My buddy had a rear tire blow out-and I mean blow-out, total disintegration explosively, while doing 70 mph in his '66 Belvedere convertible on Sunday He kept it straight, no gas, no brakes, and pulled over safely. A little wheelhouse denting, and a little body damage from the steel belts He's a smart guy, he used to be a Nuke in the US Navy. He's a great mechanic although he won't admit it and he knows what's what. He just got a little careless and complacent He bought the car last year and the tires looked good. Well, turns out they are probably 15 years old When you buy a used car- check the tires! Nowadays with tire technology as good as it is, we have forgotten that tires are a safety issue. The tires in street use today have more grip than late '60s F1 tires, no kidding. But that doesn't mean they can't degrade Dave should have swapped ends at 70 mph in his '66 Mopar, but he's a pretty good driver and calm behind the wheel. The car should have spun wildly out of control and crashed. He kept his head and wrangled it straight Don't test your driving skills this way. Check your safety equipment inluding tires every season, twice- once before you take the car out of storage, and once when it goes back into storage :TU:
I got a blister on a rear tyre, and since both rear were pretty bald I decided to go for a complete new set with a different dimension that I liked more. Well, then I'm out at the yard and find three rallyes with tyres that look ok, I get two of them 15$ each and I thought I could tear them up at the track. They've been on there for a few months now, the dimension is suitable for daily driving and highway driving so my new rear tyres are stuck in the garage.. I hope the yard ones are ok, but you never know....
I has a blow out / disintegration in my GN at 80 mph a few years back while crossing Alligator Alley. Same thing -- slowed down gradually, pulled over, changed the tire and went on my way. Tires were alittle more worn thyan they should have been. If I was driving an SUV I probably would have been upside down in a canal after a couple of barrel rolls. Admittedly, it seems like unwise SUV drivers stomping on the brake and then overcorrecting when a tire blows leads to this result as much as anything, but still -- how common were midday single-vehicle rollovers before the SUV came along? I really believe Firestone got the shaft on that one. -- Steve
I had the sidewall on a front tire blow-out @ 70 in rush-hour traffic (it was my Skylark). Luckily it didn't come apart. I was able to keep it in the lane, but I decelerated quickly, and the car was sitting at an obvious angle. Think anyone slowed down to let me to the shoulder? Of course not.
Chris you mean to tell me that I shoulden't have driven from orlando to milwaukee on the old sears brand polyglas tires when I bought my vert 3 yrs ago? ou: and then drive the rest of the summer on them? Truzi. nice location btw.
Isnt there a way to check the numbers on the sidewall and that will tell you the date that the tire was made?
I blew the right front on my GS while doing 65-70 on the highway last summer......total disintegration too, I was in the rim by the time I stopped. Alittle scary but not bad at all. Didn't make any sudden moves, just slowly brought her down from speed. .....of course I had removed the jack and forgot to put it back in the trunk ou: Buddy I was going to visit had to bring his floor jack and save me
That jack that comes with the car, does anyone use that? I used it on the rear once, and it looked like the bumper was all twisting. People drive around with a floor jack in the trunk?
No to bumper jack - I have one of those Mini-Floor Jacks that comes in its own plastic case....which itself fits into a larger RubberMaid "Tub" along with the Cross (nut remover) and all the other junk. It doesn't slide around back there.
Check your tires Steps to determine tire age: Find the U.S. Department of Transportation tire ID number on the inner side wall. It begins with the letters "DOT." The two numbers or letters after DOT identify the plant where the vehicle was made. The final four numbers show the week and year it was built. For example, 3197 means the 31st week of 1997. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Ford is recommending new tires every 6 years :Smarty:
I put Pep Boys Futura tires on my GS about 4 years ago when it went back on the road. (about the only 14" whitewalls you can get are $30 tires.) Figured I'd be pretty safe since I don't put a lot of miles on the car. They've got about 10,000 miles on them. Right rear blew up on I-10 on the first leg of the trip to GS Nationals this year. No problems keeping control and getting to the shoulder. Spare was a Hoosier Quick Time Pro race tire. (Fortunately they are the same height.) Limped 10 miles to the next town, and had a hell of a time finding a tire dealer open at 3:00pm on a Saturday afternoon!!! Ended up with a set of Michelin SUV tires from Sears. Didn't mind paying for Michelins, but I had to have them mounted blackwall out.
