[noopster]

This article is quite literally a lifesaver. God forbid any of us should face this situation but in case we do, these pointers need to be second nature to us.

I changed all my tyres this morning at 31,000 km. My OE Aceleres have been wearing out rapidly after 25,000 km or so. In fact because of some misalignment that I neglected briefly the front tyres tread got completely worn on the outside. The VW servic center swapped the front and back tyres during second service but it didn't really help. Was advised by many to get new tyres immediately.

The point about maintaining adequate tyre pressure is also very important. Most of us neglect doing this on a regular basis, especially on cars that are not our primary drives.

I think the most difficult thing would be to resist the temptation of hitting the brakes immediately after a blowout. For automatic transmission users, I would also reccomend immediately shifting to manual or at least sports mode so that easing off the accelerator doesn't cause unintended upshifting. The engine braking you obtain can be used to slow the car without braking.

[purebliss]

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.

I have a question.

Is there no inherent advantage in using nitrogen for the average joe ?

The two facts(or myths)that got me sold for nitrogen was - less heating up and increased interval in topping up. Am I wrong in the latter case as well ?

(I think 78% and 98% doesn't make much of a difference for my ride . Guess its time to start queuing up at petrol stations for air check and don't feel smug about my "nitro"gen assets)

[Dr.PK]

Gentlemen. Thank you very much indeed for this extremely helpful thread. There are no doubts whatsoever that this information is absolutely essential for all drivers. And quote again 'ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL'. That is the greatness of Team-Bhp, I do feel honoured to be a part of it. Many thanks to all the gentlemen who took time out of their busy schedules and provided us with this information. I shall pass this to as many people as possible. May God help all of us and keep us safe.

[YVES]

Originally Posted by Manuuj

My brand New Yokohama tyre burst unexpectedly on a flat smooth highway at about 80-90 kmph. Luckily it was a rear tyre and the car did not lose control.

Where these Yokos made in China.

[agambhandari]

Great Article as always GTO.

Had a question, couldn't find a relevant thread, so i am posting here.

My Chevy Spark has 155/70R13 Rubber that it came shod with from factory.
ACI reviews and all other magazines rate the Spark with a top Speed of 150 Km/h

But my car has 'H' rated tyres. This means tyres are capable enough to go upto 210 Km/h.
So my question is, why on Earth would GM put in such high spec tyres in such a Car?
I suppose this would even drive the costs higher.

By the way, I love these Tyres, Ride and Handling is near perfect on these

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

My Chevy Spark has 155/70R13 Rubber that it came shod with from factory.
ACI reviews and all other magazines rate the Spark with a top Speed of 150 Km/h

But my car has 'H' rated tyres. This means tyres are capable enough to go upto 210 Km/h.
So my question is, why on Earth would GM put in such high spec tyres in such a Car?
I suppose this would even drive the costs higher.

By the way, I love these Tyres, Ride and Handling is near perfect on these

I don't think you can call the OE tyres on the Spark 'high spec' .Almost all car radial tyres today are 'H' rated, barring a few old 12 and 13 inch models that are 'T' rated.

Even if you go on to put 'high spec' V rated tyres on your spark at a later date, maintaining correct inflation pressures and checking condition of your tyres periodically is just as important.

[subratasenn]

Originally Posted by purebliss

I have a question.

Is there no inherent advantage in using nitrogen for the average joe ?

The two facts(or myths)that got me sold for nitrogen was - less heating up and increased interval in topping up. Am I wrong in the latter case as well ?

(I think 78% and 98% doesn't make much of a difference for my ride . Guess its time to start queuing up at petrol stations for air check and don't feel smug about my "nitro"gen assets)

No you are probably not wrong with the second aspect of Nitrogen. Nitrogen molecules are supposedly larger in size than oxygen which might result in increased interval in topping up when filled up with nitrogen. That's a marginal difference for car tyres, but the difference would be noticeable in larger tyres (e.g. the wheels found in aircrafts).

Nitrogen is also inert in the sense that it doesn't react easily with other chemicals. Oxygen, on the other hand, specially with traces of water-vapour present in normal air, has the tendency to chemically react with other compounds present in the vicinity, resulting in oxidation. Rusting of the tyre valves is often a result of this oxidation process. But again, this oxidation can happen because of other reasons. If you ever notice a tyre tube, you will often find some amount of rusting around the valve area, often visible to the naked eye. This is not only because of the air inside the tube, but also because the valve area is exposed to water and air in the atmosphere and react. That's the reason valves are covered with plastic caps these days.

Regarding temperature difference, that could again be marginal because air fill in tyres is 78% nitrogen anyway. Haven't you heard of emergency landing due to tyre blowouts in aircrafts containing nitrogen-only tyres?

Btw, I am using nitrogen in my car tyres for last couple of months. They charged Rs 250/- for 5 with free topping up for six months. I haven't seen any noticeable difference so far. I still lose about 2 points of tyre pressure in a fortnight and top up again.

[gajadonga]

I had a similiar incident about a year ago.
I Had changed my front tyres after 50000kms and all were new tubeless Bridgstone tyres.
I was noticing a loss of pressure in my front Right side tyre and I inflated it again thinking
that the pressures were not adequate after changing the tyres when I purchased.
I had a short drive on the highway the next day to attend some proffesional work.
I was in the Shadnagar bypass at 100-110kmph suddenly my front right side tyre
deflated and I had a tough time controlling my vehicle to bring to halt and had travelled
a kilometre before my vehicle came to a halt.After stopping the vehicle got down to
notice the tyre which was very hot to touch with one side of the tread completely flat
and the side walls were bulging out.Initially I thought it was the tyre fault and was furious
at the tyre dealer.I changed my tyre, finished my work, and went to the tyre dealer first
and was giving my piece of mind.The dealer called his company personel they inspected
for any tyre fault and finally concluded that culprit was a faulty valve.

Moral of the story- When changing a new tyre kindly change the valve also.
Hope this helps

[hothatchaway]

Was witness to a tyre burst - albeit that of a motorbile - this sunday while driving to srirangapatnam from bangalore for a day trip. I was following at a safe distance when I saw the front tyre of the bike go kaput with a bang, it started teetering and the driver (with a lady pillion) looked on the brink of losing control, I started applying my brakes gradually (there were a couple of cars behind me) when the biker managed to regain control and bring his ride to a halt. Some really anxious moments to say the least

Just wanted to check from the experts, I drive a Alto K10 which has a recommended PSI of 32, I have started keeping a PSI of 34 (in keeping with the advice on this thread) since the nearest tank up is more than 4 kms away and I guess the tyre heats up by the time get there. I hope I'm not grossly overinflating my tyres.

[Jeep]

Had a tyre burst in April 2011 on the NICE highway in Bangalore. Had just filled in air, and had touched almost 100 kmph after paying the toll. Was going to ooty from Bangalore.

There was no loud noise. The car started vibrating when i realised that it was a flat tyre. It was the rear right tyre. Traffic was thin and i slowed to a halt. My cousin and I removed the tyre when we saw a big cut on the inner side wall.

Had changed all tyres to Yokohama A drives only 3000 kms earlier. However, as expected, the company denied any sort of warranty. Had to buy a new one.

[pugram]

Fantastic thread !!!

I too had my share of tyre burst last weekend during a night drive. I had to use my long time unused stephney, as my rear right tyre developed a valve leak. The stephney was a second hand procured one of JK Make with decent amount of tread depth. The valve leak was attended to by the pump attendant, but he said use the stephney sir, its better.

After a drive of around 150kms, the tyre noise increased a bit on which I eased off to 80 ~ 90kmph. Suddenly heard a loud noise and then a rhythmic rolling noise. No loss of control, could manage to find a spot to park the car and inspect. The tyre had burst with the thread visible at some places. This happened around 2.30am, 30kms before Veppur on the Chennai ~ Trichy highway. Used the tyre with valve leak and finished the journey on a slower speed.

Lesson learnt : Don't skimp on equipment, more importantly the tyre. Planning to get new XM2 for stephney. The original XM1+'s still have around 2 mm more to reach the TWI mark, but need to change the valves for the confidence to drive on them.

[KALSANKRPAI]

Originally Posted by rajeev k

5 years or 40000 km is rightly the limit. I have had experience in my Swift with the JKs. Though the tyres clocked only 31K kms it was more than 5 years old and one of the tyres lost shape which, luckily was immediately noticed in the steering feel while driving back from Mangalore last February.. I changed to the stepney at the nearest outlet where the guy immediately diagnosed the problem.
Fine informative thread. The individual experiences and corrective action by members will definitely add further value.

Rajeev, I fully agree. It is always better to take extra care of all the 4 tyres since tyres are the only part that is in constant touch with the road Unfortunately till date we have not been able to have good quality roads be it be National Highways, State Highways or roads in most of the metros/cities. Besides different types of speed brakers, pot holes, uneven surface of the roads, joints of the road flyovers/bridges are collectively adding to the overall maintenance cost of the vehicle The Suspesnion system, shock absorbers and tie rod ends have to undergo tremendous amount of beating. The authorities concerned always blame the rain gods for the condition of the roads. I always wonder why we are lagging behind as far as road technology is concerned. Good roads leads to prosperity and economic developments besides boosting the tourism industry

[dass]

Something which I have been following for a while and also I believe is recommended is that whenever you tank up, check the tyre pressure too. Even if it doesnt take in too much of air, this habit kind of ensures that your tyres are properly infalted and at regular intervals too.

[wartikars]

Wow! This is really a very wonderful piece of information which is vital and foremost for road safety. Most of us Indians are uneducated when it comes to tyres. We use the tyres till it troubles us of punctures. When I talk to most of my friends and warn them about their tyres they laugh at me.

[Sudhindra]

Thanks for this valuable article, its a must read for every driver/owner as it not only provides info on how to maintain the tires also how to overcome dangerous situations arising out of Tyre bursts.

I had a bitter accident in Feb this year due to tyre burst in contessa classic that I was doing about 100km when suddenly, rear tyre got burst. Though I didn't apply brakes/Hand brake, gradually pulled out my leg from the accelerator, the car began tail fishing heavily and swiftly moving towards right side of the road. I tried hard to keep it left and could sense no feedback from the steering wheel and i sort of lost control. Panic gripped co-passengers began shouting "pull left, pull left" and i tried hard steering towards left , later without a clue the car steered left completely and began rolling and throwing us out of the car.

Since then i have been thinking what could have caused this kind of response from steering. I inspected that totaled car later and i could find only rear Tyre burst while front tyres, ball joints etc have no damages.

Any idea how will the RWD cars behave in event of Tyre bursts?