3 blowouts within a Week

[Neurio]

I am not an aggressive driver but do like to pass everyone on the highway and never let anyone beat me off the line at a traffic light.

Pretty sure those examples say that you are indeed an aggressive driver

 

[Amster]

Pretty sure those examples say that you are indeed an aggressive driver

What about if you just like to be the first one away at the traffic lights, but don't pass everyone on the highway?

 

[borski]

What about if you just like to be the first one away at the traffic lights, but don't pass everyone on the highway?

Less aggressive than the OP, but more aggressive than the average.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

I empathize with all who have had tire issues. I have an 8 month old GT, 21 wheels and OEM Pirellis-with 5000 miles. Florida roads that typically don’t have pot hole issues. No tire issues. I am not an aggressive driver but do like to pass everyone on the highway and never let anyone beat me off the line at a traffic light.
As an engineer in my former life I always ask what is different that could cause these issues? Weight is different but tire manufacturers have been making tires that can handle much more weight for many years, think semi truck tires. Low profile tires have been common on many cars for years. Speed rated tires of over 200 mph are available.
What is different about our Lucids than any car we have ever driven ? Torque, which means accelerating unbelievably fast at any speed. Think of a top fuel dragster tires and the incredible forces they have to withstand due to torque.
I really believe that Lucid has produced a car that has exceeded the traditional demands on a tire. I don’t like Pirelli tires in general but I do believe it is telling that Michelin and Continental have no options available, this means they know their tires aren’t capable for this car.
I hope the manufacturers are doing their homework and will have options in the near future that will catch up with the type of vehicle Lucid is producing.

AMEN BROTHER! Numerous articles from just the last month where EV tires are lasting half as long as tires on ICE cars. The reason: weight and torque. Wife had her golf group over, several Tesla and E Tron and other EV owners. Every one of them warned of very short tire life.

To follow up on @OldAg, the power and weight of the Lucid may just be the straw that broke the camels back. Or at least put it into the hairy region of WATCH OUT.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

What inflation pressure do you use?

Excellent point. As we all know, its the cushion of AIR in tire that holds up the car - not the tire. And with more air - higher pressure, there is less ability for the sideway to flex and break the plies. 42 for the 21s should be an absolute minimum.

So, the question is: are the blowouts due to catastrophic impact or due to ordinary sideway deflection that separates the plies, causing the bubble and the blowout. No low profile tire can survive hitting a pot hole the size of a third world nation doing 65. To me, that catastrophic blowout is an inherent characteristic of all low profile tires. But in the forum, we also have lots of reports of bubbles forming on the sideway after nothing the driver can remember. And then the bubble bursts.

For my 21's, I now use 45 psi in stead of 42, with a dead accurate gauge. The ride is only a TOUCH firmer/harsher. On the other had, the Lucid DOES corners better and less oversteer at speed. I am liking 45. Wasn't there a Sammy Haggar song about that?? The tire is rated at 50 psi cold.

 

[Jimyboy]

I had a nice BMW with OEM 20 inch wheels, and they were more susceptible to blowouts too, and they dont like potholes or rough roads either. The same can be said for the Lucid or any car with the larger oversized wheels...

 

[Electrified]

UPDATE: 2 MORE TIRES HAVE BLOWN OUT. Back right and front left. I have spent close to 10k now on rims and tires the front left tire has only seen 700 miles and was installed 2 months ago. This just doesn’t seem like weather to me anymore it seems like we are getting some defective tires.

Get 19" wheels, I have over 11,000 miles on mine with 7 to 8/32's of tread depth left on the tires, I drive the car hard everyday in the city, and part of my commute is I-57 from the Ryan to I-80 which without visiting southeastern Ukraine is as close to a minefield as you can get, knock on wood no tire issues yet.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

My suspicion is it has something to do with driving style somehow. I don’t know what.

@borski I think I found a positive variable - maintaining and higher tire pressure

Now I have owned my Lucid for two months, driven over 3.5k miles, fast, over shitty city streets, fast, torn up interstate, fast, and smacking a few potholes - fast. No tire issues with my 21". Maybe lucky.

1. From day one, I thought 42psi was too low. Too much understeer. Went to 45psi. Lucid drove better, lighter steering and only a small decrease in comfort. Now at 46psi, cold, at 5000ft ev.
2. I check pressure every two weeks, IMHO, really helps. I see two psi loss.

I am loosing about 1 psi a week - for reasons explained below. So, if you start at 42, it could be 38 in a month - too low. Did research: high performance low profile tires "seem" to loose air faster than 60 ratio clunkers. Never found a great explanation, perhaps the flexible sidewalls. But what I did find is that in addition to routine normal pressure loss common for every tire (1-4 psi a month), fluctuating temperatures are documented by tire manufacturers as causing faster pressure loss. And elevation changes as well. My going from 5000 feet to 10,000 and back is also to blame. My tires see temps from 45f in the mountains at night to 102 in Denver.

So, the point of this diatribe. My suggestion is frequent TP checks, with a good tire gauge. Our TMPS is not a tire gauge - its a government mandated low air event warning system. My calibrated Longacre racing gauges are 3psi different that the Lucid TMPS. And give a higher TP a try. If you go to 45/46, you will feel in difference in the way the car handles - kinda cool! The 21" Pirellis are rated to 50psi cold inflation, so dont worry.

Or maybe all of the above is just a pipe dream, and I am simply lucky, like @Bobby and others. My two cents.

 

[Adnillien]

I will second the increased tire pressure. I have been running 44 lbs since March of 2022 with no tire issues on my 21's. I do drive carefully so that helps. @Worldwide Beagle is right about the pressure loss. I check the pressure every couple of weeks. Low profile tires have a smaller volume of air so the pressure decreases faster as the air leaks out.

I have driven I-70 in the Clolorado mountains a few times this year in my Jeep and I will confirm that @Worldwide Beagle is driving on worse roads than I usually my Air GT on.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

I have driven I-70 in the Clolorado mountains a few times this year in my Jeep and I will confirm that @Worldwide Beagle is driving on worse roads than I usually my Air GT on.

And now CDOT is rock scaling and major rock blasting for new lanes on I 70 between Denver and Idaho Springs, total replacement of I 70 bridges in Silverthorne. New truck lanes up to Vail Pass. And still the rock slides when ever it rains in Glenwood Canyon and further west.

 

[borski]

@borski I think I found a positive variable - maintaining and higher tire pressure

Now I have owned my Lucid for two months, driven over 3.5k miles, fast, over shitty city streets, fast, torn up interstate, fast, and smacking a few potholes - fast. No tire issues with my 21". Maybe lucky.

1. From day one, I thought 42psi was too low. Too much understeer. Went to 45psi. Lucid drove better, lighter steering and only a small decrease in comfort. Now at 46psi, cold, at 5000ft ev.
2. I check pressure every two weeks, IMHO, really helps. I see two psi loss.

I am loosing about 1 psi a week - for reasons explained below. So, if you start at 42, it could be 38 in a month - too low. Did research: high performance low profile tires "seem" to loose air faster than 60 ratio clunkers. Never found a great explanation, perhaps the flexible sidewalls. But what I did find is that in addition to routine normal pressure loss common for every tire (1-4 psi a month), fluctuating temperatures are documented by tire manufacturers as causing faster pressure loss. And elevation changes as well. My going from 5000 feet to 10,000 and back is also to blame. My tires see temps from 45f in the mountains at night to 102 in Denver.

So, the point of this diatribe. My suggestion is frequent TP checks, with a good tire gauge. Our TMPS is not a tire gauge - its a government mandated low air event warning system. My calibrated Longacre racing gauges are 3psi different that the Lucid TMPS. And give a higher TP a try. If you go to 45/46, you will feel in difference in the way the car handles - kinda cool! The 21" Pirellis are rated to 50psi cold inflation, so dont worry.

Or maybe all of the above is just a pipe dream, and I am simply lucky, like @Bobby and others. My two cents.

I keep mine at 42, but I am anal about keeping them at 42. I check them roughly after every drive (just via the TPMS); I'm not suggesting everyone should do that, it's just an old habit.

 

[EVCar]

I keep mine at 42, but I am anal about keeping them at 42. I check them roughly after every drive (just via the TPMS); I'm not suggesting everyone should do that, it's just an old habit.

I also check them regularly, too.
The TPMS in my car is always off by 1-3 psi, compared to the digital gauge in the Milwaukee inflator, which I, correctly or wrongly, assume to be more accurate.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

I keep mine at 42, but I am anal about keeping them at 42. I check them roughly after every drive (just via the TPMS); I'm not suggesting everyone should do that, it's just an old habit.

@borski the issue is that you are checking them after a drive. After they are warm. Not a good idea and can lead to very off readings. Everything on TP engineering is done from cold tires driven a few miles or less. And as we know, the TPMS is just a low pressure event warning device

And MR @borski , you drive fast! Every tire manufacturer specifies raising TP for high speed driving. Higher TP keeps the tire cooler, less sidewall flex.

Indulge me a favor. One morning, when your tires are still cold, go to a quality tire shop and have them check pressure. I have almost never seen a TPMS that is accurate. Mine register 2 and 3 psi high. My humble suggestion would be, especially for your heavier than mine car, to see what your real cold inflation pressure is.

Last Monday, for grins, I left the TP screen open driving from Vail to Denver. TPs were from up and down, 38 to 47. And varied from tire to tire. It proved again how inaccurate TPMS are for determing cold inflation pressure.

IMHO, TP was not nearly as critical in my ICE Audis. Bye the way, even Audi said the "normal part load TP" recommended TP was a bit low, and was set for max comfort and not best handling. For a real starting point, we used half way between Comfort and High Speed.

 

[borski]

@borski the issue is that you are checking them after a drive. After they are warm. Not a good idea and can lead to very off readings. Everything on TP engineering is done from cold tires driven a few miles or less. And as we know, the TPMS is just a low pressure event warning device

That’s not quite true; I check them cold with a solid pressure gauge, just less frequently. I just check the TPMS after most drives and if it’s around 45-46psi (which is where it ends up when the tires are warm) I’m pretty content.

I haven’t thought about running them at higher pressures but I’ll look into it.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

You didn't mention ALSO using a real gauge! Now I am with ya.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

I also check them regularly, too.
The TPMS in my car is always off by 1-3 psi, compared to the digital gauge in the Milwaukee inflator, which I, correctly or wrongly, assume to be more accurate.

Your TPMS is similar to mine. Easy way to find out the accuracy of your inflator - set all four tires cold in the morning with the Milwaukee, then go to a Discount Tire or AT or good tire shop within 3 or 4 miles and check. Even if the Milwaukee is a pound or two off, you will now know the offset. Suggested tip: Mark the offset with a sharpie on the inflator so you or anyone else see it and not forget

 

[EVCar]

Your TPMS is similar to mine. Easy way to find out the accuracy of your inflator - set all four tires cold in the morning with the Milwaukee, then go to a Discount Tire or AT or good tire shop within 3 or 4 miles and check. Even if the Milwaukee is a pound or two off, you will now know the offset. Suggested tip: Mark the offset with a sharpie on the inflator so you or anyone else see it and not forget

Excellent suggestion. Will do. Thanks.

 

[Haggy]

AMEN BROTHER! Numerous articles from just the last month where EV tires are lasting half as long as tires on ICE cars. The reason: weight and torque. Wife had her golf group over, several Tesla and E Tron and other EV owners. Every one of them warned of very short tire life.

It depends. The longest tire life I had compared to rated miles for the tires was on my Model S. They wore so evenly that when it was time for a rotation, they measured the same all around. Back then Tesla did free tire rotations but it didn't seem to matter. Those people who had early Model S with staggered wheels had the opposite and could go through a set of tires in 10,000 miles.