Tyre puncture. No feedback from car.

theMAG · 30th May 2007, 13:50

DCEite, would a TPMS be useful to you ?

suren181 · 30th May 2007, 14:02

Did call Xenos, Coimbatore for the TPMS but the marketing guy was unsure of it's availability in their range itself.

rks · 30th May 2007, 14:05

I think in case of rear tyre a puncture would be pretty difficult to detect quickly at low speeds. At higher speeds the differences in pick-up and handling will give a clue; there will be more tyre noise and the car may not behave well while cornering/lane cutting. It is also a good idea to check if the car moves in a straight line upon releasing the steering wheel -- I do this every now and then while on straight sections of the highway/Expressway.

It took me 2 weeks to detect a slow puncture in my front right tubeless tyre despite the fact that I drove at high speeds on the Expressway. It ultimately turned out that there was a drop by as much as 10-12 psi in the front right tyre. The mileage dropped considerably, from about 11.5 km/lit to less than 10. There were some differences in handling; the steering was slightly stiffer and the car was more sluggish and weaving about a little, but I kept rationalizing all these as I had just changed to alloys, serviced car, etc. Finally I saw a noticeable bulge in the tyre sidewalls and guessed there was a puncture. A prevously fixed puncture had developed a very slow leak, so slow that the junior tyre mechanic failed to detect it. Had to keep the tyre immersed in water and specifically look hard at the puncture area to see the slow leak.

Next time round I will catch such punctures more quickly by being sensitive to the danger signals. Frequent visual inspection is always desirable. I am really concerned about running flat and damaging my alloys, apart from the possibility of a tyre burst due to low pressure.

Vid6639 · 30th May 2007, 14:11

yup in a tube type tyre you hardly come to know if the rear tyres deflate. I cameto know after driving 2kms. when i took a turn the car felt funny. on a straight line it was normal. then I turned down the music and heard a funny sound. Stopped the car to see the rear tyre flat. This was in the lancer when I had tubed tyres.

lsjey · 30th May 2007, 14:18

Hi,

I'd faced a similar problem with my Wagon R too some time back. My right rear tyre had punctured. I could not detect it that easily. A biker stopped me. By that time I had driven the car about 5 kms at 60KMPH and had done considerable damage. had to replace the tyre as well.

From then on I keep looking for odd signs every now and then while driving. Before I start driving too I check all the tyres.

I've since switched to the tubeless and have been having a smooth drive sofar.

regards,
lsjey

Zappo · 30th May 2007, 14:26

As everyone has already said, in an otherwise empty car a rear tyre puncture is very difficult to detect. However here are some tell tale signs which are worth looking out for

* do you hear a zaaap zaaaap, fut fut fut kind of noise? Its the flat tyre.
* did you hear an occasional metallic sound? thats the rim which is hitting the road.
* many a times the car feels like it is hobbling. More like the back is bouncing on one side (and hence the feeling of a hobble). thats because the tyre on that side has probably gone flat.
* on a turn did the car feel like it swayed a bit too much? maybe accompanied by a metallic sound? thats because the outer rear tyre (with respect to the turn) has gone flat.

NOTORIOUS · 30th May 2007, 15:04

my honda eterno cant even take a 10 to 20 mtr distance on a puntured tyre

iraghava · 30th May 2007, 17:00

My suggestion to people is to upgrade to Tubeless tyres where instances of complete deflation are extremely rare. So apart from the normal regular visual check they really don't have to worry about the tyre deflating.

rishibravo · 30th May 2007, 17:46

I nearly burnt the rear tubeless of my Palio and nearly destroyed my alloy rim when the nozzle of the rear (left hand side) tubeless tire failed me and I drove nearly 4-5 kms on the expressway before someone started honking behind me. I had to get a new tire and i was surprised that I didnt feel a thing . Probably since the road was smooth and speed was high.

Vid6639 · 30th May 2007, 18:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by NOTORIOUS

my honda eterno cant even take a 10 to 20 mtr distance on a puntured tyre

hmm, It has the tuffup tube.

Well I was coming back home on my friends Activa yesterday and it got a puncture. We rode for 2kms and then he realised something was wrong with the steering. We stopped and saw the punctured nail, removed and rode another km back home. The tuffup tube had sealed the hole in the tube but the blow had come down. Today filled up air using hand pump drove to puncture shop and got heat patch on it.

drifter · 30th May 2007, 19:55

Your 800 probably had crossply tyres, and the wagon r has radial tyres. Crossply tyres i have observed, literally have no strength when deflated when compared to radial tyres. That is why you don't notice a puncture in a radial tyre as quickly.

Drifter

Murugan · 30th May 2007, 23:37

In 2002 I was driving my 1996 Maruti Zen from Trichy to Chennai with the family at a speed of abou 80Kms/hr when there was this earth shaking noise and rattle. Emergency braking revealed that the right rear JK steel belted radial was in shreds with all the metal sticking out at bizare angles. Luckily there was loss of control of the car during the few seconds of frightening cacophony.

Samurai · 31st May 2007, 00:49

I have had the experience of having instant flat tire while driving.

The rear tyre: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...html#post63456

The front tyre: This happened on Mercury Sable back in 1997, it can be scary when it happens. That too I was driving in the middle of a 12 lane stretch in the highway (nearing a toll booth). Suddenly one side of the car went down and started making crazy noise. I stopped right there and found the front right tire flat. Me and my co-passenger pushed the car with flat tire 3 lanes across in peak hour traffic to reach the shoulder. I still can't remember why I didn't drive towards the shoulder.

gd1418 · 31st May 2007, 13:41

Hey Ishaan,

Want to replace all the 5 tyres of my Scorpio. Want one with straight treads. Which tubeless do you suggest and for how much?

Quote:

Originally Posted by iraghava

My suggestion to people is to upgrade to Tubeless tyres where instances of complete deflation are extremely rare. So apart from the normal regular visual check they really don't have to worry about the tyre deflating.

sbasak · 31st May 2007, 14:09

It happened to me as well. Rear offshide tyre went flat and I drove miles with it. Then somebody on the road pointed it out! It was a tubeless tyre and I then promptly got it repaired.
As others bhpians already mentioned, for FWD cars, rear tyre puncture is indeed difficult to check. After that incident, before riding car, I always visually inspect the tyres.
If you continue driving with flat tyre, you're likely to damage your wheel rim/alloy soon.
On a separate note, I also found it hard to notice tyre pressure drop unless it is drastic. I usually maintain 30 psi (in Accent) and once I was surprised to find out that one front tyre pressure dropped to 20 psi and I still didn't notice much difference in handling!

30th May 2007, 13:50	#16
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,807 Times View My Garage	DCEite, would a TPMS be useful to you ?
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 14:02	#17
suren181 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 850 Thanked: 11 Times View My Garage	Did call Xenos, Coimbatore for the TPMS but the marketing guy was unsure of it's availability in their range itself.
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 14:05	#18
rks BANNED Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ?? Posts: 1,238 Thanked: 17 Times	I think in case of rear tyre a puncture would be pretty difficult to detect quickly at low speeds. At higher speeds the differences in pick-up and handling will give a clue; there will be more tyre noise and the car may not behave well while cornering/lane cutting. It is also a good idea to check if the car moves in a straight line upon releasing the steering wheel -- I do this every now and then while on straight sections of the highway/Expressway. It took me 2 weeks to detect a slow puncture in my front right tubeless tyre despite the fact that I drove at high speeds on the Expressway. It ultimately turned out that there was a drop by as much as 10-12 psi in the front right tyre. The mileage dropped considerably, from about 11.5 km/lit to less than 10. There were some differences in handling; the steering was slightly stiffer and the car was more sluggish and weaving about a little, but I kept rationalizing all these as I had just changed to alloys, serviced car, etc. Finally I saw a noticeable bulge in the tyre sidewalls and guessed there was a puncture. A prevously fixed puncture had developed a very slow leak, so slow that the junior tyre mechanic failed to detect it. Had to keep the tyre immersed in water and specifically look hard at the puncture area to see the slow leak. Next time round I will catch such punctures more quickly by being sensitive to the danger signals. Frequent visual inspection is always desirable. I am really concerned about running flat and damaging my alloys, apart from the possibility of a tyre burst due to low pressure. Last edited by rks : 30th May 2007 at 14:09.
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 14:11	#19
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,728 Thanked: 43,463 Times View My Garage	yup in a tube type tyre you hardly come to know if the rear tyres deflate. I cameto know after driving 2kms. when i took a turn the car felt funny. on a straight line it was normal. then I turned down the music and heard a funny sound. Stopped the car to see the rear tyre flat. This was in the lancer when I had tubed tyres.
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 14:18	#20
lsjey BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 432 Thanked: 954 Times	Hi, I'd faced a similar problem with my Wagon R too some time back. My right rear tyre had punctured. I could not detect it that easily. A biker stopped me. By that time I had driven the car about 5 kms at 60KMPH and had done considerable damage. had to replace the tyre as well. From then on I keep looking for odd signs every now and then while driving. Before I start driving too I check all the tyres. I've since switched to the tubeless and have been having a smooth drive sofar. regards, lsjey
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 14:26	#21
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,921 Thanked: 2,673 Times	As everyone has already said, in an otherwise empty car a rear tyre puncture is very difficult to detect. However here are some tell tale signs which are worth looking out for * do you hear a zaaap zaaaap, fut fut fut kind of noise? Its the flat tyre. * did you hear an occasional metallic sound? thats the rim which is hitting the road. * many a times the car feels like it is hobbling. More like the back is bouncing on one side (and hence the feeling of a hobble). thats because the tyre on that side has probably gone flat. * on a turn did the car feel like it swayed a bit too much? maybe accompanied by a metallic sound? thats because the outer rear tyre (with respect to the turn) has gone flat.
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 15:04	#22
NOTORIOUS BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 808 Thanked: 124 Times View My Garage	Honda Eterno my honda eterno cant even take a 10 to 20 mtr distance on a puntured tyre
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 17:00	#23
iraghava Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bhaiyyaland Posts: 8,033 Thanked: 265 Times View My Garage	My suggestion to people is to upgrade to Tubeless tyres where instances of complete deflation are extremely rare. So apart from the normal regular visual check they really don't have to worry about the tyre deflating.
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 17:46	#24
rishibravo BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 579 Thanked: 11 Times View My Garage	I nearly burnt the rear tubeless of my Palio and nearly destroyed my alloy rim when the nozzle of the rear (left hand side) tubeless tire failed me and I drove nearly 4-5 kms on the expressway before someone started honking behind me. I had to get a new tire and i was surprised that I didnt feel a thing . Probably since the road was smooth and speed was high.
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 19:55	#26
drifter Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 1,488 Thanked: 75 Times View My Garage	Your 800 probably had crossply tyres, and the wagon r has radial tyres. Crossply tyres i have observed, literally have no strength when deflated when compared to radial tyres. That is why you don't notice a puncture in a radial tyre as quickly. Drifter
	() Thanks

30th May 2007, 23:37	#27
Murugan BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Chennai Posts: 382 Thanked: 261 Times	In 2002 I was driving my 1996 Maruti Zen from Trichy to Chennai with the family at a speed of abou 80Kms/hr when there was this earth shaking noise and rattle. Emergency braking revealed that the right rear JK steel belted radial was in shreds with all the metal sticking out at bizare angles. Luckily there was loss of control of the car during the few seconds of frightening cacophony.
	() Thanks

31st May 2007, 00:49	#28
Samurai Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Bangalore/Udupi Posts: 25,825 Thanked: 45,511 Times View My Garage	I have had the experience of having instant flat tire while driving. The rear tyre: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...html#post63456 The front tyre: This happened on Mercury Sable back in 1997, it can be scary when it happens. That too I was driving in the middle of a 12 lane stretch in the highway (nearing a toll booth). Suddenly one side of the car went down and started making crazy noise. I stopped right there and found the front right tire flat. Me and my co-passenger pushed the car with flat tire 3 lanes across in peak hour traffic to reach the shoulder. I still can't remember why I didn't drive towards the shoulder.
	() Thanks

31st May 2007, 14:09	#30
sbasak BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: CCU-LTN Posts: 608 Thanked: 14 Times	It happened to me as well. Rear offshide tyre went flat and I drove miles with it. Then somebody on the road pointed it out! It was a tubeless tyre and I then promptly got it repaired. As others bhpians already mentioned, for FWD cars, rear tyre puncture is indeed difficult to check. After that incident, before riding car, I always visually inspect the tyres. If you continue driving with flat tyre, you're likely to damage your wheel rim/alloy soon. On a separate note, I also found it hard to notice tyre pressure drop unless it is drastic. I usually maintain 30 psi (in Accent) and once I was surprised to find out that one front tyre pressure dropped to 20 psi and I still didn't notice much difference in handling!
	() Thanks