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Tyre blow-out - GK5268 - 07-12-2019
For the first time in a driving career of 38 years I had a tyre blow-out last week.
I have had slow punctures, but never anything whilst driving! Oh, and loads of punctures on my pushbike (not now as I have Tannus solid tyres)!
Tyres & inner tubes are just over a year old (Longstone) and have done about 7,000 miles since fitted.
I had checked the tyre pressures the afternoon before, the readings are pretty consistent one week to the next, so there was not any suspicion of an impending problem, but on my return journey, very shortly after leaving, the near-side rear tyre suffered total deflation - I found a small chipboard screw embedded in the tread and this had punctured the inner tube. I must have just picked it up and made contact at just the right angle for this to penetrate the tyre.
I was driving around 30 mph and suddenly, the car swerved (it felt like I was on black ice), and I let the car slow down by itself, but the car was difficult to control, the footage from the dashcam shows how the car was swerving back & forth across the road like some drunkard, getting worse at one point before finally drawing to a halt!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8rRyqPV8LU
I got out, not knowing what I was going to see, but the near-side rear tyre was totally flat and the rim was hard down on the road.
I had never experienced anything like that before. I fitted the spare (which was brand-new & unused) and drove the 30 miles home.
Reviewing the dashcam footage made me realise how lucky there was not any on-coming traffic...
Statistically, that was possibly a one-off event but wheels fitted with inner tubes are more vulnerable than tubeless tyres to deflation following penetration by a sharp object and I guess I was lucky to bring the car to a halt without anything untowards occuring.
However, the experience has left me distrustful of the inner tubes - I could have been going faster and how would the car have behaved at 50mph with a blow-out - rolled over?
I don't really want to think about the "what ifs", but if I could do something to prevent total failure occuring again, then I should (I really hope the new solid tyres Michelin have developed will be made available to our cars...).
I had never considered popping an additive into the inner tube before, but given the experience it might be prudent to perhaps do so in order to hopefully reduce the risk of a total failure again.
Looking on-line, reading and watched reviews on Youtube, I felt that the best option was to add "Slime" - this gives protection against punctures that occur on the tread part of the tyre (not the side walls), it seals holes up to 3mm (my puncture mark was probably only 1mm) and that seemed a good route to follow.
I bought "Slime", on the manufacturer's web-site it gives a rule of thumb quantity to add to each tube, there is a calculator as well and for slow-moving vehicles, the quantity is more, the recommended amount was about 350ml or 12oz, and I bought six bottles.
Installed today, I could not get the full amount in and about 300ml of the "Slime" is now fitted in each tube - I did not do the spare, does not seem much point, the stuff has a service life of about 2 years and putting that in the spare could be pointless, especially if the product lives up to its expectation!
From watching the reviews, there is another benefit from using "Slime" the wheels are more balanced giving a smoother ride, I have not driven at speed as yet so too soon to tell! Time will tell if "Slime" is any good for the little old Austin 7, but hopefully, I will be better prepared for the next time...
RE: Tyre blow-out - Ruairidh Dunford - 07-12-2019
We had a similar experience in France two years back - it is quite alarming when the back end gives way (we were five up with a camping trailer - quite a bit of weight to throw), you have my sympathies!
RE: Tyre blow-out - Peter Naulls - 07-12-2019
Very scary Gary, you did well to keep it under control. Good lights though - LEDs?
Peter
RE: Tyre blow-out - GK5268 - 08-12-2019
Yes, all bulbs are LEDs, makes night driving quite pleasant and the driving position is such to just be above the area of being blinded by oncoming traffic headlights!
RE: Tyre blow-out - Bob Culver - 08-12-2019
I am always amazed that so few of the crashes of all vehicles are attributed to tyre failure, esp at modern speeds. Drivers have great faith in their tyres. Especially on cars used by others with unknown history of curb bumps etc.
Eons ago in my Seven I had rear tyres go flat at "speed" but with the heavy rigid casings of the time was barely noticeable until attempted to turn... Have had similar in moderns; on the straight only really evident by the noise. On the other hand a colleague with a low Jupiter sports car recently had a rear tyre fail at 65mph on motorway. Despite considerable competition experience the car instantly spun off the road and into the “safety” wire backwards.
I read an authoritative tome on tyres and it was claimed that tubeless tyres give about 1/10 or somesuch the problems of tubed...and this is about my experience. Firms no longer patch; lifting patches were common.
Anyone who has watched Russian crashes on Youtube will be very wary of driving alongside large trucks! Seem to turn square when front tyre goes!
RE: Tyre blow-out - David.H - 08-12-2019
My AG tourer came back from the US of A with slime filled tyres. They were totally banjaxed...cracked, split. inner tubes crazed....the Slime really did a job. OK the car wasn't driven on them, but they allowed the car to move & the manufacturer suggested that they were good for up to 40mph (I think). Amazing product. In comparison a friend had a puncture on a nearly new Q3 and he eventually got the gloop into the tyre & took the car to the local AUDI dealer ( the car drove as if the tyre was full of concrete) who told him that the tyre was scrap after using their gloop. So he had to buy a new tyre. He decided to buy a space saver (bicycle type wheel) in case it happened again & left the dealer £560 worse off.........
RE: Tyre blow-out - Parazine - 09-12-2019
Gary Wrote:
"I had never experienced anything like that before. I fitted the spare (which was brand-new & unused) and drove the 30 miles home."
Back in the Seventies, this was a regular occurrence for me, probably due to my penny pinching, using up the last few miles on old tyres from previous decades. It can be a bit hairy, especially in a fully loaded, late type car.
RE: Tyre blow-out - John Cornforth - 09-12-2019
I use "Slime" in my wheelbarrow tyres because they used to get punctures from blackthorn trimmings. But the containers have "Not for highway use" prominently displayed. Is there a different version for car tyres ?
RE: Tyre blow-out - Colin Morgan - 09-12-2019
That looks a tricky time for it to go - on a bend in the wet. What is the experience of a front tyre blowout on a dry and/or straight road in a Ruby, I wonder - is it similar? Also, what would be the effect of adding-in braking (though not a good idea on a wet bend)?
Colin
RE: Tyre blow-out - Ferg3 - 09-12-2019
I use Slime on my old motorcycles and lets just say, not tempting fate, no reason to complain as yet! On the other hand, my nearly new BMW X3 has run-flats and one wood screw through the tread meant a new tyre....."we dont repair those". Now how environmentally friendly is that?