Ugh, tire trouble. As the sole connection between the road and everything that makes your car capable of car stuff, a bum tire means you aren’t going anywhere. Assuming you regularly cast your peepers upon those precious rubber donuts to anticipate pending tread trouble, odds are when something does go bad, it’s a surprise – and with the worst possible timing, probably.
Today’s Autopian Asks invites you to share your stories about tires gone bad, and I’m sure most of us have had at least one or two experiences with flats or failures. That certainly includes me, especially if we factor in bicycle tires. But if we keep it to cars, there are two tales that stand out for me.
Before getting my brand-new-at-the-time 2012 Mustang GT, I had exclusively driven meagerly powered “regular cars” and was used to tires lasting at least a couple of years, no matter how hard I drove. Not so with the Mustang GT. Though I never performed any smokey burnouts (never had a desire, TBH), I did drive the car like it was meant to be driven, with lusty rows through the gears at every opportunity and – because I live in North Texas – only occasional chances to really feel the car’s handling, mostly brief moments on highway exit and entrance ramps. And so, after maybe six months with the car, I was surprised to discover what looked like paint on the rear tires. White paint, down the centers of the treads. Had I run over freshly-painted lines? No, wait, that’s not paint – those are the cords of the tire carcass. Yikes. I quickly learned how much more expensive fresh low-profile, high-performance rubber is compared to the cheap treads I was used to putting on Civics, Camrys, and Corollas. And I drove more gingerly after that.
The second tire tale is my most recent. Anytime there’s a hailstorm, the roofing guys descend to repair damaged shingles, and roofing nails soon litter the alleys that are the arteries of Texas suburbia. I inevitably pick up one or two during roofing season, which sucks, but I can generally seal the tires. But not my last puncture – it seemed nothing would work. Not the sticky-rubber strip plug, not the sealant I dumped in there after. What a drag. I Slack’d the whole fiasco.
… anyway, I eventually got it sealed up with the third attempt at a strip-type plug. That sucked.
Your turn:
Tell Us About The Last Time You Had Tire Problems
Top graphic image: DepositPhotos.com
Ugh. I seem to attract tire problems. Let’s see: took a bolt through my rear tire on my truck last November. That’s after tearing one up at Death Valley earlier in the year. That was the third flat on my truck while on vacation with my trailer in a 5 year period. Thank goodness and GM for full size spares, and America’s Tire for taking care of us on the road. And also for teens who can change a tire. Teens are underrated.
Back around 2010, I had a 2008 Lexus IS-F. The wife and I were heading home to Little Rock about 100 miles outside of Dallas, cruising along between 80-85mph, when we ran over a piece of road debris. Instantly the tire pressure monitor lit up. Pulled over and saw it sliced thru the sidewall (it also did the same to the Miata running 50 yards behind me). Since it was Sunday, and the IS-F had hard-to-find Bridgestone RE050s, we had to drive the final 250 miles on the donut spare, which were rated for a max of 50mph and 250 miles. Now all the cars I had passed in the previous hour and a half eventually passed me. I guess it was the auto equivalent of the walk of shame.
Thankfully I’m in a position where – knock on wood – I don’t have many significant tire problems. A repairable puncture every so often, but nothing crazy. I actually have 8 extra tires (4 mounted, 4 matching loose) I’m trying to get rid of, does that count?
My personal tire problems have largely stemmed from multiple sets of Michelins (that came on their respective cars when I had them under my care) being dangerously unpredictable and causing sudden losses of traction that should not have occurred. I respect the company and a number of their products, but I wouldn’t willingly buy nor suggest their wares if there is an acceptable (and even superior) alternative available.
Bike ride home yesterday. Usually I’m just swearing the whole time I’m changing it, but the annoyance was cushioned a bit yesterday because the gas station sign near where I was swapping tubes went up in price as I was reinflating things.
Flat at 0 dark 30 on the outbound Eisenhower Expressway, in the worst area possible. I called *999, but another Good Samaritan helped and wouldn’t even take any money. I hate that Godzilla screws the lug nuts on! I would have done it myself if that hadn’t been the case.
Umm, what it that pointy spike on the jackstand?
-Some kind of AI?
-A handle for masochists?
The end of the wrench is probably flat, like a flat-head screw driver. Used to be to pry off hubcaps, but in this case, maybe it’s to pry out the center lugnut cover.
The handle is removable from the jack.
I’ve only really had tire issues on pickups. I put a brand new set of nittos on cheap gen 2 ram I picked up. I can’t recall how it happened possibly a a sharp rock but side wall got shredded. I went to jack it up and lower the spare. The jack and tool were non existent. I had a jack but lowering the tire was fun. It was also not in great condition. I ended up going to the junkyard for a $10 wheel and free tire. Took it back in road hazard gave me a new tire. Took it to my buddies place happened again on sharp gravel on a different tire. This time I had the jack and tire. Took it back for road hazard new tire the guys in the shop were laughing going I’m not sure about these nittos. It didn’t happen again. But was the last time I bought them.
I had a f350 that would wear the rear tires with very weird cupping every few k miles. The Ford dealer kept throwing their hands up saying we don’t know. They gave me a few sets of tires and then gave up. I put some cheap horizon tires on it I think supermax on it and they didn’t wear as bad I could get 40k out of them.
I did run pickup razors on nittos again on a f150 in Nashville at a football game. It was a weird leak a couldn’t plug and couldn’t really figure it out. So I put in some fix a flat took it in the next day. They found razor blades in the inner side wall buried in there on two tires. One was holding air ok. They only charged me like $20 for a new tpms sensor. Because it was ruined from the fix a flat.
Just one time:
Front spring of my BMW E39 snapped and punctured the front right tire.
Apart from that: Never had issues. But I always run rather new (max. 4 years) brand tires, as I am driving a lot. 2 seasons and the tires are most likely gone.
I purchased a set of lovely Continental performance tires for my GTI last October, and have managed to somehow get nails or screws in three of them. In one case, I was on my way to the tire store to get a repair done, and managed to get a leak in ANOTHER tire during the 5 mile journey. This was about two weeks ago.
It’s not the car’s fault, but my tire experience has been cursed in the five years I’ve owned it. Seven tire repairs or replacements, ranging from sidewall bubbles to pothole blowouts, to the previously mentioned screws and nails. This is probably more than every other car I’ve owned, combined, since 1991.