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-   -   Ford EcoSport Facelift: Tyre bulging issue (R17 size) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-alloy-wheel-section/195914-ford-ecosport-facelift-tyre-bulging-issue-r17-size-5.html)

I don't think that's gonna happen, they might find a better OEM tyre, but 17 inchers are here to stay. A fellow Facebook Ecosport group member has spoken to michellin India and they have assured him, 205/50 r17 size is infact coming soon to India. Till that happens I'm gonna stick to my Ecopias. I haven't had issues with the tyre at all.

Here is the link from cartoq. Hats off to Ford for being customer centric and ensure customer satisfaction. clap::thumbs up

https://www.cartoq.com/ford-ecosport...mer-complaint/

-Ravi

What is tyre Bulging and how it is caused?

This tyre bulging issue can be analysed in two ways:

1. Damage induced by user(s)
2. Damage caused by manufacturing defect.

Let's discuss the first one first.

Over-deflection, ICP (Intra-carcass pressurization), severe torque, rim pinches, excessive high speed may cause intra-component separation; Mostly, interfacial separation between sidewall and ply compound. Majority of this kind of 'bulging' or 'circumferential crack' upward from the bead toe in the lower sidewall are caused by 'impact damage'.

When the tyre hits a sharp object in the road or the rim is subjected to sudden and excessive pressure the weight and speed of the vehicle are focussed on a very small area of the members in direct contact with the road. The rim can be considered as an almost 'rigid body' in this case against the comparative composite modulus of the tyre. Thus the sudden, concentrated impact load finally comes to the lower bead area of the tyre causing enough compression to pinch the inside of the sidewall or even to create a small hole into the inner liner surface. This entraps air causing the 'bulge'; many a time, the damage is more severe with initiation of crack propagation along the circumference of the tyre. This phenomenon is termed as 'Tyre mein air aa gaya' by local service-engineers or common truck-bus drivers and this damage is irreparable.

It is notable that this kind of situation can be induced by the driver unless driven cautiously over the following objects on road:

• potholes,
• sharp speed bumps,
• curbs,
• rail-road crossings,
• heavily damaged road,
• road on construction etc.

Now, let's come to the second cause i.e. Manufacturing Defect or Lack of Quality Control.

If the intra-component stitching is not done properly while making the 'green tyre' in TBM (Tyre Building Machine) especially, the stitch between ply turn-up(s) and turn-down(s) in case of PCR tyres the bulging damage can occur while the tyre is in use. Even post-manufacturing quality check should ensure no production-defect.

As of now, I discussed these as probable causes of generic 'bulging phenomenon' of tyre. But what is behind this particular case of 17" EcoSport tyre?

Interestingly, the 2nd picture shared in this thread shows the rim has visible dents where the tyre also suffered bulging damage. So, for that very case it 'should' be 'damage caused by impact' ruling out manufacturing defect or lack of quality control in production line.

Now, this kind of damage is reported by apprx. 10 users and this leads to multiple possibilities.

(a) whether all the users belong to and drive in the same geographical location,
(b) how about their driving pattern,
(c) are 17" only prone to this damage?

(a) and (b) combo will clearly establish cause-effect logic if the sample space selected/reported is wide enough in nature of statistical distribution (all I mean to say, it's globally dispersed enough and not locally concentrated)

And, (c)? it is self explanatory. 17" tyre in a same car should definitely put on comparatively 'low profile' tyre than a 16" sis. (Nexon!? exception!). Any low profile tyre should have shorter side-wall length and less flexing. So chances are more for them to be affected by sharp impact; be it direct or be it transmitted from the rim!

But this concept is becoming old now-a-days. Even TBR/TBB with 100% aspect ratio suffer this kind of damages. In hindsight, it would not be prudent to make a hypothesis that only low profile tyres are subject to bulging damage.

Engineering a low aspect ratio tyre is comparatively complex than others. It is also notable that Bridgestone Ecopia across its size range is widely accepted as 'benchmark' in PCR OE supply. So, without proper failure analysis with all the reported issues we cannot really comment on what is what. Car manufacturers put very stringent parametric values for the OE tyre manufactures. A single disagreement of expected values with RRC, Ride-Handling, NVH or service life leads to rejection of the tyre in both indoor and outdoor testings. Now, Ford must have done enough R&D to select the BS Ecopia for the 17" sibling. Now, for the current scenario the responsibility of the damage is not incumbent on Bridgestone but on Ford itself as they are selling Ecopia tyres as OE fitment. It's good to see Ford is calling the affected customers and replacing the tyres under warranty. By this time, Ford must have initiated internal R&D of rectification, perhaps jointly with Bridgestone! And it would not be surprising if the issue is silently resolved in upcoming batches of ES!:)

It doesn't have any dents or damage there. Here is a better picture for your reference.
Credits to Ashkar lessirey.
The car was just washed and hence it appears as if there are dents on the alloy.

Has anyone moved down to 16" wheels on the Titanium+ variant.

I'm planning on doing so and putting a 215/55/16 tyre. Can someone tell me what the impact is, apart from a marginal increase in diameter of about 1% ?

Thanks

Why won't you go with what Ford is using in titanium variants ? That's 205/60 r16 ? At least you know there's not gonna be much issue while claming suspension warranties.

well 205/60/16 has a 653 dia against a 643 dia of the 215/55/16. and the stock 205/50/17 has a 638 dia. So basically lesser mileage error and slightly wider tire also means a slightly more comfortable ride.

Noting the tyre bulging issue, I am now concerned about the tyre pressure I should maintain. I am going to make a long trip during this weekend with 50-60 KGS of luggage in boot, 4 Adults and 2yr old kid. Could anyone suggest about the tyre pressure I should maintain in front and back wheels if I am going for Nitro gas?

Stick to whatever the manual recommends, it should also be on a sticker on the frame of your driver side door.

Don’t let the fuel pump air guy fill air according to his own notions of what pressure is correct.

The company recommended PSI is 30 for 2 to 3 people. But in my experience, i found 32 PSI is more suitable than 30 PSI for better ride comfort.
Of course this is for normal air. I have never tried Nitrogen, so can't say much about it. Experts can confirm, whether it is same or needs to be different.

-Ravi

If you are going for a long drive the air inside will heat up and expand anyway. If you over inflate that’s a bit of a risk for your tires.

Look at what they recommend for a 4-5 people plus luggage tire pressure and use
that.

No difference for nitrogen vs air except that it won’t expand as much when heated up.

Ford recommends 35 and 41 PSI for front and rear respectively for full load.
I have posted the image here.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-...ml#post4356474

I think the numbers are too high, and 34 all around should be fine.

Hello Folks, I had a strange experience yesterday (2nd March) when my Titanium + AT's TPMS took a toss. I have started my journey at 8:00 AM from whitefield, Bengaluru to Hyderabad. On the way at the 20th KM, I have stopped at a Nitrogen gas shop and filled 35PSI in front and 38PSI in the back from single digit pressure. There were 3 Adults, 2yr kid in the car, Slightly less than 50 KGs load in the boot, approx 20 KGs load in the front seat.
Since then tyre pressure warning symbol started glowing and the MID started showing irregularity.
First, the tyre pressure that the shop guys set and the pressure my MID shows doesn't match (Never matched since the purchase in November).
Second, I have asked the Nitro guy to increase pressure in the front from 35 to 36 and in the back from 38 to 40, but there is very slight change in MID pressure readings but the warning symbol doesn't go off.
Keeping the tyre bulge issue, the long trip ahead and my 2yr old kid in the car in mind, I went to the service center right away, which was 12kms away. The SA initially told me that he will check the programming of the TPMS, if problem persists, he said he will fill normal air in the tyres. But after taking my car inside the garage, spending about 15 minns, the car is out and the SA advised me that he had "programmed the TPMS" (not sure what that meant), and assured me that there will be nothing wrong with the tyres with the current pressure.
And Thank God, there was no trouble after that although I occasionally reached 140, consistently maintained 110.

Takeaway: I am still concerned about the TPMS Programming and the Tyres of course. I will switch to Michelin at the first change I will get. Also planning to get rid of the TPMS to have a peace of mind in the future. Any advise is welcome.

The TPMS will never show accurate pressures. You should use it in relative terms.
Filling it with Nitrogen or air will not change how the TPMS operates.

Did you reset the TPMS after filling Nitrogen? It's possible that that's all the SA did at the service centre.

The tyre bulging issue is being reported by the owners one after another and it looks like Ford India is least bit interested to make any correction at their end. Here is yet another one reported (many were, but I was inactive) today:


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