I have two fairly large bubbles in the sidewall of my front driver side tire. I know that this should be replaced ASAP, but I've driven about 2000 miles with the tire like this with no problems so far. I'm just curious...What exactly is wrong with the tire?

 

what kind of tires u got? I had same problem on my accord (17in rims with kumhos).

what is the air pressure u running in the tires?

 

Hmm, bubbles in the sidewall of your tires are not good.......it is usually a break in the sidewall that causes that and you are risking a blowout. Don't want to scare but prevention is better than cure

 

yea u should replace them asap

 

yeah, i had a huge buble just last week on the freaken crappy Michellins....i think i hit a pothole. I replaced the tires in 2 days. you should do it too for safety reasons.
peace. good luck.

 

Our stock michelins are shit ... point blank. I had had two bubbles on two tires.. and there was no way that I was going to pay 200 bux for a tire.. I just scrapped them all and just got the Conti's and couldnt be happier. They were 99 a piece. Dont waste your money on the stock michelins.. their sidewalls are too weak. Your just bound to get more bubbles.. thas my advice to you. Gluck.

 

i recently bought Sumitomo HTR+ tires in stock size....i was "warned" that the sidewalls aren't as strong as the stock tires therefore there is an increased chance of a blowout....but no one's ever had a problem.

 

if you are interested in cheaper and better tires than our stock TireRack has Yokohoma AVID H4s for 65 a tire... Great Tire, better treadwear than stock. I love 'em.

 

To answer your question, it is the same as what deye said... many things cause the side wall rubber to thin out thus causing the bubble.... You may have hit or skidded against something and/or had the tire underinflated that caused the weakening of the sidewall, it could also be a manufacture defect... if the tire is warrantied, I would take it back...

A tire with bubbles will not be balanced properly thus causing unbalanced driving which is dangerous... you stated that you have driven 2k miles, be careful, the faster you go, the warmer the air becomes and thus increasing the chance of a blowout which may cause a loss of control of your vehicle...GET THIS FIXED.. ASAP....(now, biotch, go now.....)

 

These are the stock michelins on the stock 16" rims. The tire was actually like that when I bought the car like 2 months ago, but I didn't notice till I drove it home. The car was sold "as-is" so the dealer was no help. I haven't chked the tire pressure in a month; the last time I checked, I had them all filled to 35psi.

Could this be why I get 15mpg in regular suburban driving, and 25mpg on the highway?

 

that is not accurate information. The stocks are known to have one of the weakest sidewalls, the HTR+ actually has a pretty solid side wall, hence why they come in such lare sizes with low profiles. A good friend of mine owns a tire shop and when I was shopping around for BMW sport package tires, the HTR+ was highly recommended not only by him, but on the BMW forums.

 

[QUOTE=goldendragon576] The stocks are known to have one of the weakest sidewalls,QUOTE]

So true, actually Michelin is known to have very weak sidewalls... they say you should check your tire pressure every week if you have michelins....

NYDesi80, where did you get your Conti's??? Did you order them or pick up at a local shop??? I am looking for a good tire to replace my stocks.....

Increased tire pressure (than recommended) will NOT cause decreased mileage, only underinflated tires will cause this. Increased psi will make some improvements, but they will not be noticeable....

 

IndoMFP I got them at Mavis Discount Tires which is a local tire shop. If you call around and bargain with them they usually will knock the price down. If your willing to do this 9 times out of 10 you'll get better prices then tire rack.

 

the Avid H4s are garbage, the sidewalls are thin. Since purchase I already had 2 flats, a nail get easily in the top close to the sidewall and a bubble and cracking on the sidewall. These are not very durable tires and Yokohoma is very unforgiving on returns. Whats the point of a 60K/6 Year warranty if it only covers tred life, especially when there is a ton of tred. It doesn't cover anything else. Stay away from these tires, get another brand that sell reinforced sidewalls.