Needless to say it was not particularly pleasant. Gets your heart pumping when that happens in morning traffic. To top it all off I was going around a long downhill corner. Something on the highway sliced the inner sidewall about 4 inches.

One thing I am surprised is how many people don't move over or even slow down. It was my front drivers side so when I get to the shoulder it puts me like 2 feet from the lane marker. Parking the car 5 inches off the guardrail on the left. More excitement! I decided to call the GA DOT Hero truck so traffic would not run me over. Good times.

The good news is that a local tire shop says they have a good used MXV4 in stock and eBay has plenty too. I want to keep them all the same as there is at least 50% life left on the rest of the tires. The moral of the story. Hold that wheel tight when you loose a front tire...

 

Goodness, that is a big cut.

What did you drive over? A ninja star?


Good to see you and the car safe.

 

I really don't know what I hit. There are many construction trucks around the airport, which I pass everyday and I bet it was a piece of metal that had fallen onto the road. I heard no thunk or anything besides the air being released rather rapidly. The tire was flat within a few seconds. It all happened very fast.

Thank you for the well wishes. It was nerve racking. Especially in the serenity that the 430 provides.

 

jeez, thats a bit scary. but i know that feeling first hand. glad it was just a tire that was destroyed.

 

Glad to hear you're safe. I know what you mean by people don't move over or slow down. I thought it was only in Los Angeles streets, but I guess it's everywhere.

 

Glad to hear you are OK - could have been much worse in that crazed ATL traffic.

 

Thank you Jabber.

So, I get the tire shop and the mxv4 they had did not have the amount tread I wanted. They wanted $192 for a new one. The Dunlop on the spare is down the tread warning bars and I wanted to put something on with rain coming all weekend. I ended up with the a Continental Pro Contact. I can hear a little more tire noise but for $50 out the door I can't complain. It's a good tire and rides fine. Not worth replacing wth new at this point. I think I can get another 20 - 30 thousand miles before a new set.


Edit: You know the low tire warning system is not too bright. It took it 2 tire swaps and about 60 miles of driving before it turned on with the new tire at correct pressure.

 

WOW! Talk about some unexpected excitement during the dull highway drive! We are all glad you are OK, and recovered from the situation without a scratch, much less able to post about it!

I couldn't help but compare and think of the stories that were headlines for several weeks in a row regarding Ford Explorers and their tires causing the SUV to lose control, crash, and even cause fatalities!

Speaking of holding the wheel tightly when driving, I'm GUILTY of using barely 3 fingers to touch the steering wheel. lol. Mr. Cool here. But you know, a story like this should be a dose of reality to ALL of us. I know we are all more intelligent (because we drive LS's) than the average chucklehead driving a car, but it doesn't automatically translate into us being "better" drivers. And I think about when I'm tailgating someone who won't move out of the fastlane, or someone tailgating ME for no reason except they are super-aggressive. (WHO talegates in the f-ing SLOWLANE besides irate, aggressive & LATE people? And I also think about the times that I've got a scalding Starbucks in 1 hand, and the wheel being steered with my KNEE.

Yea. It's a good reminder, even in the serenity of the LS at highway speeds, anything could happen at anytime. Glad you're ok, and thanks for back to reality.

 

Not too bright??? The tire pressure monitoring system is like .000000001 LUX!

 

The car is designed really well. Very safe and handles good when needed. Two thumbs and both my toes up for my LS. The 400 and 430 are just a pleasure. Best vehicles I have ever owned.

 

so you are okay with mis matched tires, but suggest 4 shocks at a time? drop several notches in my view today

 

Sure I'm fine with a nice all season tire that is the same exact size and almost the same tread. I would of preferred the mxv4 buy not at a sacrifice of a lot less tread. It rides great. Rain was coming and I wanted it fixed. I'm not going to buy another brand new tire when the rest have only 40% life left. Why? Wasting money. I'll put that $150 savings towards a new set when the time comes. Maybe to some it's an image thing. I don't really care about that. Just rotated my tires and put the 1 Continental in the back. I'm very happy with the solution. As far as ride quality with my vehicle I feel no difference with the one Continental. They are good tires.

As far as shocks go, when you loose a regular shock more often then not the rest are right on the edge of failing and are worn out. This is why everyone recommends at least pairs. Unless something caused one to fail early it makes sense to keep the ride balanced by replacing the whole suspension in my opinion. New shocks compared to old worn ones is a major difference. The air shocks don't fail quite the same.

 

Interesting to go with mismatched tires.......2 ways to look at it.....laid back people might say ...well its a nice new tire no worries....the critical people might have several angles......Honestly I have read many of your posts on the site and thought u would fall on the critical side.....and say to do it right. I wonder if there would be any situation where the mismatched tires could put u in a dangerous position for whatever reason......I wouldnt think so....but its possible in rain or snow the diff tire characteristics could cause a slip or hydro that may not happen if the tires matched.....personally I doubt it....but I am sure the experts could come up with something.
I would have laughed my butt of if u said the shop only had 1 tire in your size and it was a Pirelli P7 plus.....I bet u would have rather walked home then have a P7 strapped on. So I am shocked again that the Michelin man hopped on the Continental train so easily....saying they are good tires...wow..............I am glad that you were able to keep control of your car and get off of the road safely.....thats all that really matters

 

I have a slightly worn 17 primacy from my last 04 you just pay shipping PM me. You can still see the first circle of siping for sure prolly 10-15k on it.

 

Thanks for the offer warm - I probably would have taken the P7 if they had it jpv. It's a better tire then the pro contact but not by much. They all sit below Michelin. Either way, what I wanted was some deeper tread. The pro contact has more tread then my mxv4s. Also, mismatch referes to the wrong tire size or type of tire. As in it does not match. The tire matches the others. I also don't get personally attached my tires. If one has to go then so be it.

We get a lot of rain here in Atlanta and good tread makes a lot of difference vs hydroplaning. My goal is about 20k more miles then I will buy a whole new set. I'm pretty **** about ride quality and my car and if I really had a reason why it should not be on there believe me I would change it. Will I buy a set of Continentals or Perelli's? Probably not...

Here in the South, we have nice large tire shops that carry a small selection of good used tires for situations like this. Maybe it's a southern thing too. I look at it as problem solved for $50. That's what I enjoy. Keeping my cost down. Plus I plan to source my own set of tires and just pay installation. Most likely Premiers. Also pondering new rims and that changes everything.