A_UFO

I am sure some of you have worse stories than the one I am about to tell you, however, I just paid $303 to have my right front tire replaced.

Going home Monday, there was a concrete rock from the pavement (now a pothole) as I approached an exit ramp to another interstate.

I am driving about 60 mph with the sun low in the sky and to my back. At the last moment, I see the road hazard and I attempt to maneuver the car to the left since the rock is more on the right side of the car.

Unfortunately, the right front tire still impacted the rock. I heard two thumps. Sounded like both right side tire made impact. When I got home, the right front wheel had black and brown on about 3.5 inches of the rim and looked very bad. I could not find any impact marks on the rear tire or rim.

It appears if I had another three to four inches to the left, the front tire would have missed completely.

The good news is that the rim cleaner I had on hand removed what turned-out to be the tire folding over the rim. There were two scrapes at the very top of the rim. No doubt, the rock cut through the tire and hit the rim.

I did not feel any vibration so I think the rim is okay.

It occurred to me during the evening that I need to check the tire pressure. So very early the next morning, I am checking the tire pressure and discover all my wheels are low, 27 - 28 psi. Including the right front tire. So I begin pumping in the air.

That's when I saw the gash in the right front tire. It was about 3" concentric long and penetrated about 2/16" into the tire and slashed upward about 3/4".

Great, just great. I know it meant a new tire to be safe. I would not want to encounter any potholes or emergency maneuvers and have a tire blowout.

*Sign* It could have been worse. I could have blown the tire and ruin the rim. Then have the fun of the summer heat and changing the tire vs. waiting 2 – 3 hours for AcuraCare or whatever that service is called to arrive.


Took the car to the dealership this morning and they said this was borderline since the cut was at the “rim protector” on the Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 tire. Concern is that the belts may be exposed or received damage.

I told them to replace the tire. The dealership charged $254 for tire and $1 for a new value stem. Labor was $21 before taxes.

I replay the incident in my head and decided that the best decision is to still attempt to maneuver to left. If I attempt to maneuver to the right, I may have hit the rock on inside of the tire making it difficult to see the sidewall damage. Or if by maneuvering to the right the rock cleared the tire, the control arms and whatever else in the suspension may have taken the hit on the front of the car.

One more person joins the list of ruin tire.

I not complaining about the car or the tires. What can you expect from performance tires with low profile. I just wanted to vent.

Hoping to stay out of the Ruin Rim Club.

Thanks