at a site or something, just catching the end of whatever it was right on the sidewall with the full weight of the van, causing the oddly parallel damage that's then failed.
I was chatting to guy who fits tyres, he pretty much agrees with you. Reckons I hit a strip of metal or cats eye and it's failed on the 6 inches where the tread meets the side wall, this has caused it to rip both sides down to the bead, which I guess makes sense. Just unusual that it's done it so relatively cleanly. Pebbles167 said:
I was chatting to guy who fits tyres, he pretty much agrees with you. Reckons I hit a strip of metal or cats eye and it's failed on the 6 inches where the tread meets the side wall, this has caused it to rip both sides down to the bead, which I guess makes sense. Just unusual that it's done it so relatively cleanly.
It actually looks like someone has found a wheel with a tyre on and decided to hack at it out of sheer boredom. That is the weirdest tyre failure I've ever seen. Haven't seen many admittedly but even so! Doofus said:
I don't understand how whatever it was cut through the bead without damaging the rim.
I can't see how the tyre bead would let go, there should be a strong steel cable running through it.It would be nice if we could see an end view of the bead on the piece of tyre that's blown out.
A 'blow-out' does not cause a section of tyre to separate from the remainder, it merely ruptures. More mangling then occurs if it's continued to be driven on, sure, but with emphasis on very obvious mangling.
It's like that old walnut of trying to tear a sheet of paper into three pieces in one movement, it can't be done, simply because no matter how far progressed the second weakness is, once the first break occurs, all tension is lost.
That detached section shows little fraying of the cords on the two radial slots, IMHO they're cuts. But how the bead has broken so cleanly in exactly corresponding places is a mystery... unless... for example...
If a stunt company wanted to create that scenario, the tyre would be fitted already pre-weakened along the proposed splits including the beads, by severing all the cords and leaving just a skin of intact rubber on the outside. Similar to how a steering wheel centre/dash-top is pre-weakened for an airbag to deploy through. But it still couldn't detach itself.
It's like that old walnut of trying to tear a sheet of paper into three pieces in one movement, it can't be done, simply because no matter how far progressed the second weakness is, once the first break occurs, all tension is lost.
That detached section shows little fraying of the cords on the two radial slots, IMHO they're cuts. But how the bead has broken so cleanly in exactly corresponding places is a mystery... unless... for example...
If a stunt company wanted to create that scenario, the tyre would be fitted already pre-weakened along the proposed splits including the beads, by severing all the cords and leaving just a skin of intact rubber on the outside. Similar to how a steering wheel centre/dash-top is pre-weakened for an airbag to deploy through. But it still couldn't detach itself.
That damage looks identical to the inner sidwall blowout on one of my artic semi trailer tyres a couple of months ago, colleague had identcal pattern blowout on one of his trailer tyres a few weeks previously.
No way would they be vandalism or anything like that (no one brave enough to crawl under a loaded tanker and start hacking at a truck tyre @ 120psi) and we only run premium make tyres.
No way would they be vandalism or anything like that (no one brave enough to crawl under a loaded tanker and start hacking at a truck tyre @ 120psi) and we only run premium make tyres.
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