I was worried about this - I think I even mentioned it in the original thread.

I wouldn't roll the dice here. Here's whats going on...

The tire is comprised of several "plys" of different materials which have been fused together. Usually with a combination of heat, and glue. Now when your sidewall took the impact, basically you broke the bond between some of the layers. The bubble means there is basically a delamination of the layers and a pocket has formed among the outer layers that can hold air. Since air takes the path of least resistance, as do all molecules, that pocket has now turned into a bubble - stretching the outer layers that are still in tact. Don't forget there is 32 psi of pressure in that tire give or take.

Now you could be lucky, and drive it till it wears out like that (I've done it, when I was younger and dumber read: poor) , or it could burst at the first bump you hit the wrong way.

Its the equivalent of having a pimple or blister on your skin. What's easier to break open, a blister or normal skin that's in tact?

Do yourself a favor and just order the tire now. You have a pregnant wife that you drive around in that car. You don't want something happening over something that could have so easily been prevented. The tire shouldn't spontaneously destruct, but it's structure has been compromised. You don't want to ruin a rim by losing a tire, and having to deal with all the BS you just went through.

I'm not trying to scare you, I'm just giving you the reality of the situation. The price of a tire isn't worth the aggravation..

George

 

George is right on the money. Don't run the risk any longer than you have to. Get a new tire ASAP. And while you're waiting on it, keep your speed down and avoid any sharp manuevering....

Note: It is usually safer to move a potentially dangerous tire to the rear axle. You're always better off from an emergency handling perspective if you blow a rear tire as opposed to a front tire. I know the STR has larger tires in the rear than in the front, but most cars use the same size all the way around, and this note is for those folks who have identical tires on all four corners but aren't aware that they are better off with a damaged tire being mounted on the rear axle....

 

Tire ordered, $150 plus shipping plus mounting plus balancing, here we go again.

Kinda mad seeing as if I knew I was going to have to replace both I would have seriously considered wrapping all 4 with some Conti ExtremeContact DW or DWS.

 

For the future, or for others who are due for a tire change, I highly recommend the DWS for a good all-season (I haven't tried the DW). Though I cannot comment on handling because the fronts (for the STR) have been back-ordered for months, I have them on the rear and grip in the rain is far better than I would have expected for a car with this much power. The performance along with the low price really makes it a great deal.

 

Are they directional tread tires? What load rating did you get?

 

The one thing I hate about the Kumho Ecsta ASX's is the lack of a rim protector. it seems as though Dunlop, and Conti's have it right, they come out well past the rim. Even though the Ecstas are obviously OEM size, the rim almost sticks out further than the tire. Drives me nuts.

How are the rim protectors on the Contis? I believe if one were to buy a set of 4 Contis DWS's or Kumho's the price is very similar. DW's are a little more expensive and are strictly summer tires.

 

Good questions. I do not believe they are directional, so you can swap side to side. There is an "inside" and an "outside", however, that remains the same as you swap the whole rim.

I didn't really pay attention to the load ratings, I guess I trusted tirerack too much The rears seem to be 95Y and the fronts 93Y. Hopefully this is sufficient, you see a lot of reviewers comment on a soft sidewall but I think they are mostly coming from summer tires.

 

I believe the conti's have at least some rim protection, I'll try to remember to take a picture in the daylight tomorrow and post it so we can see how far the tire sticks past the rim. I only have the rears though, the fronts may fit slightly differently? They're still backordered through mid May

 

The multiple soft sidewall complaints (particularly coming from owners with vehicles weighing in at 4,000 pounds or more) and the relatively low load ratings moved the new Continental DWS tires down on my list. The Dunlop SP Sport Signature is still number one on my list when new tire time rolls around for our S-Type, probably late this year or early next year. I'll continue to research tires all the way up until it's time to order....

 

Jon,

The Dunlops look fairly reasonable. I saw multiple websites with a price around $120 plus mounting and balancing.

Mike

 

Strange thing is the Kumho's on Tireracks site say "NEW". After trying to figure out what was new about them I figured out that the load rating is different:

The "NEW" ones
-245/40/18 420 AA A, 97W RF, 1609lbs, 50psi max pressure, tread width 8.3", with a "load range" designation of XL.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

The original ones that are on my car:
-245/40/18, 420 AA A, 93W SL, 1433 lbs, 51 max psi, no XL load range designation.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

Now, if I search tire rack by vehicle, the "NEW" ones pop up as matching pairs. I dont know why, maybe because they are out of stock of the original rears. I initially had these in my shopping cart but a warning popped up saying that the load range was higher than factory OEMs and the ride may be harsher. I then went back and searched only by tire size, and my original ones popped up, and when I added those to my cart no warning popped up.

Whats the deal with this, why would they increase the load range on a high performance low profile tire? From the specs listed should I have stuck with the "NEW" ones or not, and what is really the big difference?

PS the Conti Procontact DWS has REALLY good reviews and a rating of 8.7, conversely the Kumhos have a rating of 7.4. Both rating are pretty high for Tirerack.

 

Keep in mind that the Continental DWS is a brand-new tire. The tirerack.com consumer reviews and subsequent rankings always start out high with any new tire regardless of manufacturer or model. As the miles and years go by, the ratings for that tire begin to decline. I've been using tirerack.com for nearly ten years and it always works that way. Just food for thought. I'm sure the DWS is a good tire, just not as good for heavier vehicles....



Mike,

My buddy at Discount Tire has quoted me a set of 4 Dunlop SP Sport Signature tires to fit our S-Type for $600 out-the-door, and it may become even less than that if he is able to subsidize whatever remains of the 50,000-mile treadwear warranty on our existing set of Hankook Ventus tires when I'm ready to pull the trigger. I think that's a very good deal....

 

Jon,

Sounds like it to me also. I'm guessing you have about 24K left on the Hankooks or something in that vicinity. Good luck,

Mike

 

Our Hankooks are approaching 27,000 miles. They may go 40,000 miles, but I don't think we'll get much more than that out of 'em. We'll see....

 

Many manufacturers make multiple load ranges of the same size and pattern of tire. This covers multiple applications. It was the Rack that educated me on the load rating. That makes the warning you got strange to me. Maybe they are just covering their butts just in case you want to return. They have always recommended the upper load range to me.

Now some will dispute it and this is my own experience. The tire rack folks explained that running a higher load rating on lower profile tires reduces the risk of sidewall or rim damage from road hazards like pot holes. The higher the number the more resilient the side wall. In all the years I ran up sized wheels on the Hondas I always ran a minimum of a 97 load rating. I never had any tire or wheel damage from a pothole. I did knock an alignment out, but the tire and wheel always survived. Not that it would have made a difference with what happened to you, Bull. I just don't know. All I know is I've followed that rule and didn't even have an issue running a 35 profile on 18" wheels on one of the Accords.

 

As promised, pics of the rim protectors on the Conti's. As you can see it's not extreme, but the tire clearly sticks out past the rim, enough to protect it from light scrapes. I imagine the rim would still touch if you really ran it against the curb.

JOsworth / Jon89, I agree that the load rating is of some concern, and I wish it were higher. That said, the combined load rating of all the tires is 5,908 pounds, and I would imagine that is spec'd as "normal" operation with momentary loads or impacts being higher. Given that cushion of 2,000lbs, I'm comfortable running the tires.

I'm eager to get the matching fronts to really evaluate handling. I've only had the car for a few months, and I'm already taking the onramps and offramps as fast as I do with my MR2 turbo. The DSC is kicking in on the front tires a bit so those are definitely the limitation - they are some nearly worn out Toyo's. I never push the MR2 to the limit because it's a snap-oversteer spin before you blink kind of car, but I'm pleased that I'm taking the two ton Jag around corners as fast as a sub 3,000 pound mid engine two seater.

 

Back from tire shop 20 miles away to get the front tire mounted and balanced, and guess what!!!??? The god damn lock lug nut key is convieniently missing. Could be at the last place I had so much trouble with, but of course they dont have it, soooooooo now I have to work with McGard to get the correct key, spend more money, and wait until the freaking thing comes in. This crap always happens to me, I swear.

 

We just had 4 Conti sport contact 3 tires put on.
Took the Jag to the dealer for what I thought was a hub bearing noise.
Turns out it was two tires flat spotted and two slightly bent rims causing noise.

They threw my tires on another car just to see if noise transfered(it did)

My (love it) extended warranty covered two tires and repair of two rims and alignment

I paid for the other 2 new tires.
Dealer said to repair the rims, heat would be applied in the process and the paint would need reapplied.

They showed me the new 2011 black that is now out on the XKR special trim package.
Mentioned that this would look great on my STR rims. Got it done and it just looks killer. Glossy almost pearl chrome color just darker than gun metal. The looks the car is getting now more than ever.

Back to the topic. The sport Conti's ride great(we don't need all season here in Texas)very responsive and quiet.

All done at my DFW Dealer with exceptional service. Also just another reason for Easy Care platimum.And a free Tom Tom thrown in.

 

Not to go too off topic.... Pictures Please???!!!!

 

Will try to figure out how to do it on the weekend..lol.never loaded a photo here before.