Bubble in sidewall

[raaizin]

We have a 2002 Maxima with 225/50/17 tires. We have owned this car since new or about 9years. It originally came with bridgestones I think they were potenzas re92. In 4 years with these tires I had to replace one for a sidewall failure. I then put Kuhmo's Ecsta which in another 4 years I replace another tire for sidewall failure. I then bought Continental Extreme Contact DWS on it in July 2010 and since then I have hade to replace 2 tires for sidewall failure. One was covered under warranty(Conti's have 1 year free roadhazzard the other not sure yet. Are Continentals more likely to suffer damage from potholes. I am aware of the size of tire 17's and poor roads New Jersey, but in 8 years replacing 2 tires isnt terrible, but 2 in 6 months is a little ridiculous. Did I run into some bad luck or should I switch to Kuhmo's after the free Conti's stopping coming. Also if I put extra air in the tires would that help or hurt the situation. I normally run 32-34 PSI

Which brand tires are best to guard against this??

 

[mpvue]

I think it's your driving. I have lower profile tires on my car (205/50 17) and I haven't had a problem.
then again, I don't live in Jersey

 

[eljefino]

Are you scraping curbs all the time? What's your urban poison? Cobblestones? Railroad crossings? A 50 series is pretty sporty but should still survive.

 

[Dan55]

That is why I purchase my tires from Costco, they come with Road Hazard warranty. I had to replace two tires in the last year, one bubble and the other a nail in the sidewall.

 

[raaizin]

I believe potholes....We really dont hit curbs..

Costco has road hazzard for life???

 

[Dan55]

here you go http://www.costco.com/Images/Content/Misc/PDF/TIRE.pdf

 

[raaizin]

I may have to switch to Costco, currently with Sams Club. Thanks for info...
It looks like Sams club has a road hazzard program. I'll have to look into that. I am not one for any extended warranties, but in this situation I may have to give in....

 

[dparm]

You might do better with a tire carrying a better load rating, possibly even XL. Sidewalls will be a lot stiffer.

I've been running 245/40R18 (97V load) on my 3700lb+ Audi in the streets of Chicago and no problems at all. Audi specs 39psi up front.

 

[CapriRacer]

If you look at what data you have avaialble: You've had 3 different brands of tires, and they have all suffered from sidewall failures. This does not sound like the failures have anything to do with the brands, so changing brands isn't going to solve the problem.

But you do live in an area notorious for pothole damage to tires - and you are using a pretty low aspect ratio.

Adding inflation pressure is going to help. But switching to a larger diameter tire would be even more effective. But switching to an XL would be the least effective because XL's are only marginally stiffer than SL's.

 

[raaizin]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
If you look at what data you have avaialble: You've had 3 different brands of tires, and they have all suffered from sidewall failures. This does not sound like the failures have anything to do with the brands, so changing brands isn't going to solve the problem.

But you do live in an area notorious for pothole damage to tires - and you are using a pretty low aspect ratio.

Adding inflation pressure is going to help. But switching to a larger diameter tire would be even more effective. But switching to an XL would be the least effective because XL's are only marginally stiffer than SL's.



CapriRacer, reread what I posted I have had 2 failures in 6 months with the Continentals and 2 failures in 8 years with the two other brands. It APPEARS the coni's are more fragile or I got unlucky at least.

 

[Papa Bear]

You must get your alignment done regularly if you are banging the tires that bad.

 

[Kestas]

Originally Posted By: raaizin
Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
But you do live in an area notorious for pothole damage to tires - and you are using a pretty low aspect ratio.

CapriRacer, reread what I posted I have had 2 failures in 6 months with the Continentals and 2 failures in 8 years with the two other brands. It APPEARS the coni's are more fragile or I got unlucky at least.

Going with different brand tires may only mask the problem. Given the history, you'll still suffer from sidewall failures with this car. I urge you to consider a different wheel/tire combination to get away from the low profile tires.

I wouldn't dream of running low profile tires in Michigan, which has the country's worst roads. I see very few people running such tires in my area.

 

[scurvy]

Originally Posted By: CapriRacer
If you look at what data you have avaialble: You've had 3 different brands of tires, and they have all suffered from sidewall failures. This does not sound like the failures have anything to do with the brands, so changing brands isn't going to solve the problem.

But you do live in an area notorious for pothole damage to tires - and you are using a pretty low aspect ratio.

Adding inflation pressure is going to help. But switching to a larger diameter tire would be even more effective. But switching to an XL would be the least effective because XL's are only marginally stiffer than SL's.


I almost typed the exact same response last night but ditched it at the last minute.

It may be worth investigating 16" wheels if they will clear the brake calipers. When equipped with tires to give you the same circumference, you'll have a much taller sidewall on a less expensive tire.

I generally dislike large diameter/low aspect ratio tires for the issue you're having, also not to mention tires typically don't last as long and ride comfort suffers. I drive economy cars and want them to be comfortable in all weather conditions most of the time, with a bit of sporty fun occasionally - not race cars, and the roads around here certainly don't lend themselves well to anything but a pothole-dodging slalom.

 

[rshunter]

I wouldn't blame Continental build quality. I've never, ever had an issue with a Continental tire, and I've run everything from XL-rated tall sidewall Contact models to very short sidewall (much shorter than yours) SportContact models. I've run many, many Contis over the years. Long enough that I once had people ask, "What's a Continental? I've never even heard of 'em."

 

[dparm]

On the contrary, many of the Audi guys dislike the soft sidewalls common on so many of the so-called "performance" Continentals that are OEM on our cars.

To date I have run two different Contis on two different cars and did not like either of them.

 

[Ken2]

raaizin

In your owner's manual, what size tires and wheels are the "standard," the lowest cost original option with the greatest aspect ratio (greater than your 50) and the smallest wheel diameter? (16", maybe 15"?) It will also give the tire size. These will clear your brake calipers, carry the required load, and fit in all other ways. Can you find good used wheels that size, maybe eBay? And some decent tires to fit?

Do you think you could be pinching the tire sidewall between the edge of a pot hole and the wheel rim? Move to a different state?

By the way, the Costco warranty is for tire replacement on a pro-rata basis--if the tire fails when it is half worn out, you pay half the price for a new tire. It isn't clear if they'll replace a tire more than once. Some tire shops (Discount is one) have an extra cost warranty that provides for no-cost replacement.

 

[dparm]

Discount's certificate program kicks [censored]. They just flat-out replace it if it can't be repaired. Cheap too, usually less than $30/tire even for big or weird sizes.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: raaizin
CapriRacer, reread what I posted I have had 2 failures in 6 months with the Continentals and 2 failures in 8 years with the two other brands. It APPEARS the coni's are more fragile or I got unlucky at least.


I understood what you wrote and had 2 thoughts:

1) Damage due to potholes is a random event. My experience says that even with the difference in intervals, I could not discount the possibility that the tires are behaving the same.

2) Having more than a single tire failure is EXTREMELY rare - unless you have both a pothole and an aspect ratio problem. What you should be shooting for is to address the source of the problem, not trying to minimize the incidents.

So I think you need to be looking at things that will actually address the source - which was the intent of my posting.

 

[raaizin]

This car is 9 years old, probably will go another 5 years till I get rid of it. I really dont want to go to the expense of finding new wheels and tires although that is the ultimate solution. I really am thinking the contis are not working in this application for whatever reason. I am probably going back to the kuhmo with a road hazzard and nurse the last few years with this car. 1 loss in 4 or so years i can live with. Hopefully this will work. Thanks for all the thoughts..Ray

 

[dailydriver]

I know exactly what you are talking about!

The roads around here (north/central Joisey) are literally exploding lately as if they had small land mines just under the surface!!

Even given that, the only tire that has ever given me ANY sidewall bubbling problems was the Falken Ziex 512 in a 245/50 16 size (although still a taller actual sidewall than your app.).