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I have the htc z51 2020 stingray., and I have an unusual unusual problem with one of my rear tires. These are the original factory tires with approximately 6000 miles on the odometer Today, I discovered what can be described as bulge in my left rear tire. It is located where the tire meets the rim. The is no visible damage to either the tire or the rim. The car has not been raced or recently driven aggressively. There is no loss of pressure and there is no abnormal tear wear. I took the car to America's Tire. and the only explanation is there must have been an impact of some kind. Again, there no scuffing or impact damage. The explanation (which appears flaky to me) is that was not necessarily a lateral impact but I may have hit a pothole and vertically overloaded the tire. I have to add that I live in Sacramento, and the roads are awful and there are many potholes. In town I drive at low speeds and do my best to doge the potholes, but I have not been aware of any significant impacts. The bulge is approximately 2 inches in diameter and is not grossly visible.
I am wondering what the hell happened. Replacing both rear tires is am irritant and costly. I do not have a photo to present. Any ideas out there in Corvette land? Comments or suggestions would be appreciated.
If you didn’t hit anything, then a pot hole makes the most sense. The only other explanation would be a tire defect, but odd that it would take 6K miles to surface. Post pics when you get a chance.
You probably hit a pothole, train tracks, or some part of the road that is damaged. The sidewall of the tire separated allowing some air in the gap creating the bulge in the tire. Happened to the front tire on my BMW several years ago. Crazy vibration until the bulge "popped". Time for a new tire.
Most likely hit a pothole or road debris. Such impacts don't always damage the rim, but can damage the tire. The tire needs to be replaced. If you only want to buy one tire,Tire Rack will shave the new tire to match the remaining tread depth of the other rear tire.
Thank you for your reply. I have been reading your posts for several years and they are always very informative. You are a real credit to the forum!
This is for Zymurgy.
You need to get that tire replaced through a warranty or your pocketbook, most tire shops are not going to want to replace just 1 tire, they are going to want to do both tires on that axle
^^^^^
The only reason a tire shop would want to replace both tires is because they want to scam you and sell more tires. To match tires have TireRack shave the new tire to the depth of the other side.
Have seen/ heard of this reported by a few others that hit a pothole with run flats...
Non Run Flat tires can also get a bubble. Happened to my Land Rover at 6,000 miles. No damage to the rim, just the tire. Probably hit a pothole. Replaced the tire and moved on.
(The advantage of Run Flats is if the bubble burst with a Run Flat, you can still drive on it for a limited number of miles and won’t lose control. If you get a bubble on a non RF tire and it bursts, you could lose control and have a bad outcome).
Sounds exactly like what happens when hitting a pothole. They are not intentionally misleading you. Have had similar on multiple vehicles over the years. The lower the profile of the tire, the more it happens.
I am a former Tire Engineer at Dunlop. I would not drive a tire with a bulge. A bulge means the plies are compromised somehow, and the plies bear the loads in a tire.
It could be a manufacturing defect, but much more likely that it is impact damage.
I'd say pothole, but too, as others have mentioned, could be railroad tracks. I was driving a buddy's 911 Turbo a few years back, slowed for railroad tracks, not enough.... blew both rear tires. Potholes have gotten on at least two Vettes.
I ran over one of these grapefruit sized bumps with my 17 GS and it caused the inside of the tire to tear, causing the bulge. I had the tire replaced and a week later, when I went back to have it re-torqued, they noticed that the front tire also had the same bulge. So in the end to cost me $1,000 for 2 new tires.
RFs are more prone to that damage than regular tires. Oh, and they collapse after about 25 miles or so deflated, AND get ruined if rolled deflated for any distance, which is why almost nobody would patch one. And then, almost nobody carries them, and you need a specialized shop that has the equipment to install them. They provide a false sense of security; they're crap IMO. I always immediately ditch them. At any rate, they're almost 5 years old, and probably worn out quite a bit, so I'd at least replace the rear ones. I'd personally ditch them all for non-RFs.
01-23-2024, 10:25 PM
Bulge in tire
