What happens to old tires...

[rmay635703]

Originally Posted by d0sitmatr

my highway speeds are most likely the same as yours, 70mph ?
you also might change your tune if you happened to have a 3 yr old (your only child) in the vehicle with you when it happens...
but hey, maybe not.

Nope on both regards.

When I've had blowouts I maybe drifted a bit depending on which wheel but it wasn't very dramatic. Front blows w/ RWD = downshift

[Frank Lee]

Reminds me... yesterday I saw a vehicle adorned with "Baby On Board" signs... sure hadn't seen any of that stupid nonsense for quite a while... was sincerely hoping that fad was gone forever. As if I was going to recklessly careen into them but D'oh!- spotted those signs and was able to avoid colliding at the last minute, and all because there's a more valuable life in that vehicle.

Also reminds me about threads/posts bragging up new spawn... I've considered starting a "My Sexual Achievements" thread...

[usergone]

What I'm thinking now is that I'll just get a tire of the same (or very close) size to the 30's I have on it now. I know, they are "all terrain" and LRR is not a priority, but I feel too cheap to buy a nice shiny set of tires. Now, at least.

On a side note, my spare tire looks ridiculous compared to the "normal" big tires.

The offset is WAY in compared to the fancy-pants alloy rims (that were on it when I got the truck). That makes me think... if I got some skinny tires with rims that have less out-offset, I could make some wheel well skirts... hmmmm.

PS: close observers will note that the tire in question was the front tire. I rotated the back tire to the front and put the spare on the back. I had plenty of time, so I decided to mess with the front end as little as possible. Even though its alignment has only one adjustment, and a solid axle.

[endurance]

Actually, looking at your vehicle in profile, I wouldn't hesitate to use used tires. Compared to most trucks it sits pretty dang low.

[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.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by Leadfoot

to say the vehicle is defective is a bit of a stretch, it is just the nature of the beast.

Exactly!

[PaleMelanesian]

My blowout was the right front tire of a Suburban, at 70 mph highway speed. I just eased over to the shoulder and stopped. If I wasn't clear enough before, that was an UNDERINFLATED blowout, not overinflated.

Frank - right on!

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by Leadfoot

...to say the vehicle is defective is a bit of a stretch, it is just the nature of the beast.

I'd say that when a vehicle has such a high center of gravity that it's likely to roll over from a blown tire, then that's a design defect. Kinda like putting the Pinto's gas tank where it's likely to get punctured in rear-end collisions.

PS: And it's not as though the vehicle has to be that high for terrain clearance, since what matters there is the lowest part of the frame/running gear. Look at your typical SUV sometime, and you'll notice that the differential & rear axle is only about 6-8 inches above the road, while the body's jacked another foot or so above that.

[Leadfoot]

Originally Posted by jamesqf

PS: And it's not as though the vehicle has to be that high for terrain clearance, since what matters there is the lowest part of the frame/running gear. Look at your typical SUV sometime, and you'll notice that the differential & rear axle is only about 6-8 inches above the road, while the body's jacked another foot or so above that.

You do need that high body line to not get high centered on berms and other obstacles, hence why jeeps and other off road vehicles have short wheelbases. There is a unique strategy you use off-roading to attack berms at a certain angle to not scrape the differential but you need high ground clearance between the wheelbase. Your typical SUV is a body on frame vehicle enabling it to tow more. So it will almost always have a higher center of gravity than a unibody. And if you don't need the ground clearance or tow capacity then maybe a minivan is more your style.

[endurance]

Actually, according the the 60 Minutes episode I watched on the history of the problem with the Bronco II and Ford Explorers, the issue wasn't so much height as it was width. 2" wider and the Explorer wouldn't have had the same issues with roll overs upon tire failures according to the show. The liability emerged after internal documents were revealed that showed Ford was aware of the problem during early testing, but the problems with the Bronco II were a greater concern, so they rushed it to market rather than fix the issue like they finally did when they redesigned the new, lower, wider Explorer.

In any case, my point was not to bash SUV, but rather to point out that if you have a car that has a high center of gravity and is vulnerable to rollover by design, the last place I'd skimp is on the tires. That's just basic risk mitigation.