Don't be too sure of your answer!
Until last week, I would have replied that I would know immediately. My mental picture of a blowout was of a front tire "exploding", with pieces flying everywhere, leaving the car riding on the rim and suddenly very difficult to steer.
Then I had a rear tire (245/40-17) blow out on my NSX. It was NOT obvious at the time. I was driving on the interstate at about 70 mph. I noticed a slight, subtle vibration, which is not all that unusual given the washboard condition of Midwestern roads after our harsh winter. I knew something was amiss, but it wasn't dramatic in any way. After a little while (maybe a half mile) I noticed smoke coming from the rear of the car, and at that point I immediately pulled off the road, as quickly as I could while avoiding other cars. I noticed that the right rear tire was flat. I removed it from the car and replaced it with one of the track tires I had with me. I examined the blown tire. There were several holes in the inner sidewall, but the entire width of the tread was intact. This explained why the ride quality of the car wasn't as dramatically disrupted as you might expect; the rim was driving on the inside of the tire tread, so there was still "rubber on the road"; it just wasn't supported by air pressure (and no, they weren't run-flat tires). The wheel and tire got VERY hot, which was the source of the smoke (black powder was coming out of the holes in the sidewalls). (It took more time for the removed tire and wheel to cool, then it did to swap it off the car.)
There are a lot of reasons that tires can blow. You can avoid blow-outs by taking care of your tires as follows:
- check your tire pressure regularly (at every fillup is a good idea, especially with our large gas tanks)
- inspect your tires from time to time, examining closely for cracking and other problems
- use the proper size tires for your car
- be aware of how old your tires are (this tells how determine the age of your tires, and this discusses how old is "too old")
Until last week, I would have replied that I would know immediately. My mental picture of a blowout was of a front tire "exploding", with pieces flying everywhere, leaving the car riding on the rim and suddenly very difficult to steer.
Then I had a rear tire (245/40-17) blow out on my NSX. It was NOT obvious at the time. I was driving on the interstate at about 70 mph. I noticed a slight, subtle vibration, which is not all that unusual given the washboard condition of Midwestern roads after our harsh winter. I knew something was amiss, but it wasn't dramatic in any way. After a little while (maybe a half mile) I noticed smoke coming from the rear of the car, and at that point I immediately pulled off the road, as quickly as I could while avoiding other cars. I noticed that the right rear tire was flat. I removed it from the car and replaced it with one of the track tires I had with me. I examined the blown tire. There were several holes in the inner sidewall, but the entire width of the tread was intact. This explained why the ride quality of the car wasn't as dramatically disrupted as you might expect; the rim was driving on the inside of the tire tread, so there was still "rubber on the road"; it just wasn't supported by air pressure (and no, they weren't run-flat tires). The wheel and tire got VERY hot, which was the source of the smoke (black powder was coming out of the holes in the sidewalls). (It took more time for the removed tire and wheel to cool, then it did to swap it off the car.)
There are a lot of reasons that tires can blow. You can avoid blow-outs by taking care of your tires as follows:
- check your tire pressure regularly (at every fillup is a good idea, especially with our large gas tanks)
- inspect your tires from time to time, examining closely for cracking and other problems
- use the proper size tires for your car
- be aware of how old your tires are (this tells how determine the age of your tires, and this discusses how old is "too old")
