What do you make of this?

"Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo" (rustyvandura)
09/20/2019 at 09:15 • Filed to: None

DISCUSSION (30)

ttyymmnn > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 09:21

benn454 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 09:28

Looks like a sp are tire that most likely spent the last decade untouched.

Censored > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 09:30

Bad Sidewall Splice, that is a manufacturing error. Should be a defect. It is pretty common among Chineese/cheep brands, but this is a pretty bad example.

Edit: there is another one about 17 0° around clockwise.

functionoverfashion > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 09:33

The tires on my Volvo are doing the same thing to a slightly lesser extent. All four have these grooves at somewhat regular intervals, deep enough to feel with your hand or see in just the right light. It must have to do with the layering in the manufacturing process?

However, mine are near the end of their tread life anyway, so I’m replacing them with snows probably next month (a little early, but better than late).

If those are somewhat new, I would wonder if they’re under any kind of manufacturer’s warranty? It definitely doesn’t seem normal.

Nothing > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 09:40

It appears that Hercules has folded.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Censored
09/20/2019 at 09:43

How unsafe do you reckon it is?

The selling point with these cheap tires was that they are American made.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > ttyymmnn
09/20/2019 at 09:46

A good follow-on to that 737 Max story you sent, which I need to finish reading.

Ash78, voting early and often > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 09:46

I would make a tire swing of it.

Urambo Tauro > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 10:03

Had a similar irregularity on some Goodyear tires I bought a few years ago. Took the car back, and they told me it was unsightly but harmless. I n ever did any real hard driving to put it to the test, but FWIW the tires did indeed hold up fine for the next few years until I sold the car.

CarsofFortLangley - Oppo Forever > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 10:08

Murica! Lol.

Gone > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 10:29

Bad splices as mentioned elsewhere. I’d try to get them warranty replaced. If not just replace that one. I’m pretty picky about tires though.

ATD owns ‘em now (just went through Chp 11!), acquired from Cooper I believe - or at least they had a partnership at minimum. Cooper p robably still makes them tbh.

sony1492 > Censored
09/20/2019 at 10:29

Ive yet to see this in all my days of Nankang, Joyroad, and Saffiro. Through low profiles might hide it better

HammerheadFistpunch > ttyymmnn
09/20/2019 at 10:31

dang. I just went hunting for this clip. Well played.

Censored > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 11:22

Not bad. I wouldn’t do a track day on it, but it is likely fine for the road. Just keep an eye on it that it doesn’t start to bulge outward, this is when the innerliner fails and then it would be unsafe. Also you may have issues with keeping it balanced. This is caused when the seam of the sidewall material either overlaps, doesn’t quite meet or separates in the press. The bead is still intact and it doesn’t look like any of the cords in the tread have defects, those 2 things cause the most issues. What you are looking at is what happens before a tire ends up with a giant goiter balloon on the sidewall (innerliner failure) . Just keep an eye on it.

I was unfamiliar with the brand, but their QC is lacking or they don’t care. I have experience in quite a few tire manufacturing facilities stateside, and those plants (all “name” brand) these would have never even been cured, and if they did they would fail uniformity or balancing tests and never see the road .

Censored > sony1492
09/20/2019 at 11:25

Absolutely the shorter the sidewall the easier it is to hide. Low profile tires have quite thick side walls and you don’t see this. Also on short profile tires, the splice is so short and close to the bead it is hard to get wrong. Also, a lot of these splices are done by human hands, so human error is prevalent .

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > sony1492
09/20/2019 at 11:58

I’ve experienced this before, but not so pronounced.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Censored
09/20/2019 at 12:00

What’s your line of work?

No track days, but potentially many highway miles. I’m taking it back to the guy who sold it to me. My inclination is to see it replaced, but I bought a pair of them...

Do you know a lot about various tire brands? I need to buy a set of tires for my Mazda 3 and I want the most luxurious riding tire I can find. Not a touring tire, not performance-minded, but ride , like you’d want for an Eldorado in the 70s.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Gone
09/20/2019 at 12:05

I’m extremely picky about tires. You might ask, “Then, why those Hercules?” Well, they’re cheap and the guy at the tire shop recommended them and they seemed pretty comparable to the Kumho tires I already had, and I thought, Why not give them a try?

Do you know a lot about various tire brands? I need to buy a set of tires for another car and I want the most luxurious ride possible. Not performance, but ride . Any recommendations? Think: 1976 Eldorado ride quality.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Urambo Tauro
09/20/2019 at 12:05

My experience as well, in the past, but this occurrence is much more pronounced.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Ash78, voting early and often
09/20/2019 at 12:06

After another 40,000 miles, mebbe...

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > benn454
09/20/2019 at 12:06

Three months old , fewer than 5,000 miles on it.

benn454 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 15:17

Yikes

Censored > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 15:24

Materi al handling, but we specialize in the tire and rubber industry stateside. I spend a great deal of my time in all aspects of tire production and get to see all the different ways tires can be defective so that we don’t cause problems in the way that we convey them. Continental/General , Goodyear and M ichelin are our most known customers. Bang for the buck I’d recommend the Altimax from General. I almost exclusively run Generals and some Conti’s but run their truck and suv tires.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Censored
09/20/2019 at 16:10

I love tires. Some of my favorite YouTube videos have to do with tires, tire manufacture, rubber making, repairing mammoth mining truck tires, et cetera. Mildly obsessed with tires, actually, but not in the sense of uber performance, only in general drivability and sportiness, where applicable, and, of course, turning them into smoke when and where possible...

My tire guy recommends the Continental. Contact, something-or-other. I’m afraid that the only thing I’ll be able to buy is a touring tire and it’ll ride more harshly than I want, in a car that though I like it very much, it rides too harshly for my liking. (2011 Mazda 3)

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > benn454
09/20/2019 at 16:11

Yes, I think it’s a defect and I’m hoping the guy will replace it. I’ll probably buy a replacement for its mate and use the other as a spare.

Censored > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 17:18

Probably a pro contact, very popular OE and replacement tire. It, however, has a stiffer sidewall to aid in handling. The Altimax has a bit softer sidewall and in my opinion rides significantly better. Though it will roll over a bit in agg ressive cornering. FYI, Conti's and Generals are made under the same roof.

benn454 > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/20/2019 at 17:26

This is most likely the best course of action.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Censored
09/20/2019 at 17:59

This is the information I was seeking. We don’t corner aggressively. Thank you.

Old-Busted-Hotness > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
09/21/2019 at 06:35

re: ride quality (s ince I can’t reply to your question properly (thanks Kinja) I’ll do it here): I’m quite happy with the Toyo Extensa AS that I put on the Love Boat (‘88 Crown Vic). Not a sporty tire for a not sporty car, but it still corners about as well as you could expect, and it soaks up the bumps nicely at 30 psi. They took a minimal amount of weight to balance, and they come in whitewalls. Cheaper than Coopers, too. Made in Japan. All the good stuff’s made in Japan, Doc.

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > Old-Busted-Hotness
09/21/2019 at 08:51

I’ve been using Kumho Solus tires in recent years and I’ve had zero complaints.

Another Oppo has recommended the General Altimax for ride luxury, and I think I’m going to give them a try.

30 PSI; that’s lower than I’d run a tire because my theory has always been that at a higher pressure, they’ll roll a bit easier for mileage and tend to wear less along the edges of the treads.