Car Guys/Mechanics: what the heck happened?

Driving home yesterday, I hear a loud screeching/thudding coming from the right side of my car. I thought it was the engine of this old klunker I was passing, but the noise continued once I got by him, so I pulled onto the shoulder. As I slowed down, the noise turned into more of a rhythmic thumping, like I had a flat tire, but the car was not wobbling at all.

Got out, looked in the wheel well, and could see some damage on the inside tread of the front right tire. Changed it out and this is what I found:

Image

Image

Image

Any idea what could have caused this? Something with the strut, maybe, rubbing onto the inside of the tire? Tread separation from faulty tires? Just a routine blowout? There appeared to be enough clearance between the tire and the strut, and nothing interfered with the spare when I replaced it.

These are low profile radials, less than a year old with maybe 20k miles on them. Unfortunately, they're directional tires and not cheap, so I'll probably be forking over some big $$ this weekend to get two replaced. :-) Wondering if it was related to any kind of mechanical failure or just poor construction.
[Reply]

Looks like the tire just came apart.
[Reply]

Might want to get the alignment checked, it could just be the photo, but it looks like the inside edge wear (camber) is significantly greater than the outside edge.

If you or the shop looks up in the wheel well, they should be able to see if there was a point of contact between the tire and a component.

Other than that, looks like a partial separation. The shop can check if there have been any noted problems or recalls on that brand.
[Reply]

You should get some money back if within warranty parameters.Of course bad alignment might very well void it.
[Reply]

negative camber... that will happen to a tire with too much negative camber.. they wont care if the tire separates like that, because after alot of miles with bad camber, its bound to happen.
[Reply]

Yep, bad alignment wore out the rubber casing near the edge then the radial plies took care of the rest. There is a lot of force from the steel belts pushing upwards to help stablize the tire. Once the rubber is gone and you eat into the nylon wrap it just pops up. You can tell from the scalloped edges on the other side of the tire that you have alignment issues.

New tires then aligment should fix the problem as long as there's nothing else wrong in your stearing.

Also, Sumitomo tires aren't known for their quality. Try looking into Yokohama for some well priced replacements. (Tirerack.com) has the best prices but you get nailed on the install.
[Reply]

Looks like your alignment need camber adjustment...
[Reply]

Check your control arms! It dosent look the the right wear pattern for a shot control arm but who knows...my control arm has been shot for months on my bimmer and no really unsual wear...
[Reply]

The negative camber honestly doesn't look too bad. There is wear from it but not enough to cause belt to separate like that.

My track car runs (drift car) anywhere from 3-5 degrees negative in the front and back and i rarely ever get separation. I know some tires are more likely to Chunk out or separate but that's just cause I've burned enough up to know.

Try getting the tire changed out under warranty. If you talk to the tire shop most will warranty the tire out or offer you a discount. Make sure to check the other tires as they are prob from the same lot.

Check air pressure as that is a big issue with tire wear also.
[Reply]

It does look like you were running with toe-out alignment. Many performance cars run a little toe-out from the factory, and some people get their cars aligned toe-out (when the tires look like /---\ instead of |---| from the back) to increase handling in sharp corners. Trouble is, especially with low-profile tires, it causes a lot of inside wear. Those tires look pretty well-used - what kind of car are you driving and have you had it aligned toe-out for track use?
[Reply]

Originally Posted by omowasu:
It does look like you were running with toe-out alignment. Many performance cars run a little toe-out from the factory, and some people get their cars aligned toe-out (when the tires look like /---\ instead of |---| from the back) to increase handling in sharp corners. Trouble is, especially with low-profile tires, it causes a lot of inside wear. Those tires look pretty well-used - what kind of car are you driving and have you had it aligned toe-out for track use?

same thing i was thinking. also if your tire is to wide or needs to be wider it puts stress on that spot. first thing i would do is look up to see if others are having the same problem witht he tire. quick search on the web and of the name of the tire will bring some results fast if it is a common thing
[Reply]

Thanks for all the tips, fellas! I'm dropping it off with my mechanic tomorrow--they put the tires on and have been doing all the maintenance on my vehicle (Lexus IS300) for years. The car never handled like it had an alignment problem, but I'll have them check. In any event, I think I'll begin trading out to another brand, possibly back to Michelins which have never given me problems on other vehicles.
[Reply]

Those tires look terrible for only having 20k on them. There shot! I would look for a better quality tire if everything else checks out.
[Reply]

So here's what the mechanic said: the problem was a slight issue with the cross-steering alignment, the rear of the car was basically drifting to the left. Keeping the car straight caused it to put drag on the right front tire which caused the inside wear. Plus it was under inflated (should have been 40psi but read about 32.) Unfortunately, since I did not have an alignment done in the past year, the tire would not be under warranty.

Got it all fixed with 2 new tires so hopefully I won't be wearing these out as quickly! Thanks for all the tips
[Reply]