so, what happened to my friends tire?

Kinja'd!!! "505Turbeaux" (505turbeaux)
02/24/2015 at 10:54 • Filed to: None

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He swears he has no idea how this happened. any clues? Sabotage or what?

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DISCUSSION (41)


Kinja'd!!! Nibby > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 10:56

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Kinja'd!!! 505Turbeaux > Nibby
02/24/2015 at 10:56

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lol that works


Kinja'd!!! TheHondaBro > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 10:57

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It might have been cold?


Kinja'd!!! Aaron Brown > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 10:57

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Woah, that's a nice chunk... Those cuts look pretty clean so it could possibly be sabotage. If that happened from a pothole there would have to be serious wheel damage and it's incredibly unlikely it would happen like that.

On the other hand, not sure how easy it is to cut into tire rubber...


Kinja'd!!! 505Turbeaux > TheHondaBro
02/24/2015 at 10:58

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I know it is cold, but if you hit something that hard with runflats it would just about rattle your brain out


Kinja'd!!! 505Turbeaux > Aaron Brown
02/24/2015 at 10:58

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on a runflat it aint easy especially


Kinja'd!!! McMike > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:00

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No sabotage.

That's just six months of brake dust.


Kinja'd!!! SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:00

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??? That's a new one. It's weirder that there doesn't seem to be any damage to the rim where I'd expect it if it was from an impact, and it seems more than a little bit excessive for sabotage, especially with the third hole starting to form but not completed and what looks like a fourth one at the top right. Any reported defects with those tires?


Kinja'd!!! bob and john > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:00

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how cold is cold?
how old are the tires?
does he love to hit pot holes?

while each one mine not do this one its own...could contribute to this.


Kinja'd!!! RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:01

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I'm guessing some type of steel stobs in the ground about 2" deep - think some type of U-channel. I initially thought the cut would have to be from the inside of the wheel out, but I think that part failed under driving, and the vertical parallel cuts are the "true" initial damage.


Kinja'd!!! sm70- why not Duesenberg? > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:02

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There is no doubt in my mind that this was intentional. Tires don't get cut that clean by road hazards. For reference, here's what my mom's tire looked like after being slashed. Note once again that it is a near-perfect rectangle.

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Kinja'd!!! OPPOsaurus WRX > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:04

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thats pretty odd. I was thinking he could have run over a 'C' channel but i don;t think it could cut that shape. really does look like it was intential


Kinja'd!!! CalzoneGolem > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:04

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Looks like the ran over something bad. I'd recommend against that.


Kinja'd!!! Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:05

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Puncture + wear from driving too far on the run flats? Run flats tend to start falling to pieces if they're driven on for too long and the ride quality is so shitty normally that he may not have noticed the puncture for a while.


Kinja'd!!! crowmolly > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:06

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I was all set to start quoting the Beastie Boys but I think he should probably contact the tire manufacturer (Bridgestone?).

I am not really certain how you would go about cutting a tire this deep unless he has some real enemies that have good tools.


Kinja'd!!! RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:06

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As an addendum, I don't think sabotage due to the location of the cuts and direction, plus the runflat quality. It would have been hard to stick something into the tire that would make two parallel cuts like that without the weight of the car helping. Otherwise, the lines would presumably be less parallel, and unless your friend knows a carpenter who really hates him and cuts a lot of door latch insets, I don't know who else would have the necessary skillset, toolset (really sharp chisel), and totally anal force of habit of that kind of spacing.


Kinja'd!!! sm70- why not Duesenberg? > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:07

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EIT: There are multiple on the tire, didn't see that. Was 100% sure of sabotage, now 150% sure.


Kinja'd!!! whiskeybusiness NOW A DANGER TO CROWDS NEAR YOU > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:08

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At first it looked like a serious curb hit, but the second and third pictures showing that there are two spots that bad make me cry foul. Also, a curb hit with enough force to do that would cause severe rim and probably suspension damage, plus the sides of the tire damage wouldn't be anywhere near that clean. . .

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For comparison.

I think your tires may have been cut.


Kinja'd!!! McMike > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:09

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I didn't even see this damage at first.

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How long did he say he drove on it flat?


Kinja'd!!! Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
02/24/2015 at 11:10

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I think you're right. A quick stab to the sidewall would render the tyre useless so there's no reason to make the cuts. If it's sabotage it's a really strange case of it.


Kinja'd!!! Meatcoma > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:10

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How long has he been driving around with a flat runflat? I mean....


Kinja'd!!! ArmadaExpress drives a turbo outback > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:11

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I imagine it burst in that pattern because the sidewalls on run-flats are stiffer. He likely hit the edge of a pothole and just thought it was like any other pothole. That's probably why he doesn't attribute it to an impact that was out-of-the-ordinary. Sabotage seems unlikely considering how precise those breaks are. But that's just my perspective.


Kinja'd!!! Cherry_man1 > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:17

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That's a slashing


Kinja'd!!! 505Turbeaux > McMike
02/24/2015 at 11:17

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I just asked him, I think that was the issue


Kinja'd!!! BigBlock440 > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:28

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I vote driving on a flat and cold weather. I just had a flat this weekend that I drove about a mile on the highway until I got to where I wanted to change the tire, figured I was getting off on that exit anyway, why risk changing it on the interstate. After I got home to try and find the leak, see if I could plug it, it had three bubbles in the sidewall about the same size and distance as those. Almost exactly the same, same width, same distance apart, etc. I'm guessing the stiffer sidewall or lower profile, maybe even colder temperatures (I was driving for some time at this point, though it was single digit temps for me) caused it to tear instead of bubble? The scuffing on the shoulder/sidewall of the tire shows he definitely drove on it flat.


Kinja'd!!! cazzyodo > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:28

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Conspiracy.


Kinja'd!!! Scary__goongala! > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:29

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caltrops?


Kinja'd!!! 505Turbeaux > Scary__goongala!
02/24/2015 at 11:30

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haha it is in Jersey, maybe?!?


Kinja'd!!! Scary__goongala! > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:32

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definitely a possibility in Jersey


Kinja'd!!! McMike > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:33

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I once had a co-worker ask me a question about tires. The question was, "How long can you drive on a flat tire?" My answer came out immediately, "All the way to the shoulder." (which meant that you should only be on it as long as it takes you to get stopped)

He then told me that he had changed it, and was wondering if it was fixable. We ran out to the parking lot to take a look. I was expecting a nail, or some other puncture and was going to offer to take it home and plug it for him and bring it back the next day.

As he opened the trunk and I reached in to grab the tire and pull it out, I knew I would not be able to fix it.

The entire inner sidewall was ripped wide open 360 degrees around the tire. I mean totally separated from the wheel except for the 1" or so of rubber attached to the bead. Then I asked him the question. "How long did you drive on this?"

"I don't know... Probably a couple days."


Kinja'd!!! 505Turbeaux > McMike
02/24/2015 at 11:34

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holy crap, scary there are people out there so oblivious


Kinja'd!!! 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:47

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The bit on the right has cracking along the rim, and not in a way a person could do. Whatever happened to the other areas must be related, I find it hard to believe it all happened at the same time. Hard to see the top of the picture but I think there is some damage there too, like someone else said, maybe a weird hit and cold weather did it. I bet the tire shop will have a good answer.


Kinja'd!!! 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
02/24/2015 at 11:49

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Yeah the tire is probably built in such a way they it failed in that way, maybe low pressure and a strange pothole, plus that cracking on the right is breaking by itself, that wasn't a person, there might be some more starting at the top too but its hard to see. I bet the tire shop knows exactly what it is.


Kinja'd!!! 415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > McMike
02/24/2015 at 11:50

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Yeah I saw that crack, not a cut, it pretty much tells you. I think there is some at the top too.


Kinja'd!!! McMike > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:52

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I told him to go into the tire store and roll his eyes and tell them that he let his idiot girlfriend/sister/friend/brother borrow the car for the day, and this is how they returned it.

I told him that was the only way to keep the technicians from making excuses to go into the waiting room to look at the dummy that drove on a flat for that long.


Kinja'd!!! Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 11:53

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Is this some sort of support structure that allows the run-flat? It looks like it might be a steel band running perpendicular to the direction of rotation, maybe as a spring of sorts? Could it just happen to be weak bonding at those points? It really looks like some sort of claw hooked the tire and cut through it, like it was trying to grab the rim but missed. Really odd.


Kinja'd!!! Flat Six > McMike
02/24/2015 at 12:14

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Looks like a X6M, they have extremely dusty brakes. My vanilla X5 gets pretty dirty after only a few weeks.


Kinja'd!!! ST8OMND > McMike
02/24/2015 at 12:26

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all my lols!


Kinja'd!!! GeneralDingus > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 12:52

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Call me crazy but it looks like some tweaker tried to steal your friend's "hubcaps" with a crowbar before realizing that, "Shit, these are not what I thought they were..."

Identical cuts, imagining the prying movement on a cold tire, I can see it. Even with run-flats. Looks like there are even some fender scrapes on the front end where the crowbar rubbed against it. Two cuts like that are not necessary for sabotage. Looks more like they tried prying at one spot, failed and then tried another


Kinja'd!!! 505Turbeaux > GeneralDingus
02/24/2015 at 13:15

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he is out to get new tires at the dealer, once they wash the salt off I will be able to see better. Tis possible!


Kinja'd!!! deekster_caddy > 505Turbeaux
02/24/2015 at 13:53

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Ran over something big, like a steel channel. No way he could have not known. I would love to know the actual cause, I've never seen it do that in two places.

edit - asked my brother (the real tire expert) to look at it and he says "Sidewalls were cracked - old tires. I can't read the date code from that picture but the sidewalls were abominable. Once the tire blew in one spot, the other places failed while he was heading for the breakdown lane."