Drive without TPMS? You could lose your car

[kz]

For what it's worth - when I had a nail in the tire, TPMS went off immediately - literally before I moved off the parking spot and tire was at ~16 psi.

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[dpAtlanta]

It's to bad that Ford does not record tire pressure in their EDR (Event Data Recorder) aka "Black Box" like Chrysler, VW & Nissan do, It would have given you tire pressure for the 5 seconds prior to impact. Then you would know if a TPMS would have even been an issue.

As others have said... glad to hear you both walked away.

 

[User5.2]

I'm not sure you'll get far with a claim against General. What happened to your tire is not a defect. It was caused by driving on it for an extended period with low, or no air pressure in it, which caused the rim to cut through all of the cords in the sidewall, and when it had cut through all of those, there was nothing left to hold it in place.

I figure it is worth a try - maybe I can at least get back the money I paid for those tires.

The rim did not cut through the tire - see picture below. Rather, a flat tire would have put a lot of pressure on the sidewalls. And both sidewalls must have disconnected about the same time, as I went from cruising to loss of control very quickly.

 

[stanglife]

Don't feel too badly. It's very possible that you had normal air in the tire when you left on your trip. In my case (years ago on a new edge mustang w/ 18"s) - I actually heard the moment with the valve stem developed a split and started releasing air. I pulled over within 100 yards. While the sidewall did not split at that time, it was WELL on its way. When we pulled the tire, the inside of the sidewall was melted and marbled up from the heat of basically bending the sidwall over and then back straight over and over at highway speeds. It's like when you bend most materials back and forth - they generate heat and eventually brittle and fail.

Essentially, any significant loss of tire pressure would result in your damaged tire very quickly. I see the aftermarket wheels and wonder if you had different stems or the stems/tpms were damaged at some point.

Either way - post some pics of the new RS3. FWIW, in between my 16R and my 20R, I owned a 2019 RS3 and a 2020 GT500 CFTP...ended up back in the R I loved the RS3 for it's wolf in sheeps clothing persona - but it didn't handle that well and I ultimately got bored.

 

[Cobra Jet]

I'm not sure you'll get far with a claim against General. What happened to your tire is not a defect. It was caused by driving on it for an extended period with low, or no air pressure in it, which caused the rim to cut through all of the cords in the sidewall, and when it had cut through all of those, there was nothing left to hold it in place.

How does ANY rim cut through the cords in the sidewall? It's not possible. The sidewall was still intact after the blow out. Even if the tire were going flat, the edges of the rim can't come in contact with the main tread to make a "cut" as suggested, not even in that instance where in Post #34 it's clearly seen that would never be possible (low profile or not). The same applies to the other pic of the older GT500 with the similar failure - rim didn't cut or puncture the tire tread or sidewall.

We'd all be blowing out tires daily if that were possible.... LOL.

 

[Bluelightning]

How does ANY rim cut through the cords in the sidewall? It's not possible. The sidewall was still intact after the blow out. Even if the tire were going flat, the edges of the rim can't come in contact with the main tread to make a "cut" as suggested, not even in that instance where in Post #34 it's clearly seen that would never be possible (low profile or not). The same applies to the other pic of the older GT500 with the similar failure - rim didn't cut or puncture the tire tread or sidewall.

We'd all be blowing out tires daily if that were possible.... LOL.

Here is a picture of what happens to a sidewall of a tire that is driven on with low or no air pressure shortly before it comes apart like the ops did. When the pressure gets low enough, it has to support weight that it wasn't designed to at low or no pressure. The line that you see worn into the sidewall is from the lip of the wheel as it wears into the sidewall as it is cutting through the rubber, and then the reinforcing material in the sidewall. Driven on long enough this way, the rim literrally cuts through all that stuff and will cause the tire to come apart as we have seen in pics within this thread. So, yes it is possible, and if you drive daily with low enough pressure, you will blow through tires in this manner.

 

[stanglife]

^ I don't think that's the wheel doing the cutting. That's the spot that the tire folds over on itself, generating heat and breaking down the rubber.steel.
Like this - the folded area doesnt last long at highway speeds.

 

[WildHorse]

it is a major, major job

No its not. Its the same as any other unibody. No way is it the same cost as to restore a need everything 65 Mustang.

 

[Tomster]

I doubt that damage is just the outer quarter panel. Similar damage in the video I posted in this thread showed where they had to replace everything. I am afraid it is major work.

Don't forget the prices that were thrown out there are insurance prices.

 

[gimmie11s]

need moar TPS sensors and ford big-brother data logging to keep us safe!

Good Lord we are in serious trouble in this country.

 

[User5.2]

The body shop only uses OEM parts and the manager said this car would never be right. Not shown in the original picture is damage to the driver rear side from hitting the median fence. Basically, the entire rear of this car would have to replaced.

I have not pushed the RS3 yet but am hopeful it will be sufficient on the track. Audi made some nice improvements in the new generation, most notably a rear torque splitter that can put 100% of the rear power to one wheel - you can actually drift this FWD-biased AWD car! I just got it wrapped in dark green as only pre-configured cars are available at this time and I did not like the white. I was lucky to get one of the first in the states, about a month after the accident.

 

[03reptile]

There is something to be said for a run-flat tire in the situation described by the OP and his subsequent loss of control. My wife's BMW has run-flats on it and she had a catastrophic loss of tire pressure from hitting something similar to a railroad spike at highway speed. The BMW maintained stability and she drove it back home at reduced speed (about four miles). I could put my index finger in the hole! Had this been a standard radial, the outcome may have been far more dangerous. I'm not a big fan of the run-flats, but they do have a supportive sidewall that will prevent the collapse of the tire in a situation described by the OP. So sorry for the loss of his GT350. I'd have been devastated!

 

[CANTWN4LSN]

Whether it's because of the wider tires or the fact they are "stickier", I have picked up three nails in 40k miles of driving my GT350 and in my entire life (67) only had one flat in all the other cars I have driven over the years. That being said never had TPMS in a car before and considered it relatively unneeded until owning this car. Given it is a high performance vehicle that we drive close to our own limit let alone the car's real limit, I make a habit of checking the TPMS reading frequently while driving. One toggle down from mph is all it takes and is a good habit to develop. If you do it frequently you would perhaps avoid the unfortunate outcome of the OP by catching the loss of pressure sooner.

 

[BoomBoy]

Whether it's because of the wider tires or the fact they are "stickier", I have picked up three nails in 40k miles of driving my GT350 and in my entire life (67) only had one flat in all the other cars I have driven over the years. That being said never had TPMS in a car before and considered it relatively unneeded until owning this car. Given it is a high performance vehicle that we drive close to our own limit let alone the car's real limit, I make a habit of checking the TPMS reading frequently while driving. One toggle down from mph is all it takes and is a good habit to develop. If you do it frequently you would perhaps avoid the unfortunate outcome of the OP by catching the loss of pressure sooner.

Or just leave TPMS reading on, just like I do. I have Mph and everything else I need from analog gauges.

 

[ice445]

I'm not sure you'll get far with a claim against General. What happened to your tire is not a defect. It was caused by driving on it for an extended period with low, or no air pressure in it, which caused the rim to cut through all of the cords in the sidewall, and when it had cut through all of those, there was nothing left to hold it in place.

I'll have to disagree on this one. Very unlikely a seasoned racer/autocrosser isn't going to notice that their rear tire has gone critically flat going down the highway. TPMS or not, it's going to feel pretty strange when one of your powered wheels has a flat tire. I think there was a defect that was excacerbated by the slow leak caused by the screw. It may not have gotten low enough to cause any apparent problems before it blew.

Of course, nothing is impossible mind you...

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