[Leadfoot]

Originally Posted by endurance

I agree that the risk produced by a blowout or other sudden deflation is a lot higher in an SUV or truck than it is in a low profile Honda Civic or other passenger car. I'm sure everyone remembers the fiasco Firestone went through because their product was used on a defective vehicle (a blown tire should not present a life threatening emergency and if it does, there's a design flaw with the vehicle, not the tire, but Ford's spin doctors got there first). In any case, you might want to look at the NTSB data on rollover rates for your vehicle just for reassurance. If there's a problem, I wouldn't run anything but the best Michelins your money will buy. If there's not a problem, it's because the vehicle was designed to handle problems like flat tires.

BTW, as a sidenote, before the Ford Explorer fiasco, Ford was up against the wall with the Bronco II, which had an even worse rollover record. At the time, the Bronco II was flipping at a rate of 22/100,000 while the Suzuki Samurai was catching all the heat with a rate of 6/100,000. Why? Ford quietly settled hundreds of law suits when the family bread winners were killed and the other spouse needed the settlement to make the mortgage payment. But since the Suzukis were $6,000 cars marketed toward teenagers, mom and dad were still working and they were pissed; thus more cases went to court. Only when the tire failures happened was Ford vulnerable because it was clear they were selling a defective product (the tires, of course).

You do know these tires were blowing with a two inch hole in the sidewall right? It has happened to me twice. When they blow on an off ramp you would need quite a low center of gravity to not flip. to say the vehicle is defective is a bit of a stretch, it is just the nature of the beast.