Blowout on motorway

ellesse

Got a blowout on motorway today after about 100km of driving. Back wheel passenger side. Kumho tyres that have been on for about 6 months (as set). Didn't feel like a blowout but when I changed it, noticed the inside wall was torn (enough to fit your hand in).

Only carry space saver as spare so needed to get a new one to get to Dublin and it was 4.30pm so just went to the nearest garage. Was a little flustered - had the 2 and 4 year old in the car and under time pressure so wasn't as clued in as I should have been. The tyre I got was an Aplus. Never heard of them. In the cold light of day once I got up the road I realised I should have thought the tyre choice through more.

Anyone any idea of how good or otherwise it Aplus are. Is it an issue having 1 tyre of different quality on the car?

Also, what could have caused blowout? I asked the guy in garage as I was leaving and he just said to get the alignment checked. At that stage, he'd been paid and don't think he cares too much

Atlantic Dawn

I wouldn't put Aplus on a wheelbarrow.

The Sidewards Man

I wouldn't put Kumho on a wheelbarrow.

crasy dash

Ah come on kumhos aren't that bad.

Not premium or budget some where in the middle.

Have used two sets on my car and I haven't slid into any ditches yet.

The Sidewards Man

They aren't that good either.

Atlantic Dawn

If the sidewall blew the most likely cause of blowout would be tyre pressure not checked in months and as a result tyre wall cracked or the tyre had had collisions with a kerb before to weaken it, secondary reason would be a defective tyre.

JungleMartin

Low tyre pressure -> more movement in tyre -> excessive heat build up in tyre -> failure of tyre due to overheating

Can't be certain that's what happened. But it does happen. Much more common at motorway speeds as there is much more energy moving through tyre (constantly being pushed out of shape as it meets road, and going back into shape as it rotates away) due to high rotational speed of tyre, and for sustained periods.

JungleMartin

PS I would never drive on tyres from a brand I'd never heard of. These are the only things connecting your car to the road!

The Sidewards Man

If you loose grip you loose everything Junglemartin.

ellesse

Thanks. The tyre did seem hot when I was changing it. Didn't think to compare to the other ones at the time.

What about having 1 different quality tyre compared to other 3?

Atlantic Dawn

ellesse wrote: »

Thanks. The tyre did seem hot when I was changing it. Didn't think to compare to the other ones at the time.

What about having 1 different quality tyre compared to other 3?

Always better to have the same brand and condition on each axle.

JungleMartin

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Always better to have the same brand and condition on each axle.

Absolutely.

tabby aspreme

The garage man is correct in saying you need to get the wheel alignment checked, misalignment could cause uneven tyre wear.

The Sidewards Man

tabby aspreme wrote: »

The garage man is correct in saying you need to get the wheel alignment checked, misalignment could cause uneven tyre wear.

Misalignment will cause uneven tyre wear, this is fact.
I have a link
http://http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/learn-share/care-guide/wheel-alignment

Everyone loves links

ellesse

ellesse wrote: »

Thanks. The tyre did seem hot when I was changing it. Didn't think to compare to the other ones at the time.

What about having 1 different quality tyre compared to other 3?

You'll be given the horror stories left, right and centre, but personally speaking; I wouldn't worry about it.

Make sure it's the same size tyre as the others and drive on. Change it when you're changing the others.


Incidentally, was in a dealers today and they had a tyre stand (as in a promotional style of a stand, with tyres on it).

There were two tyres, a '100% worn tyre', with 1.6mm of tread on it, and a 'new' tyre with 8mm of tread.

It had graphics on it that dictated that on a wet road, travelling 'from 80kph', the stopping distance with the brand new tyre was 7 car lengths (25.9 meters) and the stopping distance for the fully worn tyre was 10 car lengths (39.5 meters).

Now, maybe I'm alone here.. but I don't think that's much of a difference, when you take into consideration the difference in tread on these tyres. Sounds like the brand new tyre would be practically the same as the fully worn one, after a month of using it.

Once it gets down to 7mm or 6mm of tread, you're probably over the 7 car lengths anyway?

Considering I've drove (for longer than I'd like to admit) on tyres that were balder than bald and had visible wire coming through (not a common occurrence, of course, but it has happened me) and never even lost grip, I think a lot of it is merely down to common sense driving.

My biggest fear with tyres would be more to do with a bald tire hitting a pothole and that being the end of it as it'd be thinned out and more prone to busting (whether that's an actual, real worry or not, who knows, but my imagination tells me it is).

So yeah... Having a different brand on one wheel wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

Atlantic Dawn

Deleted User wrote: »

It had graphics on it that dictated that on a wet road, travelling 'from 80kph', the stopping distance with the brand new tyre was 7 car lengths (25.9 meters) and the stopping distance for the fully worn tyre was 10 car lengths (39.5 meters).

Now, maybe I'm alone here.. but I don't think that's much of a difference, when you take into consideration the difference in tread on these tyres. Sounds like the brand new tyre would be practically the same as the fully worn one, after a month of using it.

Once it gets down to 7mm or 6mm of tread, you're probably over the 7 car lengths anyway?

Yes 3 car lengths is only the difference between your body being a slush puppy and your body having a possibe chance of survival :rolleyes:

Atlantic Dawn

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Yes 3 car lengths is only the difference between your body being a slush puppy and your body having a possibe chance of survival :rolleyes:

What I'm saying is; three car lengths is the difference between brand new and fully worn. So even if your tyres are only half worn, you're well over the 7 car lengths anyway.

Keeping in mind these results would be skewered in any which way possible to make the worn tyres seem worse and the new ones seem better, so the real-life results probably aren't even as much as 3 car lengths in the difference.



But anyway, my point to the OP is don't be worrying over something as trivial as a brand name.

Del2005

Deleted User wrote: »

What I'm saying is; three car lengths is the difference between brand new and fully worn. So even if your tyres are only half worn, you're well over the 7 car lengths anyway.

Keeping in mind these results would be skewered in any which way possible to make the worn tyres seem worse and the new ones seem better, so the real-life results probably aren't even as much as 3 car lengths in the difference.



But anyway, my point to the OP is don't be worrying over something as trivial as a brand name.

Every meter sooner you can stop is better. I wouldn't worry about a brand name, I'd worry about the quality of the rubber, and other materials, used in the manufacture of the tyre and how it reacts when you really need it.

maximum12

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What I'm saying is; three car lengths is the difference between brand new and fully worn. So even if your tyres are only half worn, you're well over the 7 car lengths anyway.

Keeping in mind these results would be skewered in any which way possible to make the worn tyres seem worse and the new ones seem better, so the real-life results probably aren't even as much as 3 car lengths in the difference.



But anyway, my point to the OP is don't be worrying over something as trivial as a brand name.

Remember when they say fully worn they are still legal tyres not bald tyres.

What they don't tell you is the fully worn tyres will stop you quicker in the dry than new tyres

maximum12

[quote="ellesse;9999440
What about having 1 different quality tyre compared to other 3?[/quote]

You don't, you have four sh1t tyres so nothing to worry about.

Nekarsulm

ellesse wrote: »

Anyone any idea of how good or otherwise it Aplus are. Is it an issue having 1 tyre of different quality on the car?
h

If your car is Front Wheel drive, then I wouldnt panic about it. As front tyres wear quicker than rears, people sometimes swop them round, in this case, I wouldnt put the A-plus on the front.

serious3

Deleted User wrote: »

You'll be given the horror stories left, right and centre, but personally speaking; I wouldn't worry about it.

Make sure it's the same size tyre as the others and drive on. Change it when you're changing the others.


Incidentally, was in a dealers today and they had a tyre stand (as in a promotional style of a stand, with tyres on it).

There were two tyres, a '100% worn tyre', with 1.6mm of tread on it, and a 'new' tyre with 8mm of tread.

It had graphics on it that dictated that on a wet road, travelling 'from 80kph', the stopping distance with the brand new tyre was 7 car lengths (25.9 meters) and the stopping distance for the fully worn tyre was 10 car lengths (39.5 meters).

Now, maybe I'm alone here.. but I don't think that's much of a difference, when you take into consideration the difference in tread on these tyres. Sounds like the brand new tyre would be practically the same as the fully worn one, after a month of using it.

Once it gets down to 7mm or 6mm of tread, you're probably over the 7 car lengths anyway?

Considering I've drove (for longer than I'd like to admit) on tyres that were balder than bald and had visible wire coming through (not a common occurrence, of course, but it has happened me) and never even lost grip, I think a lot of it is merely down to common sense driving.

My biggest fear with tyres would be more to do with a bald tire hitting a pothole and that being the end of it as it'd be thinned out and more prone to busting (whether that's an actual, real worry or not, who knows, but my imagination tells me it is).

So yeah... Having a different brand on one wheel wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

If that's your attitude to tyres on your car, I'd hate to see the brakes suspension steering components etc, and I'm happy you're over the other side of the country away from me and my family.

serious3

serious3 wrote: »

If that's your attitude to tyres on your car, I'd hate to see the brakes suspension steering components etc, and I'm happy you're over the other side of the country away from me and my family.

Car is into mechanic approximately every 7-8 weeks for a look over (regsrdless of whether i think anything is wrong or not). Any strange noises or odd behaviour and it's straight onto a ramp.

I keep my car in tip top shape. But I have had tyres in it that were bald as can be.

I do enormous amounts of driving in a short space of time a few times a year. I had tyres on the car and about 3 weeks later it went through about 2 weeks of high mileage. I wasn't even thinking of tyres, but my big miles must have been harder on the tyres than I anticipated. I got out one time with the wheels turned and seen the front tyre and it was completely bald. Like F1 bald. There were exposed wire etc.

It caught me off guard as I didn't anticipate them wearing that fast in two weeks, but at no point did the car slip or slide, or take a long time to stop or shudder when turning etc. the car behaved as if the tyres were brand new. Obviously I changed them once I realised their condition, but I did a lot of miles on completely bald tyres and noticed nothing out of the ordinary at all.

It just makes me feel that a lot of the tyre worries people may have, myself Included, are probably exaggerated.

Seth Brundle

ellesse wrote: »

Was a little flustered - had the 2 and 4 year old in the car and under time pressure so wasn't as clued in as I should have been. The tyre I got was an Aplus. Never heard of them. In the cold light of day once I got up the road I realised I should have thought the tyre choice through more.

Anyone any idea of how good or otherwise it Aplus are. Is it an issue having 1 tyre of different quality on the car?

How attached are you to the two and four year olds?
There are four small bits of rubber keeping the car on the road. Would you prefer crappy rubber or rubber proven to have good braking capabilities?

Renegade Mechanic

[Deleted User] wrote: »

What I'm saying is; three car lengths is the difference between brand new and fully worn. So even if your tyres are only half worn, you're well over the 7 car lengths anyway.

Keeping in mind these results would be skewered in any which way possible to make the worn tyres seem worse and the new ones seem better, so the real-life results probably aren't even as much as 3 car lengths in the difference.



But anyway, my point to the OP is don't be worrying over something as trivial as a brand name.

It's not so much the distance, but the speed within that distance. I had a car ages ago that was able to stop at 30mph, pressing the brakes as my bonnet passed the boot of a Mondeo, but stopping just as my boot met it's front. Not even two car lengths, (in fairness the car had good brakes, but very expensive tyres) but at the start of those lengths, I was still doing enough speed to hurt the anyone in front of me fairly badly.

In the case of stopping from high speed, by the time you only have Three car lengths left, you could still be doing around 30mph.

As for degradation, tyres are generally designed to work as new down to about 2.5 millimetres - from a grip standpoint. Of course the amount of water you can dissipate decreases proportionally to the amount of thread depths available to dissipate it.

But from a grip standpoint, by the time it's gone to 2.5 (manufacturers differ) nearly all siping (the small lines in the tyre thread) has been worn away, leaving blocks that can't conform to the surface as easily (even summer tyres have some siping), it's at that point that the amount of grip you have available goes down at a much faster rate than it did on the journey from 8mm, to 2.5mm.

Sam Kade

JungleMartin wrote: »

Absolutely.

God, I hate that word when it's used wrongly.

Savage_Henry

Can you pass nct with 1 different tyre?
In other countries you have to have same brand and model tyre on the same axle.

magentis

Savage_Henry wrote: »

Can you pass nct with 1 different tyre?
In other countries you have to have same brand and model tyre on the same axle.

Different brands do not make a difference for the nct.

Savage_Henry

so you can have 4 different tyres on and its still ok?

JungleMartin

[Deleted User] wrote: »

You'll be given the horror stories left, right and centre, but personally speaking; I wouldn't worry about it.

Make sure it's the same size tyre as the others and drive on. Change it when you're changing the others.


Incidentally, was in a dealers today and they had a tyre stand (as in a promotional style of a stand, with tyres on it).

There were two tyres, a '100% worn tyre', with 1.6mm of tread on it, and a 'new' tyre with 8mm of tread.

It had graphics on it that dictated that on a wet road, travelling 'from 80kph', the stopping distance with the brand new tyre was 7 car lengths (25.9 meters) and the stopping distance for the fully worn tyre was 10 car lengths (39.5 meters).

Now, maybe I'm alone here.. but I don't think that's much of a difference, when you take into consideration the difference in tread on these tyres. Sounds like the brand new tyre would be practically the same as the fully worn one, after a month of using it.

Once it gets down to 7mm or 6mm of tread, you're probably over the 7 car lengths anyway?

Considering I've drove (for longer than I'd like to admit) on tyres that were balder than bald and had visible wire coming through (not a common occurrence, of course, but it has happened me) and never even lost grip, I think a lot of it is merely down to common sense driving.

My biggest fear with tyres would be more to do with a bald tire hitting a pothole and that being the end of it as it'd be thinned out and more prone to busting (whether that's an actual, real worry or not, who knows, but my imagination tells me it is).

So yeah... Having a different brand on one wheel wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

I'm sorry but this is really bad advice. That doesn't seem like much of a difference? 10 car lengths vs 7 car lengths is 43% further. Or to put it another way, one car takes almost half as far again to stop. Or one stops clear of the back of the lorry trailer and the other ploughs underneath it.

With crap tyres on the rear and good ones on the front, the rear tyres will lose grip sooner and lock up sooner, meaning the back of the car tries to overtake the front. Not good.

With a crap tyre on one side and good on the other, the car will try to veer to one side, or even spin as above. The bigger the difference, the bigger the effect.

ABS (if fitted) will cut in but with crap tyres, it'll cut in sooner. When ABS cuts in, you are not braking. (ABS is releasing the brakes to get the locked wheel(s) rotating again.) ABS will help stop you skidding or spinning, but it's not magic.

VincePP

No worries about the brand.

Yes, they are made in china - but so are iPhones and probably half the components in your car..

Difference is normally in road noise and longevity but not in safety. Though many people with very little knowledge will try and scare those who buy budget tyres.

For future, do a visual check on your tyres every couple of months, run your hands over especially on the inside and also check pressures regularly.

If you notice one side of a tyre wearing down more than another, it needs realignment. Hitting potholes, Uneven surfaces, going up partly on footpaths and going over ramps can affect alignment of wheels.

Overall a blowout is quite rare.

VincePP

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Considering I've drove (for longer than I'd like to admit) on tyres that were balder than bald and had visible wire coming through (not a common occurrence, of course, but it has happened me) and never even lost grip, I think a lot of it is merely down to common sense driving.

.

A good few years ago i was hit by some utter moron who aquaplaned into me on the M40 in UK - cause of aquaplaning was 2 bald tyres.

My car had over 10k damage, his no claims was gone and he was arrested.

Anyone driving on bald tyres should be just taken off the road. - Which gardai now do. Thankfully.

Skatedude

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_j-2W2uZ8c

budget tyres in the wet isnt worth your life.

magentis

VincePP wrote: »

No worries about the brand.

Yes, they are made in china - but so are iPhones and probably half the components in your car..

Difference is normally in road noise and longevity but not in safety. Though many people with very little knowledge will try and scare those who buy budget tyres.

For future, do a visual check on your tyres every couple of months, run your hands over especially on the inside and also check pressures regularly.

If you notice one side of a tyre wearing down more than another, it needs realignment. Hitting potholes, Uneven surfaces, going up partly on footpaths and going over ramps can affect alignment of wheels.

Overall a blowout is quite rare.

Not true at all.There is a massive difference between cheapo chinese tyres and midrange known brands regarding safety.
The compounds used to manufacture cheapo tyres are not fit for purpose in many cases.These tyres are manufactured with one thing in mind thats cost.
Very often decent tyres like uniroyal,kumho or hankook can be got for €10 to €15 more a tyre and there is a huge difference in safety.There are plenty tyre reviews/comparisons to be found on line that confirm this fact,I bought a car that had two new chinese tyres on the front,I felt the car was very giddy cornering,I replaced them with a pair of hankooks and the difference was night and day.

Renegade Mechanic

Savage_Henry wrote: »

so you can have 4 different tyres on and its still ok?

As long as they're the same load rating and E marked, with a date of manufacture. Thread patterns must also be similar, ie, either directional on one axle, or not. But not a mix.

And I think they have to be the same speed rating, too.


Outside of the NCT, I've often had to change tyres on cars that were pulling to one side regardless of any tracking work. It would be because both tyres had different rolling resistances from the factory, due to their preferred "makeup" and the car would pull in the direction of the tyre with more.

magentis

Very often you will also find that cheap tyres will also outlast midrange/premium tyres and in some cases even be quieter, again this is mainly down to the compound being made using cheap materials.Those things should be banned,the lack of wet grip could well be the difference between life and death in an emergency situation.

punisher5112

Ah the good old debate of putting nylon plastic rubbish tyres on and a decent set for not that much extra.

magentis

punisher5112 wrote: »

Ah the good old debate of putting nylon plastic rubbish tyres on and a decent set for not that much extra.

Part of the issue is that in most cases the tyre fitters get more profit out of the chinese tyres than midrange or premium tyres so they tend to lean towards stocking/selling them.If they are retailing a tyre for €55,they must be buying it for €25-€30.Take the shipping from china out of that figure and the wholesalers cut,and its frightening to think what the manufacturing cost is.

Tommyboy40

There really are a lot of idiots out there. The difference in stopping distance between an A rated tyre and an F rated tyre is 18 metres. Do you want to stop in time or kill someone? My 20 year old W124 has 4 Pirellis @ €500. My 20 year old SL has 4 Continentals @ €900. They don't last as long as cheap rubbish because they are made of rubber, not plastic. Op, if you have your kids in the car then only the best is good enough.

Del2005

VincePP wrote: »

No worries about the brand.

Yes, they are made in china - but so are iPhones and probably half the components in your car..

Comparing no brand Chinese tyres to quality brands is like comparing the iPhone and the early generation of Chinese clones/cheap Andriod phones. It's only in recently the OnePlus and Huawei and a few other brands have started making decent phones, but without too much work you can still get cheap crap Andriod phones from China that don't work.

Plenty of people have bought cheap motorbikes and quads from no-name Chinese manufactures, it's the importer who ones the brand name, and again there are still huge quality and spares issues with these.

There's no way that a tyre that costs €40 or less to manufacture, ship half way around the world and fit is as good as a tyre that costs €200 to manufacture, ship across Europe and fit. They have to be cutting corners somewhere and that's in the quality of the materials.

Del2005

Del2005 wrote: »

There's no way that a tyre that costs €40 or less to manufacture, ship half way around the world and fit is as good as a tyre that costs €200 to manufacture, ship across Europe and fit. They have to be cutting corners somewhere and that's in the quality of the materials.

Whilst I wouldn't pretend that every tyre in the world is the same, I do think the fact that, as with any other item in the world, once you put any brand name on it, you're partially paying just for that name on the product.

Not so much a case of underpaying for generic stuff, but more a case of overpaying for branded stuff.

dodzy

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

There really are a lot of idiots out there. The difference in stopping distance between an A rated tyre and an F rated tyre is 18 metres. Do you want to stop in time or kill someone? My 20 year old W124 has 4 Pirellis @ €500. My 20 year old SL has 4 Continentals @ €900. They don't last as long as cheap rubbish because they are made of rubber, not plastic. Op, if you have your kids in the car then only the best is good enough.

When the tyres are worth more than the car, that's where I draw the line:D

AndyBoBandy

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Whilst I wouldn't pretend that every tyre in the world is the same, I do think the fact that, as with any other item in the world, once you put any brand name on it, you're partially paying just for that name on the product.

Not so much a case of underpaying for generic stuff, but more a case of overpaying for branded stuff.

So I've been an idiot all along for spending €900 on a set of Bridgestones when I could have got roughly the same quality from China for a fraction of the price!

freddieot

Some people would even buy a new car without airbags if they could get it a t a cheaper price. Anything rather than spend money on 'wasted' safety stuff that is hyped up and not worth the extra. Then they will try to justify it to others.

Skip the bad advice here and follow the good - get proper tyres and increase your chances of avoiding a crash. Funerals are expensive.

savagethegoat

tyre will be fine unless you do a lot of high speed high performance driving and you bear in mind it might have a poorer performance in the wet/ice and make allowances

Atlantic Dawn

savagethegoat wrote: »

tyre will be fine unless you do a lot of high speed high performance driving and you bear in mind it might have a poorer performance in the wet/ice and make allowances

Or try to stop in a built up area when a kid runs out in front of your car.

kirving

VincePP wrote: »

No worries about the brand.

Yes, they are made in china - but so are iPhones and probably half the components in your car..

Difference is normally in road noise and longevity but not in safety. Though many people with very little knowledge will try and scare those who buy budget tyres.

I work for a European company with manufacturing sites in China. The Chinese sites are held to the exact same quality standards as we have here in Europe. Just like Apple would do, which is perfectly fine.

However, this is fundamentally different to an unknown Chinese company who have decided to start exporting their goods into Europe.

For less money, I could live with increased road noise and tyres which last a little less time. They're NOT the only differences though. The poorer quality tyre will mean that your car will take longer to stop.

You're absolutely correct that I will try to scare people away from buying cheap tyres. I wouldn't generalise about people with very little knowledge being taken in by the marketing either.

Tommyboy40

dodzy wrote: »

When the tyres are worth more than the car, that's where I draw the line:D

With both cars being the best examples in the country I'd be forced to disagree with you. Even if it were true, it doesn't mean that if your car is worth €200 you should only spend €50 on 4 tyres

jca

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

With both cars being the best examples in the country I'd be forced to disagree with you. Even if it were true, it doesn't mean that if your car is worth €200 you should only spend €50 on 4 tyres

Modesty prevents you saying more.....

dodzy

Tommyboy40 wrote: »

With both cars being the best examples in the country I'd be forced to disagree with you. Even if it were true, it doesn't mean that if your car is worth €200 you should only spend €50 on 4 tyres

I'll try again.........:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Charles Babbage

dodzy wrote: »

When the tyres are worth more than the car, that's where I draw the line:D

Why is it less important for a cheap car to stop than an expensive one? Both will kill the pedestrian just the same, the older one probably more effectively.