My 2 yo LTX M/S exploded on the highway
Written: Jun 12 '03
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Handling and Control: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Good wear resistance
Cons: Sidewall easily damaged leading to catastrophic failure. Stiff ride. Expensive.
The Bottom Line: Unless you want a tire that has sidewalls that are easily damaged, then fails catastrophically, get another tire.
|
|
|
| mehere's Full Review: Michelin LTX M/S Truck/SUV Tire |
A month or so ago, I noticed a radial line on the outside of one of my tires. Looked closer but it didn't seem like more than a scratch.
Last weekend, I pulled of the highway onto gravel to look at some flowers. Pulled back on the road, and in about 100 yards the tire blew. I thought maybe that "scratch" caused a failure. Changed the tire and went on my way.
After going to the tire store to have it replaced, they pointed out the blowout was actually on the *inside* of the tire, not in that scratch. And that scratch was actually quite a large split beginning at a scuff on the sidewall, and propagating in a crack all the way around to the tread's first gap. I thought it was vandalism at first, but close inspection showed the split had a stair-step pattern as it went deeper, such that a knife couldn't have created it.
I had no off-road miles on these tires, they were about 2 years old.
My conclusion is that my tire hit something, but not something very big because I never felt it. Whatever I hit was undetectable by me while driving, yet it lead to two large, perfectly radial splits on the sidewall. It's not physically possible for all of the damage to have been caused by hitting something because there is nothing that could cut a perfectly radial line across the entire sidewall, to the inside of the tread. One split apparently occurred before the other, the second one caused a blowout on the highway.
For $130/tire, and the stiff ride of a 2-ply sidewall, I expect a little more durability after driving only on roads. If there is damage to the tire, I don't think it's impossible to design a tire that leaks from the damage before it explodes.
I contacted Michelin about this, with no response from them.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 130
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
mehere
|
|
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.