[Dave]

Just got back from a near-death experience of changing this flat on my wife's Audi on the interstate. The snow has left very little room to pull off, and I think my arse was actually sticking out on the highway. Why don't people pull over in the left lane instead of damn near brushing me going 80? I could feel my body sway from the shock wave as they drove by. Argh.

Anyway, here is a picture of the stock Pirelli M&S all season tire. Note how is completely separated from the sidewall. She didn't hit any bumps, and wasn't even going around a corner...just straight driving at 65 and kaboom. I'm not an expert on rubbers Is this a defect that should be covered by Pirelli? This was her front wheel that blew too and I'm just glad she didn't lose control.

 

[MattG]

When's the last time you checked your tire pressure? Might have been low.

 

[Dave]

When's the last time you checked your tire pressure? Might have been low.

Not even a week ago.

 

[dasmoofler]

Could have run over something causing a slow leak. Same thing happened to me. Found the chunk of glass once the tire was off the rim.

 

[tireshoppe]

The tire lost air and was driven on flat. We see this often at tire dealers. If you looked inside the tire there was a fine powder, from the tire rubbing against itself until it finally wore through. Todays radial tires will maintain better stability at lower presures than tires of the past so you don't feel a flat until this point.
That's why Tire Presure Monitor Systems (TPMS) have been developed. The valve stem of each tire is a sensor that transmits to a display in the car and will beep if a tire is low. Some will even tell you the air temperature in the tire. Since a very large percentage of flat tires happen very slowly it will give you enough time to find a safe place to pull over and change the tire or check it and add air until you can find somewher to get it repaired. A repair is much cheaper than a new tire. The TPMS cost about $200 plus installation and a there's a display that plugs into the power socket.
We have them available if your interested.
Joe
TheTireShoppe

 

[Aedo]

The tire lost air and was driven on flat. We see this often at tire dealers. If you looked inside the tire there was a fine powder, from the tire rubbing against itself until it finally wore through. Todays radial tires will maintain better stability at lower presures than tires of the past so you don't feel a flat until this point.
That's why Tire Presure Monitor Systems (TPMS) have been developed. The valve stem of each tire is a sensor that transmits to a display in the car and will beep if a tire is low. Some will even tell you the air temperature in the tire. Since a very large percentage of flat tires happen very slowly it will give you enough time to find a safe place to pull over and change the tire or check it and add air until you can find somewher to get it repaired. A repair is much cheaper than a new tire. The TPMS cost about $200 plus installation and a there's a display that plugs into the power socket.
We have them available if your interested.
Joe
TheTireShoppe

Do you have to dismount the tyre to install these or can it be done with the tyre in place?

 

[Dave]

The TPMS cost about $200 plus installation and a there's a display that plugs into the power socket.
We have them available if your interested.
Joe
TheTireShoppe

Thanks for the sales pitch, but her car already has TPMS. The tire went flat immediately and she pulled over right away without choice.

I was able to get her car out to the dealer yesterday and they replaced it no questions asked. Apparently there have been other incidents regarding this particular tire, both on the Audi and some VW models.

 

[tireshoppe]

Do you have to dismount the tyre to install these or can it be done with the tyre in place?

Yes the tire does need to be dismounted or at least the outter bead depressed so you can change the valve stem.
Joe

 

[Tristar Racing]

That could be a tire defect, but I would need more views to tell for sure. This happened to my fathers G35 coupe, I brought it in for him and they replaced the tire for free.

I used to be a tire engineer if it makes a difference.

 

[Newhouse]

If the tire was running low, the TPMS would have alerted you. You can check the inside of tire and check for any evidence (circumferential wrinkles) of underinflation. Take it to an authorized Pirelli dealer for replacement


Llike you've taken care of it thru the dealer.

Which Pirelli tire was it and size ?

 

[ezmoney]

I used to be a tire engineer if it makes a difference.

What are you now a Re-tire-d engineer?rotfl

 

[Rei]

Bubble in the sidewall happened to me before. I noticed it forming but didn't pay much attention to it then one day BOOM

 

[shay2nak]

damn!