Some thoughts on tire failure...

WMTIRE is our resident tire man.

He and a few others are trying out some new size/type tires. I believe he is waiting for some real world data to come back from his test subjects.. Folks he has sent some test tires to. It is just going to take a little time to get the results back from the testing. There is a WHOLE bunch of data on the subject listed in the forum. Have you taken a look a this thread?

Another (!) tire failure.

Located in Tires, Tires, Tires,

Till then, load the TM as light as you can, watch the air pressure, ( you can get another spare as I have ) and go for it!

[Bill]

Originally Posted by BobRederick

Nitrogen has a greater thermal conductivity than air, so if the heated nitrogen can get to a cool surface (the wheel rim?) the heat can be carried off more quickly resulting in a lower temperature. How much lower? I can't answer that.

But Bob, plain old air is 80% nitrogen. And of the remaining 20%, most is oxygen, which has nearly the same conductivity as nitrogen. So how much different can the overall conductivity be?

Nitrogen has one important property - it slides money out of your wallet, and makes you feel good about it. Plain old air can't match this.

By the way, the Car Talk boys agree. As do 144,000 Google hits for "nitrogen tires scam". See, for example, http://www.cartalk.com/content/colum...tember/05.html
Any good air compressor will remove moisture from the compressed air, which is the only possible argument. If you use a cheapie air compressor (the kind you put quarters into at the local convenience store), and you live in a humid environment, then you may put a bit of moisture into the wheel, and in 100 years the wheel may rust a bit. Other than that - nada.

It is sometimes claimed that nitrogen diffuses through the tire's sidewall more slowly than "air", and so with 100% nitrogen (from your tire guy's tank), the tire pressure doesn't drop as fast as with 80% nitrogen (plain air). Makes sense? Nope. The oxygen molecule is bigger than the nitrogen molecule, so it is slower (not faster) to pass through microscopic pores.

Save your money. Buy swampland in Florida. It has a bigger chance of paying off.

Bill

i'm about to decide on light truck tires for my 3124 kb (15" wheels)
unless this great forum can come up with some serious cons.....my family
is having serious angust about the gy marathons!!!!!
per wmtire.i'm trying to check out some info on titans (ie price.date of manufacture.ply etc)

thanks for any help in this "wrenching" decision

bill s

I had Titans (ST) on my TM and had a major blow out with tread seperation earlier this year. They were considered defective by the sellers and the mfgr. The tires were 2yrs old and we drive slow and travel light. HOWEVER they were 13" which is not likely the case for you.
And it is no longer the case for me!

Cheri

Originally Posted by bill s

per wmtire.i'm trying to check out some info on titans (ie price.date of manufacture.ply etc)

thanks for any help in this "wrenching" decision

bill s

Biil S, I will gladly help you with the DOT codes on the Titans, but I have absolutely no experience with that particular branded name. I may just be misinterpreting your "per wmtire" comment. I have not mentioned owning/using Titan in any of my posts, so far. I did say I have some Pro-Meter's that are most likely made by the same manufacturer as the Titan's. If the Titan's have the same DOT as the Pro-meters, then both of us will be using/testing the same tire in essence. Were you able to get the DOT numbers from the Titans?

Most of our effort to date, has been spent on finding alternatives to the 14" inch Marathons, as everyone's comments seemed to dictate that's where the majority of the tire failures lay. I would say we are in the testing phase for 14 inch tires right now.

The 15" tire alternatives have become a beast of their own, and we are still actively searching for better solutions.

On another note: Since we started trying to find better tires for our trailers, all of this "Made in China" scare has hit the marketplace in the last month, whether it be tires, toothpaste, catfish, etc. Many, and I emphasize "many" of the trailer tires are now being made in China, along with Goodyear Marathons. China's quality control is highly suspect right now in the world's eyes.

I have to ask this question from a seller, American, and also from a TMowner's standpoint. Should we disqualify any test tire if it is made in China? Has everyone got a "China Syndrome" now?.......similar to what happened with Firestone and Ford several years ago. Everyone's comments would be appreciated, and also save some time in our searching, if we're going to omit China made tires.

Thanks

[Bill]

Bobby -

I think Bill S's comments were directed at the question of light truck (LT) tires versus special trailer (ST) tires. We've had a lot of discussion about the advisability (or non-advisability) of using LT tires on a trailer, but I haven't heard a convincing argument against it.

As for Chinese-made tires. If you eliminate them, are there any left? Michelin (France) is the one that comes to mind, but they don't make a trailer tire. Are there other choices?

Bill

I have to ask this question from a seller, American, and also from a TMowner's standpoint. Should we disqualify any test tire if it is made in China? Has everyone got a "China Syndrome" now?.......

WMTIRE - No " China Syndrome " here.. In the world I work in we let results speak for themselves, no matter where something was made. If memory serves, ( and sometimes it don't!) the extra spare I put together was made with a "towmaster?" tire. Codes say that it was made in China June 2006. Looks just like the Goodyear Marathons already on the TM..uuhhmmmm

I would go out and verify however it is now stored in the back of the TV for upcoming trip. I would have to dig it out. I sincerely hope I do not have to dig it out! But if I do I will let you know if it does not hold up. Thanks WMTIRE for being point on this.