Author Topic: Tire blowout (Read 1783 times)

anitacasey · « **on:** May 10, 2005, 06:46:00 pm »

Is it possible to figure out what caused a tire blowout by looking at photos of the tire? If so, I have 4 different views of a back tire that blew while we were driving in Ireland. I haven't been able to attach the pictures because they're too big, and I don't know how to make them smaller. I could e-mail them to you, though. My e-mail address is anitalouisecasey@yahoo.com.

tpl · « **Reply #1 on:** May 10, 2005, 08:24:46 pm »

Put them on the free Yahoo photo site and post the link in the forum

anitacasey · « **Reply #2 on:** May 10, 2005, 10:33:52 pm »

Thanks so much for that high-tech tip. I think I figured it out. Here's the link where you can see the pictures: http://photos.yahoo.com/anitalouisecasey

Mdxtasy · « **Reply #3 on:** May 10, 2005, 10:53:15 pm »

I can't see much in terms of damage. Was there an obvious hole in the tire? The only thing I can see is the valve stem isn't there anymore.

Welcome to the forum.

ovr50 · « **Reply #4 on:** May 10, 2005, 11:23:22 pm »

It's awfully hard to tell from the pictures what the problem could have been. Lots of things could cause it - you ran over something, the tire was faulty, the tire was run underinflated at speed, the valve stem was loose, etc, etc. Did it blow suddenly or just deflate over time?

morty · « **Reply #5 on:** May 10, 2005, 11:51:26 pm »

Only thing I can see is in picture #2 looks like something impacted the sidewall. Appears as though something metal, perhaps rebar has pierced the tire. Have you been cruising any construction sites lately?

TireTrends - A Life Less Ordinary!

ovr50 · « **Reply #6 on:** May 11, 2005, 12:12:23 am »

Yes, Morty is right, looking closely at #2 pix, it looks like something has punctured the sidewall and even left a hole. Maybe the "ran over something" scenario is correct??

anitacasey · « **Reply #7 on:** May 11, 2005, 12:36:04 am »

I don't remember running over anything, but wouldn't that result in a puncture in the tread? I did notice the small hole in the sidewall. Could that be caused by the rim pinching the tire, causing the sidewall to weaken? I think I see some scoring aound the edge of the rim.

morty · « **Reply #8 on:** May 11, 2005, 12:58:22 am »

Puncture can happen in the sidewall as well. The scoring around the sidewall is from driving on the tire without any air. Looks like something serious had a run in with your tire.

TireTrends - A Life Less Ordinary!

tpl · « **Reply #9 on:** May 11, 2005, 06:27:51 am »

I know this didn't happen in TO but I had two tires that had that sort of hole appear in the sidewall after an encounter with the broken up concrete around street car tracks... so an encounter with an out of position kerbstone perhaps,
I presume it is NOT a bullet hole!!!!

capriracer · « **Reply #10 on:** May 11, 2005, 06:36:32 am »

It's obvious that you're having trouble accepting that this is road hazard related as you've posted this on several web sites.

As an expert in tire forensics, what you have is a "run flat" - operating with little or no inflation pressure. The nick on the sidewall could be the cause, but the sidewall condition could also be an impact from operating with little inflation pressure.

Most likely scenario is a puncture through the tread. Trying to find a puncture from the outside is not as easy as doing it from the inside.

So what did the inside look like? Lots of rubber dust? Was the inside abrasion confined to the shoulder regions? Did the inside abrasion penetrate through the liner into the plies?

More info would be helpful, but all indications are road hazard related.

BTW, it's not just the size of the object hit, it's also the shape of the object. So if you hit an object, it doesn't have to be large to cause damage, which would mean you might not remember encountering it.

Hope this helps.

anitacasey · « **Reply #11 on:** May 11, 2005, 06:42:12 pm »

Thanks for all your help. The blowout happened very fast. My husband, who was driving, said he first felt that he had lost control of the car. He tried to stop the car by pulling into a driveway and the dirt beyond it, but who knows what he hit along the way. Do you think the valve stem came off or was missing and then the tire blew? Could the damage be caused by hitting a curb?

capriracer · « **Reply #12 on:** May 12, 2005, 07:44:16 am »

I couldn't tell for sure from the photos that the valve was missing, but I suspected it wasn't there. That is extremely important information.

It is possible that the valve was damaged in parking, and slowly lost air. However, it looks like the valve would go more or less straight up and be protected by the rim. (difficult to tell from the photos.

I will say that it doesn't seem likely that the valve was unseated when the tire was operated flat. It looks like the valve hole is in the depression. I can't see the back side, but it looks like both tire beads are still in place, so there isn't a mechanism to pull the valve out. The proof would be when the tire was demounted, was only the base of the valve inside the tire?

Also, from the abrasion on the sidewall, I'd say the tire was operated for a short time without inflation pressure before the photos were taken as the abrasion is faily superficial.

Hope this helps.

(Message edited by CapriRacer on May 12, 2005)

Author Topic: Tire blowout (Read 1783 times)

Mdxtasy