Cheap tires lead to more flats? Or just bad luck?

Jayne

Jayne

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I usually run pretty good tires and brakes on all my vehicles, but my van came with new but really cheap/crappy tires on it. I figured I would run them out and then replace.

So far in the last 15k miles I've had two flats. First one a small piece of metal, don't know what the second is yet since I just pulled the tire and will take it in tomorrow. These haven't been slow leaks, they've been "ok to flat in an hour or two" sorta leaks.

Are cheap tires more prone to this, or am I just unlucky? Prior to this I had 1 flat in a previous car 4 years ago, and then prior to that.... maybe 25 years with no flats? To be fair I spent 12 of those years mostly on 2 wheels, but still.
 
Not sure it really matters. My wife and I have always had decent tires on our cars. I never get flats and that women gets at least 2 a year it seems. I swear she has a boyfriend in the construction business!
 
All the construction in our area is likely to blame.
 
i agree with "confused".
(that is not new)
the unsecured loads give your results.
only twice have i followed the pickup truck
spewing "whatever" out of its bed onto the highway.
neither admitted to being able to speak English.
 
Most likely the size and shape of the metal. One time I had flat after eating lunch, changed the tire out and
it had a chunk of chrome metal in it, it was a broken bearing carrier from a CV joint, must have driven over it in the lot,
it had recently snowed so the plow must have picked up all the road junk. Rental car so I got another car.

My daughter would get a flat every three to four weeks while at college in Charlotte with all the construction going on.
She had new tires and got to know the Discount Tire guys.
 
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Both my sons and I all had flats on the same day last week. They are on the coast, and I'm two hours away. All good tires.

I think it's the phase of the moon.
 
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We put a thick layer of gravel down on part of the driveway last spring, caught a piece just right in the middle of the tread block. Good tires didn't help.
 
Bad luck.

Over 300k miles on current F150, 5th set of cheap tires wearin' thin, 1 flat in PA approx 3 years ago.

(I am now jynxed, fer sher.)

EDIT: Now, windshields? That's another story entirely...
 
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2 years ago I picked up some CHEAP Russian made tires for the crown vic (whatever the factory size is) . $300 for a set of 4...shipped! On eBay!

Only one nail, low trear wear, quiet, good wet performance. Only negative so far is I've had to have them balanced twice now.

Will buy again
 
I would say bad luck. If you had problems with them seperating or something like that maybe the tires but my guess is you just happen to be going somewhere more construction is going on so more hazards are laying around increasing your chances.
 
It's just bad luck. I had a new 2012 honda civic with 3000 miles on it and I got a flat on my way home a screw in the side wall. Went to the tire shop and spent $110.00 on a new tire. Two weeks later a flat in the same brand new tire with a hunk of steel that cut a large gouge across the bottom. I had the car for 4 years after that with never even a soft tire.
 
Brian K said:
2 years ago I picked up some CHEAP Russian made tires for the crown vic (whatever the factory size is) . $300 for a set of 4...shipped! On eBay!

Only one nail, low trear wear, quiet, good wet performance. Only negative so far is I've had to have them balanced twice now.

Will buy again
Click to expand...
In Russia, tire puncture pavement!
Russia.jpg
 
There was a piece of metal in the tire, they patched it up without drama.

Probably all the construction by work.

Crisis averted, new tires can wait until next year. Whew.
 
I bought a new dodge in 2013. 8,000 on the clock on tire light comes on. I made it to a gas station and found the metal piece from a wheel weight had punctured it. Within the last month my fiancé has had four flats on a set of tires less than six months old. One of the flats was on a tire that was replaced the week before. She delivers mail and they had been regrading some of the dirt roads she delivers on.
 
I'd say it comes down to luck and where you drive. I've had cars that have never had a flat, and others it seemed to happen all the time.

Driving in areas with lots of construction, or areas where there's a lot of agriculture raise the risk of hitting a nail or screw. In my work truck, it seems like I get a flat once or twice a year, from nails and screws. And when I'm patching the tire, I usually find one or two more that didn't make it all the way through the thick 10-ply tires.
 
Had a BMW X5 that was cursed. Two flats that could not be repaired $350 each for tires...this was 10 years ago. Two windshields that cost me $100 deductible each. You want no flats or busted windshields, buy hazard insurance or whatever it's called. Bought that this insurance year cycle and with me its a guarantee that I will not have a claim against it.
 
If you have not walked the side of a road for any distance, don't. You will be shocked at the amount of metal debris on the side of the road that you can pick up in tires.

I accused my wife of metal detecting with her car once. She had more flats than I have ever had. Once she picked up a big ass staple that produced a flat tire.

A lot of tire retailers keep a glass jar on the counter with all the crap that has been found in flat tires. Go take a look. You'll be shaking your.head in disbelief.

Sent from my SM-J320V using Tapatalk
 
Back in the day, I had a $800.00 ragged out 68 VW Microbus. Kept hearing a "clanking" sound in right rear. I pulled in the driveway and proceeded to find the source of the noise without success. Puzzled, I backed out to drive around the neighborhood. Imediately the sound returned then stoped within a few feet stoped a few feet down the road. I noticed the right-rear fire was low (but not flat) and as I drove back into my driveway The sound returned with an intermittent
Rhythm????. What the....??? Turned out I had run over a small diameter threaded rod approx. 8-10" long with a small 90 bend on one end. (Looked to be part of a battery hold-down assembly.)
The LONG section was completely inside the tire while the bend remained in the tread. That clanking sound was the result of the the rod hitting the inside of the rim as the tire rotated. How that tire retained air pressure for thats last 5-6 miles home is a mystery...??
 
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I thought that I’d picked something up in a front tire earlier this week while cruising down the highway, no such luck. Front bumper and lower splash guard had broken apart and slid under the car while driving down the highway. 4 miles on the berm at 20mph to get to a roll of duct tape, that’s when I picked up a bit of metal. $1,000 worth of plastic and I still need to figure out the tire.
 
Im not generally one to pay for add-ons, but road hazard protection has been worth it.
 
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Just bad luck. I'm super lucky I think. Just had my first screw puncture a tire on my truck. I truly didn't know that my 2011 Ranger had the tpms system:rolleyes:. The other morning I came out to warm it up and the light was on:eek:

I've been doing home building again for around 4 years now. I try to keep an eye out around the parking area, so I find, nails, screws, metal pieces almost daily.

For a few years I worked for a place that did interstate sweeping. We dumped at the shop for sorting. The lot was always full of pokey potential. Never did have a flat on my personal vehicle.

From that line of work though I've seen all manner of items cause a flat. Innumerable nails and screws, hook from a tie down straps (the loop end was what punctured it), screw drivers, a 10mm wrench, a leaf spring shackle, pair of tin snips, angle iron, wood, the list is endless.

But my personal favorite was a pistol barrel of some sort:eek: it was to mangled to figure out the make. But it punched right through. Could still see the rifling in it.
 
Just got my 3rd flat, at least this one was at the range and not the office.

New tires being fit right now, it may not help but it can't hurt (and the tread on the cheapies is getting low).

Went with a slightly upgraded version of the OEM tire; I don't know what sort of intangible benefits these give vs. the regular OEM, but for $3/tire more I get tires that are 10% lighter. Unsprung weight is bad, I know that much.
 
My wife was driving a couple months ago and hit a dang axel on 77. I saw it coming literally half a mile away and she was on the phone. Somehow it just bounced right off. So luck has a lot to do with it.
 
Trevillian said:
Just bad luck. I'm super lucky I think. Just had my first screw puncture a tire on my truck. I truly didn't know that my 2011 Ranger had the tpms system:rolleyes:. The other morning I came out to warm it up and the light was on:eek:

I've been doing home building again for around 4 years now. I try to keep an eye out around the parking area, so I find, nails, screws, metal pieces almost daily.

For a few years I worked for a place that did interstate sweeping. We dumped at the shop for sorting. The lot was always full of pokey potential. Never did have a flat on my personal vehicle.

From that line of work though I've seen all manner of items cause a flat. Innumerable nails and screws, hook from a tie down straps (the loop end was what punctured it), screw drivers, a 10mm wrench, a leaf spring shackle, pair of tin snips, angle iron, wood, the list is endless.

But my personal favorite was a pistol barrel of some sort:eek: it was to mangled to figure out the make. But it punched right through. Could still see the rifling in it.
Click to expand...

Looks like I jinxed myself with that post....

I've had 5 slow leaks caused by the same type of screw. Those wide head, short, super coarse threads like one would find in car interiors.....

After this last one I realized the last time i had a tire puncture on my personal vehicle was like 08' or so....

Darned karma
 
BatteryOaksBilly said:
I've had 3 punctures but never a flat on a 4 wheeled vehicle. 60 years of driving 0 flats. [probably just jinxed myself]
Click to expand...

I know itll happen tomorrow. But I'm the same. Never a "need to swap in the spare" situation discounting times I was on the clock.

Yep with the family drama happening right now. For sure gonna have a blowout soon...
 
I had a front driver side tire blow out, it has a radial pull, happened quickly, the car started drifting left,
at 55 MPH, I slowed and then BANG like a shotgun blast.
 
I bought a $700 set of BFG’s one time and had a nail in the sidewall of one of them before I got home
 
Tire dude said it looked like a sharp rock just jammed itself into the tire and ripped a big hole in it then fell out. Asked if I had been driving on a gravel road or something. Damn gun club and their damn new gravel road....

Inside view:
van_flat_tire_3_2.jpg

Outside view:

van_flat_tire_3_3.jpg
 
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