Yokohama S.Drive Tires - BE CAREFUL!
12-25-10, 03:23 PM
#17
Lexus Fanatic
He said it was only 3 months. Tires don't usually start to dry-rot until at least 5-6 years....often more.
But only 3 months later, and under 5000 miles of driving, the rear tires are showing signs of serious stress!
12-25-10, 03:28 PM
#18
Lexus Fanatic
But only 3 months later, and under 5000 miles of driving, the rear tires are showing signs of serious stress!
12-25-10, 11:04 PM
#22
Its not rubbing in the normal sense, and its not cracking...
The sharp inner edge of the fender is actually cutting the tire...
What happens is that he is sooooo close to the tires actually fitting properly that when the suspension compresses, the rounded edge of the tire pushes up on the inside edge of the sharp fender, which is fine, but as the suspension travels the other direction, the fender has more rigidity, so it cuts into the tire on the rebound...
I would venture that because it is not very bad, ie, there are only small cuts and not large chunks taken out, that the car is very rarely loaded enough in the rear to compress the suspension enough to do this very often, so it probably usually happens on hard bumps or dips and is so quiet as to not even be audible inside...
Seriously though, there is nothing wrong with driving these tires this way - those cuts are not deeper than the tread is (at least from the pics I see), so they will eventually just wear away, especially if driven hard (cornering)...
I've seen this dozens or even hundreds of times... If you pull the wheels and look straight up at the inside edge of the fender, you will see a shiny spot where the tires have been touching, but just very small...
for the record, I rolled the rears on mine and they came out great - standing outside the car and you couldn't tell whatsoever... Also, they didn't lose any strength like shaving them would have...
The sharp inner edge of the fender is actually cutting the tire...
What happens is that he is sooooo close to the tires actually fitting properly that when the suspension compresses, the rounded edge of the tire pushes up on the inside edge of the sharp fender, which is fine, but as the suspension travels the other direction, the fender has more rigidity, so it cuts into the tire on the rebound...
I would venture that because it is not very bad, ie, there are only small cuts and not large chunks taken out, that the car is very rarely loaded enough in the rear to compress the suspension enough to do this very often, so it probably usually happens on hard bumps or dips and is so quiet as to not even be audible inside...
Seriously though, there is nothing wrong with driving these tires this way - those cuts are not deeper than the tread is (at least from the pics I see), so they will eventually just wear away, especially if driven hard (cornering)...
I've seen this dozens or even hundreds of times... If you pull the wheels and look straight up at the inside edge of the fender, you will see a shiny spot where the tires have been touching, but just very small...
for the record, I rolled the rears on mine and they came out great - standing outside the car and you couldn't tell whatsoever... Also, they didn't lose any strength like shaving them would have...
12-26-10, 03:00 AM
#23
I will take a wheel off and have a look at the inner side walls of the tire! If I can see these cracks, I will assume its the tire defect! If not, then I will assume fender rubbing!
Makes sense?
BTW, they quoted me 300 bucks per tire here. ( 275/30/19 ). Expensive aren't they?
Makes sense?
BTW, they quoted me 300 bucks per tire here. ( 275/30/19 ). Expensive aren't they?
12-26-10, 03:11 AM
#24
I will take a wheel off and have a look at the inner side walls of the tire! If I can see these cracks, I will assume its the tire defect! If not, then I will assume fender rubbing!
Makes sense?
BTW, they quoted me 300 bucks per tire here. ( 275/30/19 ). Expensive aren't they?
Makes sense?
BTW, they quoted me 300 bucks per tire here. ( 275/30/19 ). Expensive aren't they?
Tires used to be my life, I worked at the busiest tire shop in all of South Texas... I've seen it all!
12-26-10, 12:49 PM
#28
yup, its all the same thing... the top is when it just barely rubs, the part further along the sidewall that looks more serious is where the tire is wider, thus gets cut more seriously and deeper...
you are right though, it is similar in appearance to a defect that we referred to as sidewall cracking (not separation, thats a completely different defect, functionally)... When it is a defect, it is because of a faulty adherence of the different materials in the sidewall vs the tread caps and most likely that they were not vulcanized properly... When this does happen, typically, the cracks that you see go all the way to the belt package and you can easily see the steel, kevlar, nylon or polyester belts...
Also, on that particular tire, if it was a defect, thats not where it would happen - that is still tread material - the sidewall materials start at the edge of the concentric ring that has the markings inside it, or, about 1/4-3/8" below where those are. One more thing - if it was a defect, there would only be one crack, not multiple.
you are right though, it is similar in appearance to a defect that we referred to as sidewall cracking (not separation, thats a completely different defect, functionally)... When it is a defect, it is because of a faulty adherence of the different materials in the sidewall vs the tread caps and most likely that they were not vulcanized properly... When this does happen, typically, the cracks that you see go all the way to the belt package and you can easily see the steel, kevlar, nylon or polyester belts...
Also, on that particular tire, if it was a defect, thats not where it would happen - that is still tread material - the sidewall materials start at the edge of the concentric ring that has the markings inside it, or, about 1/4-3/8" below where those are. One more thing - if it was a defect, there would only be one crack, not multiple.
12-26-10, 12:54 PM
#29
Ah, just one more note about tires and defect vs. damage.
Out of all the years I spent working with tires, I would say 99% of the people who thought they had a defective tire instead had a tire that was damaged due to lack of maintenance, hitting something, the effect of an improperly repaired tire (from a previous puncture), or because of something wrong with the vehicle, ie loose/worn shocks/struts, alignment, mechanical interference, etc.
Out of all the years I spent working with tires, I would say 99% of the people who thought they had a defective tire instead had a tire that was damaged due to lack of maintenance, hitting something, the effect of an improperly repaired tire (from a previous puncture), or because of something wrong with the vehicle, ie loose/worn shocks/struts, alignment, mechanical interference, etc.