Quote:
Originally Posted by trailbiker
We just got back from weekend on Cape Cod. On the way out the curbside tire blew out. It happened on I495 about 5 miles from the Bourne Bridge. I am really glad it did not happen on the bridge. The tire was a Kumho 857 205R14C.
Load range D. Our trailer was not heavily loaded and tire pressure was 60 psi when we left. We traveling at about 65mph. The tires were purchased June of 2012, we only have about 12,000 miles on them. I did not get any warning before the blowout and have no idea what caused it.
We are have Good Sam Roadside assistance. After waiting for them for about an hour for Good Sam to get back to us we called them and were told they were still unable to find anyone to give us assistance. Fortunately i had a jack ,breaker bar and spare. Changing a tire on busy interstate is not something i enjoyed. I am going to add some Safety triangles to place on the highway in case i ever have another breakdown.
The date code showed the tires to less than 6months old when it got them. They were purchased June 2012. I wanted to buy Maxxis 15 tires, but there was no local dealer, I went contacted Maxis and was told the could not guarantee the tires they shipped would be less than a year old.
I would like to advise on wether to just replace the tire or go with new 15" tires.
Does anyone use a 14" tire for a spare after switching to 15" tires?
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Well we had the same situation last Labor Day weekend when coming back from Port Aransas TX....blow out....curb side...I-37 half way between Corpus Christi and San Antonio... running load range "E" Commodore ( actually I call them comode door tires) tires @ 72 psi....and yes, it's NO fun changing a blowout on the side of an interstate....and we too had the Gooo-ed Scam Roach Slime De-sistance with the exact same results I might add ( one day about 6 months ago they called me up to renew my membership and I laughed and said..."why should I do that...the ONLY time I needed your help, you couldn't find anyone for me and left me hangin out to dry on the road side in 110° weather!!!...so why in blazes would I want a service that ISN'T??!!!...and pay over $80 for the un-privilage!!!")
So here is what happened and what I found out about tires AND rims. Even though my E tires were rated at 80 psi, the rims were only good for 65 psi. When you start rolling down the road, your tires heat up and that increases the pressure in the tire. So if you start out at 65psi, after a while it will balloon to 70-75 psi in no time. Add to that the ambient road temp and that accelerates even more. So if you go to a higher load range, you will have to have rims that can take the extra pressure as well.
That being said, after this blowout I bought all new rims rated at 100psi and new Maxxis E range 15" tires (rated to 80psi). I went out to California and back with no problems what so ever. Cold, I ran 63 psi in them and with my Eez Z tire monitor they would soon reach 72 psi and stay there. With that pressure I could drive 75 MPH all day with a tow weight of 5000 lbs..
As of now, I have gone to 16" Maxxis wheels and tires (E rated or maybe slighly higher) and just the other day sold my old 15" tires and wheels that only had 5500 miles on them. I will always buy Maxxis. They seem to be trouble free and trouble IS the last thing I ever want.....even on the forum!
Tom
