Swapping front to back a viable option?

[smistry007]

So I have two sidewall bulges in each of my 21in front tires. America's Tire is out of replacement tires as is other surrounding America's Tires locations. Local Lucid service center is also out. They called Pirelli and were told this particular tire is on backorder. I've ordered an EZ spare in the meantime.

Question:
Is swapping the bulging front tire/ wheel onto the back axle and putting the good/ no bulging back tire/ wheels on the front axle a viable option? I realize the car was not designed for this and that turning radius might be affected but I'm going on a road trim and want to try and minimize any issues if possible. Seems that the potholes are rougher on the front tires than the rears and this might be a way to minimize further damage/ blow out. Again, this is not an ideal situation and would much rather prefer a brand new tire or just not taking car on upcoming road trip.

Let the experts weigh in.

thanks

Sameer

 

[Bobby]

No. The wheel sizes are different.

 

[BobFM]

Only the 19's can swap front to back as they are the same size...20's and 21's have different size front and back.

 

[xponents]

As said above, no. The fronts are 245, while the rear are 265s. You could do this if you had 19s (which are 245 squared), but you don't.

 

[tjoines]

Unfortunately the bulge in the tire indicates there is a cut in the inner tire liner allowing air to escape in to the tire sidewall. It will fail and will likely fail without warning and immediately lose pressure. The tire should not be driven on.

There is a tremendous amount of force put on a very small area of the tire when hitting a pothole. 1" of pothole edge surface with the mass of the vehicle at speed.

 

[terrycs]

Unfortunately the bulge in the tire indicates there is a cut in the inner tire liner allowing air to escape in to the tire sidewall. It will fail and will likely fail without warning and immediately lose pressure. The tire should not be driven on.

There is a tremendous amount of force put on a very small area of the tire when hitting a pothole. 1" of pothole edge surface with the mass of the vehicle at speed.

I will concur with this. A pothole just blew out my front tire. This picture shows a rather flimsy sidewall.

On the upside, Lucid does have the newer LM2 version of the Pirelli's now.

 

[DeaneG]

I will concur with this. A pothole just blew out my front tire. This picture shows a rather flimsy sidewall.

Looks like it was a pretty sharp-edged and deep pothole!

 

[Tim-in-CA]

You should not rotate the tires front to back on 21s, they are staggered. At this point, especially if you are going on a road trip, you risk getting a sudden blowout on one of the tires. If you were say to just drive around town at slower speeds, I'd risk driving for a bit, but freeway speeds, tire heat and road surface can result in failure of an already compromised tire. And considering that there are no supply available, you will have to get it towed if this happens and be stranded. Either drive a different vehicle (if you have one) or rent a car. I know this is a bummer and Pirelli really needs to get their supply situation corrected.

 

[Drendino]

If anyone gets behind a Zenith Red Lucid driving 10 miles under the speed limit and weaving back and forth, that is me trying to avoid potholes while there are no Lucid approved tires available for 21 inch rims. These tires are simply not road worthy and it was only a matter of time before they disappeared from the market. I wouldn’t be surprised if a lawsuit finally caught up with Pirelli and I have a bridge to sell anyone who believes that they are back ordered because of excess demand.

 

[skndrni]

Duuuude. Just Turo and pay for peace of mind.

 

[Rogue]

Michelin All Season tires work for the front but not the back for load rating if memory serves correctly. You would need to check. Michelin All around is a no go due to weight limits.

 

[PhotoEye]

Buy 19"s.