Do you know how to handle a blow out? (1 Viewer)

Jim

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Not seen this video posted here for a while, well worth a look if you haven't seen it (y)

 
Feb 24, 2013
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very useful, but do blow outs only happen on old or damaged tyres?

on a couple of posts relating to blow outs suffered by members (only a couple in four years that I have seen) nobody ever said how old the tyres were

lorry blow outs also seem a lot less common these days, are tyres just better or do we change them more frequently?

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Bailey58

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Suffered one many years ago on a quiet country road near Watton. Well, normally quiet, came round a gentle 90°
bend, straightening up when the tyre went and the car did a complete 360°. We ended up in a field and the oncoming tanker went past us shaking his head in bewilderment.
 
Oct 1, 2007
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I thought you ment breakfast I can handle that

In me motorcycle days
Had a rear tyre go on a Honda CBC 175
Ended up slowly coming away from the bike
No damage only scraped the crash bars
And tyre

Next time a matchless 500 twin
A damp oily road with pea shingle embedded in the wearing surface
The bike and I landed in a heap

Don't want to tempt fate with the car though
 

Tkly

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Had two seperate rear tyre blowouts in my old van one doing 50-60mph on a duel carrigeway one onan A road. Both times I shit bricks but held the van on the road, both tyres delaminated so lot of damage to the bodywork.

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andy63

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That's interesting. .. my thoughts before watching that would have been to stay off the brakes but come off the accelerator ..
But suspect my automatic reaction would be to brake...
Never had one mind and happy if it stays that way:D
Andy
 
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Many years ago I lost the complete NS front wheel off a J4 van at around 65mph (ie flat out). Never occurred to me to brake & the van stayed in lane after a serious twitch. I let it roll to a standstill & in fact turned into a side road at the last minute (at walking pace). It wore through the brake drum & wasn't far off the bearings by the time it stopped. I suspect it looked a lot worse from outside than from the drivers seat & I was was very impressed with how stable it felt (once it and I settled down after the initial heart-stopping event) :).

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sedge

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My first husband had one, going north to Derby on the A38, just before the Burton on Trent turn off, whilst me and his parents were passengers in a Thames 15cwt van loaded up with mobile disco equipment. Front nearside - right in side front of me. Went v bumpy for about 3 seconds, he immediately took his foot off the accelerator and I was about to slide the door window open and hang out to have a look when there was, what I can only describe as, a F***ing big bang.

Just coasted to a (very bumpy, noisy) halt. And I've thanked my lucky stars for the last approx. 40 years, that I didn't have my head out of that window. We all got out onto the side verge, Dad and son got the jack tools and spare out, and changed it.

No panic, though have to say, his mom did blench - and I dunno what I looked like! We all needed a drink when we got up to Derby though!
 

TheBig1

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many many years! since I was a kid
i had a blow out on a virtually new tyre (had just had all 4 replaced). was back in the 80s and i was travelling at 80+ in the outside lane at the end of the m27
the car was a 2.8ltr ford granada, so a very heavy car. but when the driver side front tyre exploded, the whole front end started bouncing up and down. fortunately a lorry driver to my left saw it happen and created space for me to steer left and come to a halt away from traffic

at first, we put the blowout down to unseen debris ripping the tyre, but within a week a second tyre also failed. on inspection, both had snapped steel bands. the company that had fitted the tyres replaced all 4 again without quibble but a different brand
 

Chris

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I had a front blow out on the M1 once at 100mph plus:eek:

Fortunately for me it was about 6 am on a Saturday morning and the motorway was empty.

Taught me a big lesson that did.
 
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Nov 18, 2011
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regular tyre checks before and during a journey correct tyre pressures.
how many actually even look at ther tyers during a journey i see them all the time driving in to the services jump out. come back with a coffee.
Throw ther cup out the window and drive off without even a thought for the for black things in each corner.
i check my tyers every time i get in my vehicle walk rund to make sure hasn't piked up a nail ther are no visible cracks or damage to the tyers .
every now and then i jack up the van inflate the tyers to ther max test pressure hold that pressure check for any deformity set tyer at correct pressures.
but ther no substitute for vigilance how man set off get in ther van and drive all the way to where ever and never give the fore or six black things a glance
wont get a honest answer but in recent months i have seen so many cars and vans with the outer tread worn away and full tread in the middle
it scares the life out of me
bill

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Nov 30, 2009
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Do you know @Wildbill thats me. I don't throw coffee cups out of my window, but I can honestly say I don't check my tyres every time I get in my car. It's serviced / mot every year etc I just thought they'd pick up problems. I've noticed a slight flat front tyre in the past. But only as it was the drivers side before I got in the door !
Hope alls well with you , Bill, lynn and Jay.
 
Nov 18, 2011
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Do you know @Wildbill thats me. I don't throw coffee cups out of my window, but I can honestly say I don't check my tyres every time I get in my car. It's serviced / mot every year etc I just thought they'd pick up problems. I've noticed a slight flat front tyre in the past. But only as it was the drivers side before I got in the door !
Hope alls well with you , Bill, lynn and Jay.
ther you go checked at mot a full 12 months of abuse and not a glance
your only contact with the road
just taking two min to walk round culd stop you or someone being in the grave before there time when you fill up with fuel check your tyers
or at least once a week
bill
 
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Jim

Jim

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It doesn't really matter where the drive wheels are front or back. Essentially whatever you do, don't brake, or even quickly de- accelerate. Keep power on and only when you have the steering under control, bring her to a stop by slowly coming off the throttle. If you need to stop quicker then gently use what you can, gears, brakes and handbrake but being ready with steering wheel corrections that you will definitely need.

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May 4, 2015
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Himself walks round the MH whenever we pull in. A quick kick to the tyres and a touch to check they are not over heating. I think it is probably an age thing, as donkeys years ago it was a necessity.

At the end of the day, there is only a bit of black rubber between staying on the road or waltzing down the carriageway.
 

Pia

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My OH is vigilant about checking tyres both before our journeys and during the journey....whenever we stop. He will check the tyres to ensure they are at the correct pressure periodically during our trips. I had thought he was a bit OTT but now...I know he is just being sensible...must go and tell him:D
 
Oct 5, 2012
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Personally I think the time scales given for keeping tyres are misleading (a notional 7 years ?) . It's not the time that matters it's the mileage, and not the amount of mileage either but the quality. Mine are showing clear signs of wear & tear after just 1.3 years & 12k of some dire European roads and will be replaced this year. (Except the new one I bought in Rotterdam)!
I got close underneath with a torch to inspect each one of them, how many people do that ?

If you are skimping on tyres running 3.5 tons or above you are sending out an invite for trouble.

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Jim

Jim

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Personally I think the time scales given for keeping tyres are misleading (a notional 7 years ?) . It's not the time that matters it's the mileage, and not the amount of milage either but the quality. Mine are showing clear signs of wear & tear after just 1.3 years & 12k of some dire European roads and will be replaced this year. (Except the new one I bought in Rotterdam)!


You are right, and no mileage can be just as damaging, especially if tyres spend a lot of time under-inflated. This happens a lot with motorhomes, even more so with caravans and trailers. Where most will check pressures before a long journey, if they are not using that caravan, trailer, motorhome for 4 months they rarely check the pressures. Most motorhome tyres are fully loaded all of the time. If we leave them under-inflated for a winter the sidewall is being damaged. 6 months later, a hot August, a hot French road and BANG that weak spot we made in the winter gives out.
 
Oct 5, 2012
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You are right, and no mileage can be just as damaging, especially if tyres spend a lot of time under-inflated. This happens a lot with motorhomes, even more so with caravans and trailers. Where most will check pressures before a long journey, if they are not using that caravan, trailer, motorhome for 4 months they rarely check the pressures. Most motorhome tyres are fully loaded all of the time. If we leave them under-inflated for a winter the sidewall is being damaged. 6 months later, a hot August, a hot French road and BANG that weak spot we made in the winter gives out.
That's one of the reasons I am waiting until after the winter to replace them as mine is in storage, so not moved as much as I would like, so not so much of a problem when they are being replaced anyway.
 
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Jim

Jim

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That's one of the reasons I am waiting until after the winter to replace them as mine is in storage, so not moved as much as I would like, so not so much of a problem when they are being replaced anyway.

I never store mine, but if I did, I'd maybe slightly overinflate when in storage for long periods, they will always lose a little anyway. If ever I turned up at the storage and found a flat then I'd consider the sidewall a safety risk for the future and probably change it.

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Nov 13, 2012
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I had a front near side blowout on my van on a motorway in Spain at 60mph the tyre was only 1week old and it was make specified by manufacturer, I then had a rear tyre blowout on m5 and this tyre was only 1 year old. I have since fitted tyrepal which monitors pressure and temperature. It is quite surprising how much the pressure increases as the temperature rises. Now I set tyre pressure when tyres are slightly warm as the tyre pressure can be to high when tyres have heated up especially in summer.
 

WhiteCheyenneMan

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I suffered a blowout in my car, in the right hand lane, at 70'ish mph many years ago. It was on the M42, late evening, with two solid lanes of trucks to my left. The trucks must have seen the dust, because they pulled apart to let me move over onto the hard shoulder. So lucky! I've been more careful about checking tyres since then, but I still found myself forgetting to check too many times. I have Tyrepal on both cars and the MH now! This is very reassuring and has the added benefit of reminding me to increase the air in tyres when the air temperatures drop in winter and reduce it when it gets warm again in the spring.
 

WhiteCheyenneMan

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...same principle with front wheel drive?
Step on the gas ???

The most important thing is to keep both hands on the wheel until you stop. Don't listen to those who say change down a gear, or gently apply the handbrake. With front wheel drive, too much acceleration will increase the drag to one side as the good tyre has the most grip. A little acceleration may help, but maintaining your speed before slowly lifting off the gas is key to maintaining control while signalling and moving to the side of the road. Don't put your hazard flashers on until you stopped!!!

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Charlie

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very useful, but do blow outs only happen on old or damaged tyres?

on a couple of posts relating to blow outs suffered by members (only a couple in four years that I have seen) nobody ever said how old the tyres were

lorry blow outs also seem a lot less common these days, are tyres just better or do we change them more frequently?

Modern up to date tyres cannot blow out unless they suffer catastrophic damage .... Older ones can though.
 
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I had a front tyre go BANG at 70 mph on a French autoroute in the Westy. It was caused by a pipe laying across 2 lanes that had fallen off a tanker. I had swerved to try to avoid it, but not quite enough and my left front tyre ran right over the stainless steel connector. That's a big heavy chunk of metal. I didn't brake but neither did I press on the loud pedal. I lifted off and managed to steer until we stopped on the hard shoulder. Then, noticed an Aire 200m ahead so drove very slowly into that. The tyre had 5 holes in the sidewalls I could put my hand through. Luckily the tyre blow out must have absorbed all the energy from the collision with the pipe and that saved the alloy wheel, suspension and steering from serious damage. The tyre was probably about 2 years old.

It taught me that relying on Fix 'n Go kits to get you going again after a puncture (instead of a proper spare wheel) is naive. To me that is a manufacturer's myth that needs busting. Does anyone really believe that it justifies not providing a spare wheel as standard? Has anyone actually used the fix n' goo kit successfully?
 

Charlie

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I had a front tyre go BANG at 70 mph on a French autoroute in the Westy. It was caused by a pipe laying across 2 lanes that had fallen off a tanker. I had swerved to try to avoid it, but not quite enough and my left front tyre ran right over the stainless steel connector. That's a big heavy chunk of metal. I didn't brake but neither did I press on the loud pedal. I lifted off and managed to steer until we stopped on the hard shoulder. Then, noticed an Aire 200m ahead so drove very slowly into that. The tyre had 5 holes in the sidewalls I could put my hand through. Luckily the tyre blow out must have absorbed all the energy from the collision with the pipe and that saved the alloy wheel, suspension and steering from serious damage. The tyre was probably about 2 years old.

It taught me that relying on Fix 'n Go kits to get you going again after a puncture (instead of a proper spare wheel) is naive. To me that is a manufacturer's myth that needs busting. Does anyone really believe that it justifies not providing a spare wheel as standard? Has anyone actually used the fix n' goo kit successfully?

Quick repair kits have their place and are brilliant and invaluable in certain circumstances. Small penetrations for example. The goo based ones are not great as some render the tyre irreparable. You must use water based ones to avoid ruining the tyre .
The string repair kits are brilliant for repairs where screws or nails and so on puncture the tyre. Easy to use clean and very efficient. I had to repair a tyre on a friends car on Christmas Eve outside the house so they could journey home. Tyre stayed fully inflated till new year when it was replaced as it was worn out anyway.

What you had was catastrophic damage not a blow out in the old fashioned terms. As above late quality tyres cannot just blow out if they are run at the correct pressures they have to be damaged from external elements before they will let go. Bear in mind that a thump hard against a kerb for example can weaken them and cause future catastrophic failure. One reason never to buy part worn tyres.

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