Scrib

Rented a Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder this morning (I travel weely), and I was going about 80 mph on I-94 just west of Detroit. All of a sudden, I lost control of the car, did a 360 and SOMEHOW managed to not get hit. Someone was watching over me!

Once I figured out that I wasn't dead, I saw a rest stop ahead, so I drove there, got out of the car and saw the left front tire destroyed. I was actually driving on some of the rim after the tire blew. The tire was completely shreaded.

Now my question is this... Why on earth would a tire with only 12000 miles on it go like that?

1) Neglect on the car rental place; i.e. too much damn air in the tire?

or

2) a bad tire?

The tires were 205/55/R16 Bridgestone Potenza RE950s (i think)...

moomaster_99

RE950s are rain tires....wonder why they have those on....oh well, never mind...if you know anything about rental cars...one with 12K miles on it is equivalent to your own vehicle with about 100K on it...the abuse that a rental car goes through is pretty impressive.

Scrib

They could have been RE71s. I don't remember anything other than shitting my pants...

Scrib

Come to think of it, I can't remember what kind of Potenzas they were. Anyone know what the stock tires are on a Mitsu. Spyder GS?

kensteele

Why would a blowout cause a 360, that's the question. Much too dangerous....

e1828

Not exactly sure what the stock tires are on the Mitsu Eclipse Spyder GS' but the stock tire size is 205/55HR16 and if it was a Bridgestone Potenza All-Season one is could have been either the RE950 or RE92. The RE932 got poor ratings on Tirerack.com while the RE950's got great ratings on Tirerack.com.

CO-CL-S

How is was the tread on the other tires? Are all four tires the same? Probably just bad luck (tire failure).

bioyuki

You're a lucky man.

Someone was watching over you

Scrib

Well, I'm guessing since it's FWD car and a front tire went out, is what caused the spin. I'm just guessing here... I would assume if a rear tire went on a RWD car, you'd probably lose control also.

Absolutely fine... I didn't seen any abnormal wear or tear on the other three tires. The one the blew, there wasn't much left. I'm guessing it was a bum tire, although I wonder if extreme over-inflation could also cause something like that.

All I have to say is for whatever reason, I was driving in the right lane. If I was in the left, passing lane... Damn the cement wall would have hurt.

Bluto

Glad to hear you came out OK. A blowout at 80 mph is not a good thing.

I hope the rental company does not try to take you for a ride

kensteele

A blowout causing a 360? No, I think something is wrong here. I've had blowouts before (granted at slower speeds) and not only did I not lose complete control but also I hardly even felt it. Thousands of cars have blowouts and they just end up pulling to the side of the road. If a tire blowout is going to kill you, that's a problem.

Not talking about Stockholm racing either....

Nashua_Night_Hawk

So why all those deaths due Ford Explorer tire's tread seperation?

kensteele

Because that was abnormal, obviously. Can't you see everybody was saying that's not supposed to happen?

Since it did happen, it was labeled as unacceptable because a car is not suppose to lose total control and roll over and kill the occupant on a blowout.

Not saying it can't happen, I think Scrib got lucky, but I would think it's a bit unusual for a blowout to nearly kill someone. I would be concerned. I might even look at that tire a bit closer.

Scrib

Well, the car was towed back and I hope I never see it again. As for the spin, I can't explain it. I have heard people having blowouts, and comments made 'Fortunately it happened in the rear (FWD car)." I'm assuming that a front tire that goes down rapidly or instantly on a FWD car at high speeds, is more severe than if it goes down in the rear.

The more I keep typing and talking about this, the more it really gets to me... My wife called me while I was waiting for the tow truck, and I told her I just got a flat. Now if she knew what really happened...

Scrib

Any tire failure is a serious problem, but a front tire blowout is the worst possible situation. That’s because as soon as the tire fails, half of the steering capability is gone, and what’s left of front braking capability is concentrated on the side with the good tire.

Stepping on the brakes will cause the vehicle to swerve wildly into an uncontrollable skid, and under the worst conditions, a skid can result in a rollover. Over-reacting and over- steering can create the same problem. Sometimes a thumping sound or steering wheel vibration offers a warning about impending tire failure, but frequently, it’s a total surprise. The same advice applies to handling a blowout or tread separation, whether in the front or rear.

http://aaaworld.com/pages/archive/ND00blow-out.htm



Things happened so fast, I wonder if I tapped the break to cause the spin...

Ok, I'm officially freaked out!

mffdvr

Glad you're alright bro'. Scary shit ain't it?! How was traffic?! 80 in the slow lane....hmmmmmmmm :shakehd:

acura_service

ahhhhhhh, maybe you cut down the tire, running slightly low, destroyed the sidewall and caused the blowout

Scorpius

25,000 miles above the Earth are communication and spy satellites. They watch over all of us.