How does anyone pop these tires?

[borski]

So I was at an Airbnb, driving from it to my house, along Skyline Dr - one of my favorite fun twisty roads. On the way home to bake bread, zero issues. Had a blast.

Two hours later, turned a corner and massive rockslide where there wasn’t one on my way out on the same road. I hit it pretty hard, and am going to have both my right wheels refinished. The tires got pretty torn up, but held up completely.

I just had it checked out by America’s Tire, pumped up to 60psi, did the dunk test and inspect both interior and exterior visually, and zero leaks or bubbles.

I don’t know, maybe a tire fairy follows me around. But how anyone is able to pop 8-10 of these things is completely beyond me. I know it happens. I know nobody is lying. I just, genuinely, do not understand it. If anything should have popped these tires, it was this rockslide. (The car handled like a champ, btw - I was in Sprint and it was very compliant; zero damage to the vehicle itself other than the wheels and tires)

In case you’re wondering, I do have the tire certs, so even if they had popped or leaked I’d get them replaced, but nevertheless, there’s nothing to replace. They’re fine, aside from some cosmetic damage.

Also, 18k miles in and the fronts are at 6/32” and the backs are at 5/32”. So plenty of tire life left, too.

 

[borski]

Last pic, since I was limited to 10. First six are back right wheel. Next 5 are front right.

 

[xponents]

So I was at an Airbnb, driving from it to my house, along Skyline Dr - one of my favorite fun twisty roads. On the way home to bake bread, zero issues. Had a blast.

Two hours later, turned a corner and massive rockslide where there wasn’t one on my way out on the same road. I hit it pretty hard, and am going to have both my right wheels refinished. The tires got pretty torn up, but held up completely.

I just had it checked out by America’s Tire, pumped up to 60psi, did the dunk test and inspect both interior and exterior visually, and zero leaks or bubbles.

I don’t know, maybe a tire fairy follows me around. But how anyone is able to pop 8-10 of these things is completely beyond me. I know it happens. I know nobody is lying. I just, genuinely, do not understand it. If anything should have popped these tires, it was this rockslide. (The car handled like a champ, btw - I was in Sprint and it was very compliant; zero damage to the vehicle itself other than the wheels and tires)

In case you’re wondering, I do have the tire certs, so even if they had popped or leaked I’d get them replaced, but nevertheless, there’s nothing to replace. They’re fine, aside from some cosmetic damage.

Also, 18k miles in and the fronts are at 6/32” and the backs are at 5/32”. So plenty of tire life left, too.

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Interesting how you temporarily turned into @blueice89 during that rockslide... Glad you and the car are okay!

If you knew, what PSI were the tires at before you hit the rocks? Also, although the tread is fine, I'd say the sidewalls are a... "bit" beat up, lol. Would it be advisable to replace them, or rather to just continue with the same tires?

 

[borski]

If you knew, what PSI were the tires at before you hit the rocks?

I pretty religiously keep mine at 42, but if I’m being honest they were actually a bit low. They were at 39-40 or so cold right now because I hadn’t filled them in a while. So when I hit the rockslide, probably 42-43 because they were warm by then.

Also, although the tread is fine, wouldn't you say the sidewalls are a... "bit" beat up? Would it be advisable to replace them, or rather to just continue with the same tires?

Yeah, they’re obviously beat up. I considered replacing them, but then they’d have uneven wear with the rest of the car, and I don’t want to replace all four tires when they’ve got half-ish of their life left.

The sidewall “buffer” did its job in protecting the rim as best it could, and so yeah technically I could curb them easier now. But that buffer was so minimal anyway I’m not worried about the loss.

As to the tires - that was what all the testing was for. If I see any bubbles forming, or if it starts losing air, I’ll get them replaced. But for now AT wouldn’t replace them for free because, well, there’s not actually anything wrong with them. I see no reason to spend the money to pre-emptively replace it myself.