Sidewall Bulge

[goldstar]

I was checking the tires on my wife's 3 this morning, as I do from time-to-time and I discovered a severe sidewall bulge on the outside of the right front tire. Lucky I discovered this defect since my wife takes her car to work every morning. She leaves our house at 6:30 and takes I-280E. She, and the rest of the folks racing hell-bent to go to work in the city, on some stretches sometimes run up to 75-80 mph.

The thought of her getting a front tire blowout at those speeds was most upsetting.

Tomorrow, she'll take my car to work while I'll try to get her a new tire. Her current tires are Falken Ziex ZE-912s (205/55-16). I purchased her tires from Discount Tire Direct along with replacement certificates so I will be able to get a free replacement. However, I can't be without my car for as long as it takes to get a replacement sent from DTD so I want to get her one locally. There is a local dealer who sells Falkens, according to the Falken website, so I'll call him in the morning hoping he has one in stock, or if not, can get me one more quickly than would be possible from DTD. If the local guy can do it, I'll send the defective tire to DTD and get a free one from them so that my wife will end up with two new tires for the price of one.

On Tuesday, if I'm still without my car, a friend of mine can drive me to work, and take me home, since he works near me in a suburban business complex. My wife doesn't have that option.

I'll keep you posted.

Happy Motoring!

[wheresthericego]

That looks like it has some broken belts in the sidewall. It is dangerous to drive on and glad you found it before disaster. +1 for road hazard on tires, I have the same replacement plan on my tires...

[1st Gen]

I think the official terms is tread separation. The innermost lining of the tires ruptured somehow and let the air pressure work on the actual structure of the tire thus deforming it. It's good news that you found it before it became an emergency situation.

[Raider9864]

Ouch! Hit any curbs or big potholes lately?

[goldstar]

No curbs. My wife did hit a big pothole that was covered by water so couldn't be avoided, some time ago, so that's possibly the reason for the failure.

Happy Motoring!

[Ace]

TBH it almost looks like shes due for at least 2 if not 4 tires from the looks of that tread depth.

[Mazda_Powered]

that's quite the bulge Goldstar lol, good luck!

[goldstar]

I think the official terms is tread separation. The innermost lining of the tires ruptured somehow and let the air pressure work on the actual structure of the tire thus deforming it. It's good news that you found it before it became an emergency situation.

Thanks for the information and providing me with the correct terminology, Jon. I wasn't sure what to call it and bulge was the first thing that came to mind.

"The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names." --- Chinese proverb

TBH it almost looks like shes due for at least 2 if not 4 tires from the looks of that tread depth.

You're right. All 4-tires are pretty worn. I was hoping to hold off on tire replacement until September but I may have to do this much sooner than planned. Too bad since I may need to replace the Protege's front pads and rotors in the near future, also.

It's a great life if you don't weaken.

that's quite the bulge Goldstar lol, good luck!

Yes, that is quite a tread separation, and thank you.

Happy Motoring!

[MazdaLady3]

My hero!

[D323]

Glad you found that before the worst happened.

I try to make similar checks on my wife's car; sometimes I think I am being too cautious. Glad to see someone else does the same

[FE3-323]

OUCH! glad you caught that. it looks pretty bad off in terms of the bulged sidewalls i've seen in my time

[wgnths]

Good catch Goldstar!! That is calling for a horrific scene about to happen.
Is that your lady up there??^^ lol

[goldstar]

Yes, I was lucky to have caught it. And yes, that is she.

Happy Motoring!

[SgtRauksauff]

looking at the rim immediately below the sidewall bruise, you can see some scuffing/smudging/curbing.. probably caused by the pothole or something similar, right at that spot. I've seen some in the past that were RIDICULOUSLY distorted and bulged out.

--sarge

[goldstar]

The local Falken dealer received the tire today and I had it installed. More expensive than Discount Tire Direct of course but, as I said, I needed the replacement as soon as possible.
Falken Ziex ZE-912, 205/55-16: US $109.95
Rubber valve: $3.95
NJ State Tire Theft: $1.50
Tire registry certificate: $.01
Computer balance: $10.95
NJ State Theft: $8.85

Total: US $135.21

Since I took the old tire with me to return to DTD if need be, I didn't have to pay a disposal fee.

As Sarge said above, the tire failure was undoubtedly caused by the pothole because as it turned out the rim is slightly bent (detected on the balance machine). Now I have to buy an OEM replacement before I get a new set of tires, and I think factory alloys are horrendously expensive. Oh well, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, as the Duke used to say.

With the new tire installed, I drove my wife's car to work. Tomorrow, it's back to the Protege.

Happy Motoring!