[MunnabhaiMBBS]

We cannot overlook the fact that JK tyres (OEM tyres of Maruti vehicles) are plagued with manufacturing defects.

There is a separate thread on JK tyres :
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...g-quality.html

[IshaanIan]

I feel one ought to be more educated when applying for a driving license. Owning a car is a really complex affair and there are many factors to it. Just because there is more standardization and cars are more reliable these days, does not mean it is okay for us to be oblivious about several facts. Apart from making sure someone can drive a car and educating them about the laws and how to share the road with other users, if people are made more aware about how a car works and how to take care of it and make sure it always treats you well, a lot of these silly unfortunate incidents can be avoided. (just like how a pilot is trained before getting a license)

I remember having a tyre blowout on the highway from Hyderabad to Bangalore sometime this time last year; It was a hot summer afternoon and I was in my 11 year old, highly unsafe WagonR (that I love dearly cause it has been extremely trouble free and has taken me through several adventures and even gotten me out of some crazy circumstances while at the same time requiring next to nothing in terms of maintenance but that's another story entirely). Being the boring highway that the Hyd-Blore one is, I was attacking a curve at some unmentionable speeds when suddenly I just lost control. I knew it had to be a tyre blowout luckily I had enough engine braking to begin with since that's really the only way you can magically get a Wagon R around a bend quickly and I proceeded to work my way down the gears till I felt I had enough control of the car to stop off the road. I remember sitting in the car for a minute after that feeling really lucky that nothing had happened to me and proud about getting myself out of that situation quickly. All that happiness was immediately washed away when I had to carry out the big Subwoofer from my dicky and change the tyre in the blistering heat with dust flying in my face every now and then I remember taking all the waterbottles I was carrying in the car and emptying them over myself before getting back in the car to drive Point is, if I hadn't known how to deal with such a situation, I would probably not have lived to tell the tale. I am grateful to know as much as I do about cars and be interested enough to read the owners manual of every new car that we buy. This ought to be the case for the rest of the population it is sad to see how the focus these days is to rid people of responsibilities and nanny them around.

Thanks and sorry for the long post

[Rehaan]

Originally Posted by HighwayBuddha

So please do add another pre-delivery check item to the list.......

Thanks. It has actually been mentioned in the list since quite a few years now:

8. Somehow, most new cars are delivered with over-inflated tyres by the showroom. Check the tyre pressure and make the necessary adjustments.

LINK

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by recshenoy

I disagree on this. Customer is paying his hard earned money to buy a car in road usable condition but not a car with over inflated tyres waiting in the stockyard. Its up to the dealership to deflate the tyres before delivering.

I agree that the dealer is to be blamed but who is checking on them? That's where the awareness is required to be spread so that the common man too understands the needs of proper inspection before delivery.

Its up to dealership to educate car buyer on below aspects. Yes, owners manual has those details but how many really go through that in details?

If not during delivery time, after the vehicle is home, don't we all get some free time to sit and read what is printed in that booklet given rather than just signing the delivery check list?! Half of the problem or doubts that I see in our forum's Technical Stuff section can be solved if one reads the owners manual.

When I bought Figo dealership had not given any hint of over inflated tyres... I suspected tyre pressure.

I too learnt from my mistakes and saw to it that my relatives and friends are informed when they go for any car delivery.

During the time of Ritz delivery, I was ignorant of Team-BHP and the PDI checklist, all I was jumping on the drivers seat to get the keys and drive off my car. Little did I know 800 kms later (5 days after delivery), I had a tyre burst on the ORR but I was lucky enough that the road was empty and I did know the way to get the car under control. I thought I drive over stones or something sharp but on inspection, I found nothing.

When I went to the tyre dealer along with dad to get a new tyre, I discovered the tyre pressure in the rest 3 tyres were 59 psi! I was So here after I made it a point to check it first before I ask them to clean the car for delivery and ensure the same before I drive off.

Same was the case when I took the delivery of my Alto K10 AMT last month where the pressure was 48 psi.

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

I feel, many of our cars cannot take a simple tyre burst.

- One, they have large ground clearance, which is inevitable for our road conditions.

I'll say we need better infrastructure to tackle the high ground clearance cars that we have. We keep ranting about bottom scrapping and that is making manufacturers make taller cars that will upset the Center of Gravity if there is a evasive maneuver or a yank to the steering wheel.

- Then, we have really bad profile tyres. 165-80 for most of our cars. Can a better profile tyre simply lower the risk of a roll in cases of tyre burst.

Those tyres that you mentioned are mainly designed keeping our FE hungry masses.

- Are we all equipped as drivers to steer your way out of a tyre burst. Im sure, 99% of us have never experienced one, and most of us don't know how to handle one.

This is where the driving schools should start teaching and educating all the applicants so that they well informed when in emergency.

- Do we now need 6 airbags as standard?

Yes. The same that we are driving here in India and which is being exported has a heaven and hell difference be in construction and safety features point of view. Blame the government and rules for our current state.

I know I am going OT here but please bear with me.

Celerio

Look at the above link for example: The car in question I have chosen is Celerio.



Have just attached the image for reference as an comparison for the safety offered in India and Australia. Lets get back to the topic!

[speedsatya]

Also , no matter how much overinflated , a tire wont burst at 60 kph. From what i understand , one has to be speeding way beyond our legal limits over extended periods forma blowout
Nor will a tire burst at 60-80 kph be uncontrollable.

In this case , the driver would have been clearly speeding.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by speedsatya

Also , no matter how much overinflated , a tire wont burst at 60 kph.

Nor will a tire burst at 60-80 kph be uncontrollable.

In this case , the driver would have been clearly speeding.

+1.

For the tyre to burst, one would need to drive at high speeds for long time so that the temperature increases inside the tyre in turn increasing the overall pressure inside the tyre making it to burst!

[autodoctor]

I hope the original poster got his answer and got his tyre sorted.


Few points to remember regarding tyre pressure checking (there-by preventing a tyre burst). These are available in most of owner's manual though:

• Check pressures when the tyres are cold (tyres which have not been used in the last 2 hours or have covered less than 3 km at low speed).
• If tyres are hot when they are checked, add 4 to 5 psi (0.3 bar) to the pressure recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Re-check the pressures when the tyres are cold.
• Never deflate a hot tyre.
• Even if tyres are inflated with nitrogen, the pressures and overall tyre condition must still be checked frequently.
• Walk around the car whenever you can, checking the general condition of the tyres and address any damages asap.

Hope it helps.

[adimicra]

Hi All,

Yesterday while driving from Bangalore to Hyderabad, I suddenly felt a loss of control and stopped immediately.
To my horror, I found my right rear tyre completely torn and shredded. There were tyre debris lying all over the road. Thank God we all were safe.
These tyres are almost new, less than a year old and in good shape. The day before I got wheel alignment and balancing done and there were no issues at all.
I have lodged a complaint with Michelin. They will probably send a technician to inspect the damaged tyre. Meanwhile, I am at a loss to understand what caused this. Tyre pressure was filled at 32 psi the night before the drive.

I had fitted aftermarket alloys a couple of weeks back. I am not sure if it has got to do anything with this.

Also, I was driving sanely mostly between 100-120 kmph which is not a very fast speed considering the excellent Bangalore-Hyderabad highway. And I was approx 150 kms from Bangalore when this happened, around a couple of hours into my journey.

Another point to note - A indica got a flat tyre at almost the same place. SO, there could have been something sharp on the road. But the Indica's tyre was not shredded to pieces to me and those were well past their shelf life.

Please see the picture of the tyre below.

[adu]

Originally Posted by adimicra

Hi All,

Yesterday while driving from Bangalore to Hyderabad, I suddenly felt a loss of control and stopped immediately.

Please see the picture of the tyre below.

Looking at the way the tyre has neatly opened up along the edge, it seems to be more of a manufacturing defect than anything else. Reminds me of the old days when we would retread the tyres of the Amby and Fiat and lorry tyres even today and they would eventually start peeling off this way once the adhesive lost its bonding strength.

[AbhiJ]

The side wall has completely let go of the tyre.

Unfortunately I have seen something similar before, and that too on a highway, in my uncles car. His car's rear tyre suddenly lost air pressure (pothole if i remember correctly) at 100 kmph. The driver kept driving and did not notice the incident! They realised only when the tyre starting smoking!

Very similar damage.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

I agree with adu. This looks to be a manufacturing defect since it opened nicely along the edge.

Such defect may also cause the tyre to burst suddenly while inflating. This too will be dangerous.

[dean5545]

Generally the Michelin XM2's are quite tough and can take a beating.
I have done a marathon run of 1400km from Kerela to Mumbai with 5 adults and a fully loaded trunk on 30 psi air in 22 hours. We wanted to fill air but there were no working air pumps at any of the petrol pumps we stopped at. I could see the tyres being under pressure but we continued. Nothing happened to the tyres.
Maybe it is a manufacturing defect which was aggravated by something sharp on the road.(Going by the Indica incident)

[DRIV3R]

This happens when we continue driving without knowing that there is a pressure loss in one of the tyres. The tyres treads on the sidewall which then heats up and burns along the circle, after which the tyre separates into two parts. I had a similar situation luckily I noticed it before it was too late, the tyre has scars on the sidewall though, but still good for use.

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

This happens when we continue driving without knowing that there is a pressure loss in one of the tyres. The tyres treads on the sidewall which then heats up and burns along the circle, after which the tyre separates into two parts. I had a similar situation luckily I noticed it before it was too late, the tyre has scars on the sidewall though, but still good for use.

I think you are right. After reading the various articles on internet, this seems to be the likely cause.

I spoke to the Michelin account manager in the area and he is indicating something similar. I will go for a inspection at one of their dealers tomorrow and see what they got to say.Doesn't look like Michelin is going to compensate even if it's a manufacturing defect.

I did notice some vibration in the car at higher speeds of >100 kmph. I am now thinking if there was a puncture or something which was causing the vibration. Wheel balancing was done before the long drive.

I will go for a test on outer ring road tomorrow at >100 kmph to check if the vibration is still there or not.

For the new tyre, should I go for Michelin or save some money and go for something cheaper?

[Leoshashi]

Originally Posted by adimicra

For the new tyre, should I go for Michelin or save some money and go for something cheaper?

I believe you have michelins on all other wheels, so for this very reason, go with Michelins(same tread pattern). Nonetheless, they are quite good. If you are inclined towards some other brand, do check out the MRF ZLOs.

Regards