MustangWorks.com : Ford Forums - View Single Post - any truth to this idea about flat tires??

PKRWUD · 04-12-2002, 05:51 PM

The speed rating of a tire is actually it's heat resistance rating, or how much heat it can handle, externally. This has very little to do with blow-outs. By far, the primary cause of 90% of tire blow-outs is caused by internal heat, usually created by running too low a tire pressure. This causes blow-outs on even the highest "speed" rated tires. Whether you spend $30 a tire or $300, if you run your air pressure below the recommended minimum, you run a high risk of having a blow-out. Unfortunately, tires with lower profiles are even more likely to have blow-outs, for two main reasons: first, the closer the rim is to the part of the tire that contacts the road, the higher the internal heat will be, and secondly, because the tire has much less "give", and if turned too fast, or upon the slightest bump of a rock or a curb, is likely to break it's seal.

Percentage-wise, high "speed" rated tires have a much higher failure rate, but you have to take into consideration the kind of driving they are often subject to.

As far as high dollar sports cars not getting flats, they get them all the time. The reason you don't see them on the side of the road very often is because the owner usually wants it off the road ASAP. If you had a Yugo and a 'vette on the side of the road with a flat tire on each, which one would you get home first?

Take care,
-Chris

04-12-2002, 05:51 PM	#8
PKRWUD Junior Member Join Date: Mar 1999 Location: Ventura, California Posts: 8,981	The speed rating of a tire is actually it's heat resistance rating, or how much heat it can handle, externally. This has very little to do with blow-outs. By far, the primary cause of 90% of tire blow-outs is caused by internal heat, usually created by running too low a tire pressure. This causes blow-outs on even the highest "speed" rated tires. Whether you spend $30 a tire or $300, if you run your air pressure below the recommended minimum, you run a high risk of having a blow-out. Unfortunately, tires with lower profiles are even more likely to have blow-outs, for two main reasons: first, the closer the rim is to the part of the tire that contacts the road, the higher the internal heat will be, and secondly, because the tire has much less "give", and if turned too fast, or upon the slightest bump of a rock or a curb, is likely to break it's seal. Percentage-wise, high "speed" rated tires have a much higher failure rate, but you have to take into consideration the kind of driving they are often subject to. As far as high dollar sports cars not getting flats, they get them all the time. The reason you don't see them on the side of the road very often is because the owner usually wants it off the road ASAP. If you had a Yugo and a 'vette on the side of the road with a flat tire on each, which one would you get home first? Take care, -Chris __________________ Webmaster: Rice Haters Club Jim Porter Racing Peckerwoods Pit Stop Support Your Local RED & WHITE!