Tyre Damage - is it safe to drive

mikey72

alastairq wrote: »

Sorry if you misunderstood what I'm trying to say.....the general direction of my comments was aimed at others who display typical 'lay' responses, not individuals in particular...such as yourself.

Whilst I suppose support is nice, I'm not particularly 'seeking' support......I'm making observations based upon the knowledge and experience I have, and have access to.


Maybe I don't put the point across very well, typing is not the same as verbal coaching and instruction.

There are going to occur situations which present total surprise to any driver....but the abilities of tyres or brakes aren't really going to help in those very rare situations. [yes, I have encountered the 'body from the sky' situation....when a person committed suicide of a local very high bridge, to land right in front of my bus......I did avoid compounding the mess, however. But that was decades ago.]

However, with proper application of skills of observation & anticipation, coupled with speed and position control, a driver can and will mitigate [ie reduce or negate] the effect of a problem arising, to the extent that dramatic evasive action may/will not be necessary.

Risk on the roads will never be eliminated totally.

But it is perfectly possible to act to reduce such risk down to almost an insignificant level [in normal traffic situations, at least]....and certainly to a level where dramatic action isn't necessary to cope....

All of which is well within the abilities of any driver, with a little bit of application.

I think you have convinced me round to your viewpoint. I always run tyres down to the legal minium, and I've never needed to do an emergency stop either, so I guess I observe absolutely everything too.

alastairq

As a little experiment, at work I have..[with some help] conducted a wee test of stopping distances....my car, as it stood, against a quite new Vectra, with all the bells and whistles....and the same make & type of tyre on each corner. [a training vehicle].... on the very same road surface, from 50 mph, there was but a metre or two at best, difference...in fact, on some of the runs my car stopped shorter.

OK, both drivers skilled in vehicle control, [as in, not an opinion, but a professional fact] which may have been a bit unfair....my car does not have ABS, and this resulted in some shorter 'stops'....one of the downsides of ABS is that it can take longer to stop once wheels start locking.

Where ABS has its uses is that driver skill levels do not have to be very high........to maintain control over braking and steering.

My car [unsurprising to me] stopped straight and level every time....no 'one particular wheel' locked during the experiments....ok, so my brakes are fairly new, but even so....the differences in make and tread pattern made little difference....and that is my experience in the wet as well.

However, the experiments weren't at all serious, or scientific.

[ever wondered why comparative tyre tests were so few and far between until recently?}


We have had 'tyre' threads elsewhere on this forum, and a consensus seemed to be that, cheap tyres don't necessarily mean 'poor' performance....[your [collective] views, generally, of course.]

[Neither does having different tread patterns/rubber on each corner necessarily produce any sort of imbalance on the road.]

What does affect performance..and hence what you all deem as 'safety', regarding tyres, is lack of servicing or maintenance.

Regardless of whether all tyres match or not.....if pressures are not kept correct, then performance is affected.

If adverse wear is not addressed, performance is affected.

Imbalance can have an affect, as can driving around on 2 mm of tread...[especially in the wet]...regardless of whether the tyres are Michelin's finest or not.

And a driving style which stresses the tyres to extremes can also have an adverse effect.

I am satisfied with the braking, cornering and wet /winter weather performance of the tyres on my car....

[What I do not have on my car, is the odd one or two assymetric tread tyres, as I have noted many times on the roads on other cars....]



My colleagues were a little puzzled by our antics....what a way to spend a lunch hour? But the little experiments served to confirm what I already knew anyway.....

One thing struck me at work, however.....us Gods and Perfect Drivers are an incredibly ugly bunch of individuals....

alastairq

I always run tyres down to the legal minium, and I've never needed to do an emergency stop either, so I guess I observe absolutely everything too.

careful else you, too,will be elevated to the rank of deity......

mikey72

alastairq wrote: »

As a little experiment, at work I have..[with some help] conducted a wee test of stopping distances....my car, as it stood, against a quite new Vectra, with all the bells and whistles....and the same make & type of tyre on each corner. [a training vehicle].... on the very same road surface, from 50 mph, there was but a metre or two at best, difference...in fact, on some of the runs my car stopped shorter.

OK, both drivers skilled in vehicle control, [as in, not an opinion, but a professional fact] which may have been a bit unfair....my car does not have ABS, and this resulted in some shorter 'stops'....one of the downsides of ABS is that it can take longer to stop once wheels start locking.

Where ABS has its uses is that driver skill levels do not have to be very high........to maintain control over braking and steering.

My car [unsurprising to me] stopped straight and level every time....no 'one particular wheel' locked during the experiments....ok, so my brakes are fairly new, but even so....the differences in make and tread pattern made little difference....and that is my experience in the wet as well.

However, the experiments weren't at all serious, or scientific.

[ever wondered why comparative tyre tests were so few and far between until recently?}


We have had 'tyre' threads elsewhere on this forum, and a consensus seemed to be that, cheap tyres don't necessarily mean 'poor' performance....[your [collective] views, generally, of course.]

[Neither does having different tread patterns/rubber on each corner necessarily produce any sort of imbalance on the road.]

What does affect performance..and hence what you all deem as 'safety', regarding tyres, is lack of servicing or maintenance.

Regardless of whether all tyres match or not.....if pressures are not kept correct, then performance is affected.

If adverse wear is not addressed, performance is affected.

Imbalance can have an affect, as can driving around on 2 mm of tread...[especially in the wet]...regardless of whether the tyres are Michelin's finest or not.

And a driving style which stresses the tyres to extremes can also have an adverse effect.

I am satisfied with the braking, cornering and wet /winter weather performance of the tyres on my car....

[What I do not have on my car, is the odd one or two assymetric tread tyres, as I have noted many times on the roads on other cars....]



My colleagues were a little puzzled by our antics....what a way to spend a lunch hour? But the little experiments served to confirm what I already knew anyway.....

One thing struck me at work, however.....us Gods and Perfect Drivers are an incredibly ugly bunch of individuals....

"What I do not have on my car, is the odd one or two assymetric tread tyres, as I have noted many times on the roads on other cars...." "Imbalance can have an affect, as can driving around on 2 mm of tread...[especially in the wet]...regardless of whether the tyres are Michelin's finest or not" - So you are now agreeing, matching tyres are important, and having decent tyres is also important, and even the best of us choose not to fit an unmatched bald flat tyre in each corner, as it affects some quality of the car we eventually are forced to rely on? So despite our godlike skills, we are levelled to mere mortal levels, all by a small piece of rubber that does indeed control our eventual destiny?

vaio

mikey72 wrote: »

.....So despite our godlike skills, we are levelled to mere mortal levels, all by a small piece of rubber that does indeed control our eventual destiny?

Is it just me or is this starting to sound like a Durex ad?

Lum

A piece of rubber which, if it fails, can have expensive and possibly disastrous consequences?

I can see the similarity

To continue the analogy, would you rely solely on the pull out method to avoid this?

cyclonebri1

Weird_Nev wrote: »

Apart from it's clearly a plastic wheel trim......

Is it?? Could be, but need to ask the op, and does that guarantee no wheel/suspension damage

browneyedbazzi

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Is it?? Could be, but need to ask the op, and does that guarantee no wheel/suspension damage

Yes, it was a plastic wheel trim and as mentioned previously it was damaged before this new set of tyres was put on.

Quick update from me: I've kept an eye on the tyre and it hasn't bulged at all and today the car flew through it's MOT with that tyre on it. Thanks to the knowledgeable folks who provided advice!

Joe_Horner

You're welcome, bazzie, glad it's sorted

No-one should argue that safety doesn't matter but, equally, the fear of "unsafe" is used far too much as marketing blackmail. "If you don't buy this, that, or the other you'll be killing nuns babies and polar bears" is heard far too much and the only people who benefit are those selling this that or the other. If anything, the nuns babies and polar bears actually suffer because of the enormous waste of resources involved!

Weird_Nev

Joe_Horner wrote: »

You're welcome, bazzie, glad it's sorted

No-one should argue that safety doesn't matter but, equally, the fear of "unsafe" is used far too much as marketing blackmail. "If you don't buy this, that, or the other you'll be killing nuns babies and polar bears" is heard far too much and the only people who benefit are those selling this that or the other. If anything, the nuns babies and polar bears actually suffer because of the enormous waste of resources involved!

Exactly, which is why it's particularly galling to see it regurgitated on a supposed Money Saving Forum!