[Guna]

I have experienced tyre burst once in my car. This was a used car I had bought and since the car had just done 25 k kms and the tyres looked to be in great shape, I did not better to change to new set of tyres. While the tyres were about 4 years old, I believe they had become brittle, probably because the car was parked most of the time and was not driven regularly.
I was driving on a broken road, may be at around 40 kmph. I heard some sound at the rear and the next moment my car had tilted to the left. O course I managed to stop safely as the speed wasn't much and this happened to the rear wheel.
if it is not already mentioned, bad tyre and the resultant tyre burst on one of the front wheels is far more dangerous.

[devsoftech]

Invest in a TPMS (costs usually 6000-7000). I got a ORO brand from dx.com.

Here's why:
1. You get an audible alert when you are over/under inflated
2. You can monitor the temperature - Increased temperature is indicative of lot of potential issues.

Consider the following conditions:
1. You have an alignment problem - The temperature increase will be noticable, and preventive measure can be taken.
2. Puncture - Thank the alerts for pressure drop beep
3. Tyres running warmer due to lot of factors.

Most of the blowouts can be "prevented" that are caused due to wrong pressure or high temperature. TPMS takes care of both, so even if you are under inflated, but running hot - you will be still warned.

Physical inspection of sidewalls is a good practice, but often goes unnoticed (slip of mind, weather conditions.. list of excuses can go on). TPMS will help here.

Last but not the least, I would echo all the views that say change aging tyres. A hard tyre is more susceptible to get cracks and immediately give away.

We should realize that a tyre blowout can be fatal to ourselves and, unexpectedly for someone else too. We are responsible for everyone's safety on the road, ourselved included. Invest in tyres - timely. A tyre in time will save nine.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by smartcat

1) Do RWD cars like Mercedes/BMW behave differently when the front tyres burst at high speed? Are they safer than FWD cars in such situations?

IMO, they behave almost the same, except if you are trying to accelerate.

2) What's the relation between tyre blowouts and SUV rollovers? How exactly does the former lead to the latter? Does it have anything to do with the SUV losing control, hitting the divider and then physics (high center of gravity) taking over?

A tyre blow out almost always results in sudden change in direction, and as a result the driver instinctively counter steering. These + High CG means a sure-shot rollover.

From my experience: If your car is over-steering on curves, then you have a flat/very low pressure rear tyre. Stop and change the tyres immediately.

[suhaas307]

Originally Posted by smartcat

2) What's the relation between tyre blowouts and SUV rollovers? How exactly does the former lead to the latter? Does it have anything to do with the SUV losing control, hitting the divider and then physics (high center of gravity) taking over?

I believe the high center of gravity in SUVs is the culprit here. There is quite a lot of air between the road and the undercarriage. Dhanush is right!

Cars with high center of gravity can't maintain composure / balance as well as cars with lower centers of gravity. As a result, such SUVs don't enjoy quick changes in direction as the car will pitch and yaw.

Add to that a punctured / blown tire at speed i.e. 1 less tire gripping the surface, not to mention the probable tire-kerb contact due to loss of control and you've got to a handful to deal with right there.

[tanwaramit]

Tyre blowout is one thing which scares me like hell. If not my car tyres, the blowout of someone elses car/bus/truck tyres always keeps me on edges.

I try to keep a very safe distance from heavy vehicles on the highway, but there is always a threat from the opposite side traffic.

This thread is very helpful, hope such training is given to all in a pamphlet form at petrol pumps, so that people learn to avoid mistakes of tyre maintenance and also how to regain control of the vehicle in case of blowouts.

Videos such as these are quite scary.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhfGF...feature=g-vrec

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_q3vG8Niwc

[SDP]

These videos are scary. You get less than half a second to react and control the situation.

Best is to avoid getting into a blowout situation by taking the preventive measures as highlighted in this article.

[rajeev k]

Originally Posted by aditya116

Later across kerala have seen many such metal ones lying at start of a median, some directed to one of the lanes.

Yes these along with the unmarked medians are real cause of accidents. The accident involving cine-star Jagathy Sreekumar is one such. He still is in Hospital

while trying to move over to centre of road to maintain visibility

I didn't quite clearly get it but this is not advisable.

[carmayogi]

Wondering if the mods can help me with info. I usually set my Swift Zdi to 29psi instead of the recommended 30. I was always of the impression that the tyre runs hot at speed and would thus be safe in such a situation. Is it advisable to continue like this or should one be inflating the tyre to 30psi? In any case, the ride at 29 psi is good as is the handling so I haven't changed what isn't broken. Tyres are 185/60/R15 Goodyear Durapluses with 9000 km & 7 months on them.

I should mention that, thanks to a friend who owns a petrol pump/service center/tyre shop, my car does get a thorough checkup before any long distance trip including tyre rotation, wheel alignment and, if needed, balancing.

Planning Bombay-Bangalore in December which is all highway and therefore all high speed. I usually cruise between 100 and 120 km/h.

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Q:

What are the repercussions of filling 4 psi over the recommend pressure?

2 to 4 is okay. More than that I've found that the ride becomes bumpy. I prefer to drive with recommended psi and found that the ride is smoother.

Originally Posted by nitrous

Nitrogen doesn't heat up like air does. So, it drastically reduces the chances of
So, fill up the tyres with nitrogen that is widely available at tyre stores and even some petrol pumps.

Don't think so. Tyres get heated up because of the friction when it's running -- kinetic energy getting converted into heat energy.Whether it's nitrogen or normal air, there will be more Brownian motion in the tyre fill (nitrogen also) when the car is moving, resulting in heating up of the tyres. Nitrogen is chemically inert (well, more inert than oxygen) but that has nothing to do with getting heated up or not!

[Surprise]

Thanks for the videos though its scary. Could not even imagine the plight of those unsettled vehicle occupants without seat belts. Its high time to insists even the passengers at rear seat to wear seat belts

Originally Posted by tanwaramit

I try to keep a very safe distance from heavy vehicles on the highway, but there is always a threat from the opposite side traffic.

We get past so many heavy vehicles in our highways, which are generally slow compared to cars & we should be lucky as we cross them

Sidewall damage due to puncture at highway speeds

[rock75]

Apart from the points mentioned above, one way is to avoid doing very high speeds(>100kmph), that way you have a chance to control if a tyre burst happens.

Watching the videos is scary, in the last one above the guys were plain unlucky and got hit for no fault f their own.

[Accius]

This is a very informative article towards safe driving. Hats off to GTO for bringing out this topic. This tyre burst incident has also recently taken the life of our dear member Mr. Sam Kapasi also after having a fully loaded vehicle with tyre-tronics feature. I guess the safety features are yet to be improved to a stage where it can provide 100% protection in case of an incident (remember reading somewhere previously about Airbag malfunction which was responsible for an accident of Volkswagen Polo on Mumbai Pune expressway near Singhgad Institute).

[MotoNanu]

I once had this experience of tyre blow out when I was driving towards Pune. I was on a flyover near Karad/ Satara (don't remember exactly), and suddenly the front left tyre burst. I immediately started losing control on the car. I was never sure how to react. These were the things that I remember I did in that instant:

• I stopped accelerating. I removed my foot altogether. I was cruising at around 70 when this happened.
• I switched on the hazard lights. I also started slowly moving towards the left most lane. I totally forgot to check the rear view before doing this. Thank God that no vehicles were close to me.
• I braked when I was at 30kmph or so to come to complete halt.

When i got out to inspect, it was horrifying. The tyre was in a state similar to what GTO has posted in the first pic. The metal wires along with the rubber came out like coir ripped out of a coconut. Me and Dad were shocked
Replaced the tyre with the stepney and reached Pune. I was reluctant to drive above 70 kmph for quite sometime!

[ambivalent_98]

Thanks a lot for the information. Extremely useful and explanatory.

Just wanted to share that I have had a puncture and not a blowout when doing 80-90 kph. I hit a pothole which I missed in the dark and drizzly conditions. I did not slow down much cursing myself how I missed and then the car pulled really hard to the left. I quickly realised it was a puncture. My tyre pressure was 35 psi as recommended as I had checked this. However when I looked at the tyre it had failed at the wall and there was a gash of 6 inches as if a sharp knife had sliced though the wall.
Perhaps the edge of the pothole had done its job. THe tyre was a JK Vectra and I had heard about their very high failure rates. I had no choice but to buy a new tyre as the tyre was not fixable in anyway. I was lucky extremely that nothing else added to the tyre incident like skidding off etc.

[Motored Mindset]

Originally Posted by Surprise

Its high time to insists even the passengers at rear seat to wear seat belts

I agree with you, while GTO's write-up on tyre safety and what must be done is invaluable as far as the number of lives it could save, we must remember that the Indian scenario of driving needs to be educated of even the basics of vehicle safety. So a deviation from the practical tips of tyre safety to need for the different stakeholders to make a commitment to spread awareness on tyre safety:

The Vehicle Salesman at the dealership should not market, for example, a BMW's runflats or a Volvo's City Safety Technology as a license to push vehicles to the limit to prospective owners. (I actually had this experience at a German luxury-car dealership where the Salesman boasted that the vehicle's tyres allowed you to go at over 220 kph without worrying about sudden braking or losing control).

Driving schools should have dealing with emergency situations as an integral part of the driving course on simulated scenarios on empty roads involving sudden braking, slowing down without using a brake pedal (simulating failed brakes) using only engine braking etc. Most people get their driver's license driving in bumper to bumper traffic for a month and then giving a driving 'test' that involves driving no more than 200m.

The car buyer should be educated about the need for OEM or manufacturer recommended parts that are critical to vehicle safety. This shouldn't come from drab owner's manuals (that only us TBHP-ian's read) but catchy advertising.

The only way I see this come about is through government legislation and lobbying from tyre manufacturing giants like michelin, bridgestone etc.