[ghostrider]

Fantastic article, thanks for sharing GTO. If I could have thanked each post more than once, I would have

All bhpians... please also make sure your lug nuts aren't jammed tight.
The first time I had a tire fail on me (nothing dramatic, just a slow puncture thanks to a nail on the road) I tried changing the tire on my Safari only to discover that the lug nuts were almost jammed. I bought a can of WD40 from a nearby store, sprayed them onto the lug nuts and then waited for about 15 minutes, after which they moved easily enough. Since then, I make sure all my cars have an emergency kit in them that contains a can of WD40. Now I do it more proactively.

[ashphil]

Very informative article on blowouts.The video clips are terriffic and terrifying! Forty years of driving and I am still learning.Thanks GTO!
regards,
Ashok

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by ghostrider

All bhpians... please also make sure your lug nuts aren't jammed tight.
The first time I had a tire fail on me (nothing dramatic, just a slow puncture thanks to a nail on the road) I tried changing the tire on my Safari only to discover that the lug nuts were almost jammed. I bought a can of WD40 from a nearby store, sprayed them onto the lug nuts and then waited for about 15 minutes, after which they moved easily enough. Since then, I make sure all my cars have an emergency kit in them that contains a can of WD40. Now I do it more proactively.

This could have been avoided if you have been doing tyre rotation religiously every 5000 kms. This way all the nuts would have to be removed and put back while changing tyre. Most likely in your case the tyre was at its places for a very long time, since you bought your vehicle. May be like 2+ year. That's why you faced the issue.

Also, the factory fit tyres are tightened to specific torque which is much higher that a normal person could do. Hence one finds it difficult to remove the wheel the first time one suffers a puncture.

In my case I had used a long pipe to turn the wheel spanner the first time I did tyre rotation.

[Santoshbhat]

Very important thread. THis is one phenomenon that can happen on any automobile be it a small car, big car, small truck, multi axle trucks, buses etc....

WHile it is easy to inspect tyres for sidewall damage on the outside sidewall, what about the inside sidewall?

I always check the condition of tyres and inflation pressures before starting out on a long journey. I not only check the tyre for outside sidewall damage but also the inside sidewall at the risk of getting my hands dirty. I run my hand through the gap in the wheelarch and feel the inside sidewall for any bulge or cut.

I have observed that most fuel pumps have poorly calibrated pressure gauges. So I carry my own pressure gauge. How do I check the calibration of my pressure gauge? I have got another pressure gauge of another make, which I have kept as a master instrument. As long as reading from both guages are the same, they're ok I presume

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by shipnil

This could have been avoided if you have been doing tyre rotation religiously every 5000 kms.

True. Periodic tyre-rotation also helps you catch other issues like slipping-nut, as I found out recently. Was trying to rotate the tyres when I found that I am unable to unscrew one of the front-left lug-nuts, because it was slipping. Finally had to have the bolt? cut off using gas-welding and a new one fit. A week later we were going out on a trip to Kodai and if I had not noticed this, even something as minor as a puncture, could have had us stranded.

[ecenandu]

Had experienced sudden loss of tyre pressure because of an accident. Luckily I didn't brake immediately, I slowly pulled over to the shoulder of the highway.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post2549644

One day on my way back home from Coimbatore, whenever I go over 90kmph, the cars rear started swaying. I felt odd but continued on, but slowly. When I stopped my car to drop one of my friend, one guy pointed that the rear tyre pressure was low. After changing the tyre there were no swaying.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Schoudhury

Can we use the handbrakes on and off to slow down the car in case of a front tyre burst

Don't ever use the handbrake to slow down your car, whether your tyre has burst or not. It will lead to *only* your rear wheels locking and thus, the car fishtailing.

Originally Posted by sumathindra

How often should the air filling be managed in tyres?

Every week or fortnight should suffice. Here's a practical way of approaching it : Check your air pressure each time you fill up the tank!

Originally Posted by suhaas307

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

A tyre burst due to over-inflation is unlikely, unless you have filled to 150 PSI or something.

However, an over-inflated tyre will not absorb sharper objects as effectively and is more susceptible to punctures.

Your ride quality will also go for a toss and you might see uneven tyre wear.

Originally Posted by Surprise

how important is the size of the sidewall (55 vs 60)?

55 or 60 doesn't denote the sidewall height directly; it's a %. For e.g. if a tyre size is 195/60 R15, the sidewall height is 60% of 195 = 117 mm.

The shorter your sidewall, generally the higher the chance of damaged tyres & rims. However, sport-oriented tyres do come with stiffer sidewalls to compensate for this.

Originally Posted by Jeroen

On the other hand, modern cars are pretty hard to unsettle as well.

First time was in my Audi A6 and it was the right front tire.

Second time was the left rear on my Jaguar XJR.

It's the electronic stability program of these cars that kept you out of trouble. You'd be easily unsettled in a more humble machine.

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.

Umm, negative.

Regular air has 78% nitrogen anyway. The extra 20% nitrogen will only help you if you drive at 300 kph all day. For the rest of us, no difference.

Originally Posted by devsoftech

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

[Vroom barabar!]

Very important and relevant thread. Very well explained too. With our major highways turning into expressways and freeways, the possibility and danger of a tyre burst has increased manifold. There is a need to educate people on this topic and I suggest people who are reading this thread on the forum, should spread the awareness outside to whoever they know.This will save many lives.

[RGK]

Originally Posted by Rehaan

Super article, thanks!

"High tyre pressures are what cause tyre bursts!"
"It's very hot today, so i should fill less air pressure na! (since hot air expands, DUH!)"
R

Super safety tip. Till this reply, I strongly felt that the above two points are 100% true and to be followed. .
I always have a habit of driving with lower pressure for better road grip. Will correct immediately.

This thread is a great eye opener for highway drivers.

[vnabhi]

This is a thread that deserves a 5-star rating. Rather than being armed with facts like this, it was just by word of mouth from my dad and grandpa that I have been filling 2 psi more than the recommended pressure before undertaking long journeys (they were automobile dealers). And I check up pressure religiously every time I tank up, which is once a fortnight on an average (despite criticism from wife and kids),

But their recommendation was 40 K or 7 years for tyre change, and not 5 years. Perhaps tyres in the olden days had harder sidewalls. So it looks like I need to re-visit my practice and perhaps use 6 years as my new limit.

It was only a couple of weeks ago that I started filing Nitrogen on the new Figo we got. I did it on day 1 of purchase, while upsizing the tyres to 185/65/14. But the tyre dealer did say that nitrogen needs re-filling once a month and helps prevent heat build up in the tyres. But I guess the second point may not hold true, per GTO's clarification. But what about the frequency of re-fills? Can anyone answer this?

As rightly mentioned, chances of tyres overheating are more on concrete roads like the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, and I was glad to see many caution boards on that highway pointing towards this fact. I had driven very fast on that stretch while returning from Mumbai a few years back, and only on reaching Hyderabad, I came to know that one of the tyres had a puncture (as pressure was 10 psi below). I thank my stars that I did not suffer a blowout.

[Technocrat]

Fantastic thread, I recently changed my Car's tire as they were nearing their thread life, there were still few 1000 miles left on it but as mentioned in this thread, this is something you don't want to stretch to its limit.

Basically never skimp or try to save a few bucks on any Safety related equipment in your car.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by GTO

Umm, negative.

Regular air has 78% nitrogen anyway. The extra 20% nitrogen will only help you if you drive at 300 kph all day. For the rest of us, no difference.

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.

Basically, its the water-vapor in the air that makes a difference. IMO, the only positive of filling up nitrogen is that you get air devoid of water-vapor, which is a good thing on constant high speed highway runs.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by GTO

It's the electronic stability program of these cars that kept you out of trouble. You'd be easily unsettled in a more humble machine.

Excellent topic and know how. So having ESP on the cars does have its perks. And I thought it was just a gimmick. On further research I found out that ESP can be a life saver in tyre burst situations.

According to Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one-third of fatal accidents could have been prevented by the technology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electro...bility_control

[VW2010]

On further research I found out that ESP can be a life saver in tyre burst situations.

Your skoda has two settings for this ESP. There is a module code that can be set at 0-1 or 2(I am just comparing the set up with VW and i am sure its available in SKoda as well)

The brake assist can be set to 2 and voila the cornering is far more assuring . The downside is that tyre and brakes may last little less longer than the normal setting.

ESP does things you can only understand post it happens. In a highway i hit a bump, car turned 90deg and i am trying to correct this as any one would react to. THe way i corrected it, had it been without ESP my car would have rolled. The ESP took over for sure that it made sure the distribution helped me stabilize the car. The car is question was a Cadillac though

[styx71]

Whoa! "Consider replacing tyres that 5 years old..."
Never knew about this untill i came across this thread. So replacement of tyres would also follow the same logic as the fluids - Use it or not, replace after x year(s). Wonder, how many are even aware of this - especially those who run their car less and still have enough tread left after 5 years.

Thanks for the very informative thread GTO