3 blowouts within a Week

[Worldwide Beagle]

I can't remember handles myself. Are you also having issues with getting Discount Tire to put on the 19"? They are giving me the runaround because my car initially came with 21" (purportedly different load ratings on the car, not just the tires).

Power sliding on 19s? My wife would kill me halfway through the slide.

As for understeer, does this occur at high or low speeds? I have pushed the car pretty hard on curvy roads with no issues, but I tend to err on the side of caution on the approach and give it more throughout the turn and exit. Wouldn't want to go off a cliff side...

No issue from DT on getting 19" perhaps because its so damn common in CO for a winter tire set. Would hazard to say almost all dedicated winter tire sets are 18 or 19, regardless of the OEM size.

DT were giving me a hard time, at first, about NOT using TPMS in this new winter set. I first cleared it with Lucid Service Tech in Seattle and with Tire Rack - both said no issues with NOT having TPMS other than the warning light. And Tire Rack told me it was very common for dedicated true winter tire sets that it sells to not have TMPS.

The guys at Tire Rack and manager at my local Discount Tire were surprised that it cost $200 for Lucid to come out and set the TPMS receiver on the car for the new sensors, and that it had to be done at every switchover. They had never heard of that with any other car.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

As for understeer, does this occur at high or low speeds? I have pushed the car pretty hard on curvy roads with no issues, but I tend to err on the side of caution on the approach and give it more throughout the turn and exit. Wouldn't want to go off a cliff side...

I find it all the time. Perhaps I am just not used to the weight of the car, 1000 pounds more than my S7. I tend to late turn in, perhaps a hold over from my club racing days.

GUESSING HERE. I think the regenerative braking changes handling as well. When you take your foot off the accel pedal, there seems to be tremendous weight shift forward. While ICE Audis just coast with less shift. I could be dead wrong. IMHO, there is also user error on my part. I need to not be so timid and power through turns. But all that power! Still dealing with the amazing INSTANT power on the Lucid.

 

[Bill55]

Tire Rack sells the OEM Pirellis that come on the Lucid. They can be shipped to most installers in their network in 1-2 days. We've had Tire Choice replace these tires twice (once from hitting a piece of metal in the road and once as part of a routine tire change due to wear), probably as quickly as Lucid would be able to replace them, as they no longer operate a mobile tire van.

We've also had to have a 21" tire replaced on our Model S Plaid. Again, Tire Rack had the Michelin EV tire in stock that Tesla uses. We had it shipped to our house, and a mobile tire repair van (an independent, not from Tesla) replaced the tire the second day after the blowout.

These new EV tires from Pirelli and Michelin are now in the distribution chain, so there's no need to depend on the car manufacturer for replacements.

I needed a 21 tire and Tire Rack was on back order.

I called Lucid and they shipped one to me the next day.

 

[Steveinarizona]

@Drendino -- I hate to mention it but the road upon which your tire just deflated, MOST LIKELY had NOTHING to do with damage that caused the total blowout.

Only in the harshest whacks does the tire sidewall immediately rupture. From what we have seen on this forum and in my personal experience, a pothole or curb or brick will first cause the infamous BUBBLE on the sidewall, indicating interior damage to the sidewall plies. LOTS of bubble pictures on this forum

Just like a zit, the bubble grows and grows and eventually pops, sometimes days or even weeks later, after the bubble first appears. I am guessing the bubble shows the first indication of the sidewall damage, which is a delamination of the horizontal plies in the sidewall. Once delaminated, the sidewall continues to flex the the torn/separated plies just get looser. And then, when you least expect it, give way.

I took the car into DT for the tire certificates at 7AM. At 7:15am a flatbed brought in a week old AT with a ruptured LF tire, Pirelli 21" of course, and damaged wheel. Driver ran straight over a curb, at speed, I was told. That will do it instantly. On the other hand, years ago, wife tapped a curb very hard parking on a 21" 35 ratio Conti. Bubble formed. Moved the tire to the rear. Conti lasted weeks on the rear, until we replaced it. When a bubble forms, Conti tells me, it will let go SOMETIME. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but sometime

No low aspect tire can survive a smashing pothole at speed. What bothers MANY HERE, INCLUDING ME, is that the 21" Pirellis seem to get bubbles JUST BY LOOKING AT THEM CROSSWISE.

My GV60 Performance has 21" tires but I haven't had any blowouts in seven months of ownership. The biggest difference is that the GV60 weighs about 700 pounds less than the Lucid Air. It also uses Michelin Primacy Tour All Season tires with a square 255/40 setup. While the Genesis forum has some discussion about blowouts, it is very little and does not appear to be a problem with that car.

So I would think that it the Lucid problem has got to be the weight of the car on the tires, the brand of the tires or the profile (40 on mine, 35 on the Lucid Air) or some combination of those.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

I needed a 21 tire and Tire Rack was on back order.

I called Lucid and they shipped one to me the next day.

That is good, you are lucky, but does not help those of use with Discount Tire free replacement certificates. Tire Rack is owned by DT. Perhaps Lucid is hording them. If I were them, I sure would be.

 

[borski]

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.

I. Do. Not. Get. It.

I believe you, obviously, but I just do not understand. I have now driven almost 20k miles across my tires, loaners with 21s, etc., and have yet to ever get a bubble or blowout or anything else.

Hell, literally *today* I hit a massive pothole on Hwy 1 and thought FOR SURE, “shit, this is the one.” Nothing. Nada. Totally fine. It was loud enough and jarring enough to freak out my dog who was sleeping in the footwell, who basically levitated into my wife’s arms, but the tires? No issues.

How is that possible? What is different between how I drive and how others do? There’s no way it’s just luck, at this point.

In my layperson's opinion, tempered by decades of tire buying/racing and dealing with Conti engineers for high performance cars, it may be that no 21" 35 ratio tire can handle the Lucid - AT THIS TIME.

I’m not convinced. There has to be something else, or it wouldn’t be a situation of some people having 10 blowouts and some having none.

Lucid is swapping to 19s for loaners. Rim damage and tire blowouts being the reported issue.

I’m on a 21” loaner now. Also, them swapping to 19s could easily just be because 21s require care (for example, to not curb while parallel parking) and people tend to treat loaners and rentals like crap.

 

[borski]

@hydbob Did you have the 21"? Curious for thoughts on if the 19" change handling - over/understeer

I have both. The 19” are worse for handling, for sure. They do not grip as well, they will skid/squeal if pushed, and I managed to rip loose of traction control exactly once. But it terrifies me enough that I will never do that on 19s again.

The 21s are sublime in terms of handling; they just take some practice. Driving an EV is different from an ICE car, and the muscle memory of how you handle the accelerator/brake dance is very very different. There may be a tire that handles better on the Lucid, but I haven’t found it yet.

The 19s are more forgiving, suspension-wise; a bit more floaty, and a bit more comfortable.

The guys at Tire Rack and manager at my local Discount Tire were surprised that it cost $200 for Lucid to come out and set the TPMS receiver on the car for the new sensors, and that it had to be done at every switchover. They had never heard of that with any other car.

Yeah, it sucks. It’s a temporary thing. They’ll eventually build it in as an option into the software. It’s not meant as a money grab, it’s just an annoyance. The service guys hate it too.

GUESSING HERE. I think the regenerative braking changes handling as well. When you take your foot off the accel pedal, there seems to be tremendous weight shift forward. While ICE Audis just coast with less shift. I could be dead wrong. IMHO, there is also user error on my part. I need to not be so timid and power through turns. But all that power! Still dealing with the amazing INSTANT power on the Lucid.

Yeah, agreed. It just takes practice. It’s different.

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

I have both. The 19” are worse for handling, for sure. They do not grip as well, they will skid/squeal if pushed, and I managed to rip loose of traction control exactly once. But it terrifies me enough that I will never do that on 19s again.

The 21s are sublime in terms of handling; they just take some practice. Driving an EV is different from an ICE car, and the muscle memory of how you handle the accelerator/brake dance is very very different. There may be a tire that handles better on the Lucid, but I haven’t found it yet.

The 19s are more forgiving, suspension-wise; a bit more floaty, and a bit more comfortable.


Yeah, it sucks. It’s a temporary thing. They’ll eventually build it in as an option into the software. It’s not meant as a money grab, it’s just an annoyance. The service guys hate it too.


Yeah, agreed. It just takes practice. It’s different.

Should not you be sleeping???

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

@borski I agree, the 21". Pirelli situation shows a tremendously wide variety of experiences. It may simply be down to luck. As in, your good luck. Buy lottery tickets...

FWIW, I am still a proponent of higher tire pressure, 2-3-4 psi above recommended. Used to do it for handling, now to "help" prevent the sidewall from folding. Perhaps the Pirellis have no sidewall tolerance low pressure events.

 

[borski]

Should not you be sleeping???

Don’t know what that is

 

[borski]

It may simply be down to luck. As in, your good luck.

Maybe, but that seems unlikely, since others would have to be *exceptionally unlucky* to have 10, and I would have to be *exceptionally lucky* to have none.

It seems that those who have one have many, and there aren’t very many who have just had one.

But those who have none have none.

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

 

[Worldwide Beagle]

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

You got me thinking... Driving style matters greatly with tire longevity. And tires vary greatly in their tolerance for hard use/abuse. Most tire tests talk about the acceptable usage envelope of a tire, and what happens when you go outside it. Perhaps the Pirellis 21" have a narrow band of trouble free use, and just are not forgiving outside that band. Then couple that narrow band with low profile, vehicle weight.

The higher the performance of a product usually is a trade off with lack of tolerance for use outside the design specs.

 

[Rogue]

For the Michelin tires, one was from a pothole that would have done in most tires. The second tire of the Michelin... Who knows.

As for Pirelli, the potholes did not seem deep (rectangular chunks where the passing lines are after crossing into the Tennessee border. I plan on snapping pictures the next time we drive through to send a complaint to the state.

Two bubbled tires were on one side with slightly scuffed rims. Then one visibly bent rim on the other side... I was in Sprint mode. Have others with frequent bubbles been in the tighter suspension modes (eg. Swift or Sprint)? @borski, do you primarily stay in Smooth? Perhaps the give in suspension is the difference.

 

[borski]

For the Michelin tires, one was from a pothole that would have done in most tires. The second tire of the Michelin... Who knows.

As for Pirelli, the potholes did not seem deep (rectangular chunks where the passing lines are after crossing into the Tennessee border. I plan on snapping pictures the next time we drive through to send a complaint to the state.

Two bubbled tires were on one side with slightly scuffed rims. Then one visibly bent rim on the other side... I was in Sprint mode. Have others with frequent bubbles been in the tighter suspension modes (eg. Swift or Sprint)? @borski, do you primarily stay in Smooth? Perhaps the give in suspension is the difference.

My wife and I generally drive in Swift. Sprint for passing (because with 1111HP, honestly Sprint can be too much on the highway unless passing, lol).

For long road trips I stick to Smooth (but only since they updated it) and wife does Swift.

 

[SunnySide]

You will not believe what just happened my front right tire just got a bubble and they said it was really bad and I’ve only driven the car 175 miles since the last time I had all my tires checked and replaced this seems like I’ve just been getting scammed. It has been 3 months have had to replace 6 tires 5 rims and still no sign of the problem slowing down the lucid loaner I got also had a bubble on the front left and back right. Seems like lucid is failing to address the problem of faulty tires.

 

[SunnySide]

My wife and I generally drive in Swift. Sprint for passing (because with 1111HP, honestly Sprint can be too much on the highway unless passing, lol).

For long road trips I stick to Smooth (but only since they updated it) and wife does Swift.

I only drive in smooth because I deal a lot with city traffic and when I get on the highway it’s mostly rush hour so it’s like 30 50 mph max and I don’t take that many sharp turns or even try racing other cars and most of the time it’s my mom who drives the car to pick up groceries from .5 miles away and she’s far from risky driver.

 

[Genghis]

You will not believe what just happened my front right tire just got a bubble and they said it was really bad and I’ve only driven the car 175 miles since the last time I had all my tires checked and replaced this seems like I’ve just been getting scammed. It has been 3 months have had to replace 6 tires 5 rims and still no sign of the problem slowing down the lucid loaner I got also had a bubble on the front left and back right. Seems like lucid is failing to address the problem of faulty tires.

That is absolutely nuts. You are the cooler of 21" Pirellis. Sorry to hear about this. It's anecdotes like this that make me ultra-paranoid everytime I go over big speed bumps or up/down steep driveways, less trying to avoid any potholes and dips I see.

 

[Bobby]

You will not believe what just happened my front right tire just got a bubble and they said it was really bad and I’ve only driven the car 175 miles since the last time I had all my tires checked and replaced this seems like I’ve just been getting scammed. It has been 3 months have had to replace 6 tires 5 rims and still no sign of the problem slowing down the lucid loaner I got also had a bubble on the front left and back right. Seems like lucid is failing to address the problem of faulty tires.

What inflation pressure do you use?

 

[OldAg]

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.

 

[Adnillien]

You will not believe what just happened my front right tire just got a bubble and they said it was really bad and I’ve only driven the car 175 miles since the last time I had all my tires checked and replaced this seems like I’ve just been getting scammed. It has been 3 months have had to replace 6 tires 5 rims and still no sign of the problem slowing down the lucid loaner I got also had a bubble on the front left and back right. Seems like lucid is failing to address the problem of faulty tires.

I hate to say it but rim damage is not caused by faulty tires. It is caused by hitting something on the road. While I agree that an alternative to Pirelli tires would be good, the problems that you are seeing are somewhat related to your driving.