[thirdmainroad]

Hello people!

I up in the hills in Kumily and noticed my front left tyre had a small bulge. I took the car to a local wheel store, and though they said it would not cause any issues, I brought out the brand new spare tyre and got it changed.

I've done 48500 km - and the Michellins still show 15000-20000 km tread life before they hit the "change tyres" mark.

They are pretty crazy - these Michellins. I've known MRF and Apollos to wear out at 35-40 k mark. But these buggers are still going strong.

Now, since the spare is brand new, I got it fixed at the rear. I was saving it to buy only 3 tyres when the time came for me to change the tyres.

I would like your inputs on this:

The rest of 3 are still in good shape, and I can very easily drive them for another 10-15 k. I do believe tyres are really, really important when it comes to safety and I will not take any chances with them.

I drive mostly on highways, and drive quite fast.

Now that I have one odd one out - a new tyre and the rest three still good to go for a while yet + the tyre with the minor bulge will hold good for a spare - what do you think I should do?

Should I change the other 3 and have all new tyres such that I will have even traction and control?

Should I wait for another 10-15 k for the rest of the three to hit close to the wear out mark and then buy 4 tyres and use the one that is new now as spare?

What do you think?

[Turbohead]

You have one more option!

1) Get one more new tire and pair it with the new one. I would put the new pair in the front axle since I would prioritise braking more than the risk of oversteering. ( I'm assuming you have a FWD car)
2) Rotate the third old tire with the other two older tires regularly in the rear axle. This way, you'll increase the life of the old tires because they have a shared responsibility. A life of 15k may end up as 22.5k kms.
3) The next time around, you'll be replacing the tires in pairs since the new tires would've worn out by half when the old ones are worn out completely.

If you're not happy with the idea of replacing in pairs, please ignore the above.

[GrammarNazi]

1) Pace down to 110-120kmph & limit your speeds to 130kmph. Wouldn't police you on the short bursts, presuming you're being careful.

2) A pic of the bulge would be very helpful. Again, AFAIK, small side-wall bulges don't really affect the risk of tyre-bursts very much.

Some could say since it's not affected for 50k kms, nothing could happen now, but that's not my case. The tyres are NOT the same as new, and exposure to pressures & sunlight has probably weakened it, but I'm quite sure it'll still likely be well within the studied rated capacity to endure the pressure, heat and sunlight.

3) A pace capped at 120kmph will definitely reduce the rate of wear on the tyres.

4) Put in a tyre tube if you still have doubts.

5) The Michelin compound is known to last well above 80k kms, but that's as far as it's driven at lower speeds.

[88_TANK_88]

Get the defective/bulged tyre replaced. It should be under lifetime warranty for such defects.
Put it on driven wheel along with the other new(ish) tyre and put one of the used once in spare

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

Should I wait for another 10-15 k for the rest of the three to hit close to the wear out mark and then buy 4 tyres and use the one that is new now as spare?

This appears to be the most logical option if the spare tyre is brand new.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

What do you think?

Good set of tires always goes to the front, unless you're driving a RWD car.

If I were you, I would do a 5 wheel tire rotation (which I'm doing anyway) based on which 2 good set of tires goes to front, worst one goes inside as spare tire & the rest 2 of them at rear.

If the wheel alignment center is a good one, the brand new goes at front right, second best at front left.

[GrandTourer]

Hey Folks,

I just noticed a small bulge in the front left tyre. The tyre has done 35k Kms so far and I was planning to change in a few thousand more since I wanted to switch from ZVTV to P4ST.


How urgent do you think this is?

[thirdmainroad]

That tyre can now no longer be safely used, as I found out.

I would strongly urge you to forget about MRF and look at Michelin’s for your next set of tyres. Michelin’s will easily outlast MRFs X 2 times, (MRF, Apollo’s usually last 30-40 k, where as Michelin’s 70-80k) and also the Michelin’s provide much better everything else - from comfort, to traction to control.

Once you put Michelin’s and experience them yourself, you’ll never look at another tyre brand again, that’s guaranteed!

But wait a second, aren’t the P4STs Primacy 4 which are Michelin’s? Great choice!

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

Hello people!

I up in the hills in Kumily and noticed my front left tyre had a small bulge. I took the car to a local wheel store, and though they said it would not cause any issues,

What do you think?

For me, it would be the last visit to that particular Wheel Store.
Bulge in the tyre is caused by internal rupture of the ply / layers of cross threading. Surprised that a Wheel Store ignoring the issue. The bulge would grow, increase the wobble and burst at its own sweet time and that moment may or may not be the best for you.
At the most, you can replace the rear wheels with one new spare that you have and buy just one more. The other used tyre may be retained as Spare.

[Amrik Singh]

Originally Posted by GrandTourer

Hey Folks,

I just noticed a small bulge in the front left tyre.

How urgent do you think this is?

Remember the line from Boney M song Ma Baker ?

Don't anybody move. The money or your lives

So, the Answer to the question is "The sooner, the better"

[paramjeet]

Originally Posted by Amrik Singh

For me, it would be the last visit to that particular Wheel Store.
Bulge in the tyre is caused by internal rupture of the ply / layers of cross threading. Surprised that a Wheel Store ignoring the issue. The bulge would grow, increase the wobble and burst at its own sweet time and that moment may or may not be the best for you.
At the most, you can replace the rear wheels with one new spare that you have and buy just one more. The other used tyre may be retained as Spare.

You should never ply with bulged tyres. You are risking your own safety as well as that of others on the road.

As mentioned by Amrik, Bulge in the tyre is caused by internal rupture of the ply / layers of cross threading. There are two possible reason for this happening. One, what is known as 'Impact break' in technical terms. This can happen when your tyre hits a large/deep pothole at high speed or if the tyre is run flat (low inflation or puncture). Other reason, can be a manufacturing defect, which is very rare in radial type tyres which are standard these days.

To prolong the life of your tyres, you should rotate the tyres periodically. There are different ways to rotate tyres based on your vehicle drive, type of tyres and number of tyres you want to rotate. Tyres are usually rotated every 5000 - 7000 kms. Here's a quick article with diagrams of different tyre rotation methods.

https://www.unitedautocentre.in/why-...-is-important/

[Aj_thenomad]

Apologies, I am reviving this old thread as I found this relevant.
I have a similar issue with my Audi A4. Its just 20 months old and only 21000 KMS on the odometer. Front left Tyre ( Hankook) got a small bulge and I am not sure if I should change it now or could run for few more kilometers.
Looks like people have faced a similar situation, would be great if someone could help and throw some light on - If they had to replace the Tyre OR Can it be fixed ?

Moreover, one more thing crossed my mind, my insurance has a Tyre add-on, was wondering if I can claim it or will it not be covered under insurance. If yes, then it generates another question, can I go to Audi workshop or any Authorized Tyre dealer can get it done.
Note- There are no Hankook dealers anymore in India. I couldn't find one.
Any pointers would be appreciated.

[Oppanna]

Originally Posted by Aj_thenomad

Apologies, I am reviving this old thread as I found this relevant.
I have a similar issue with my Audi A4. Its just 20 months old and only 21000 KMS on the odometer. Front left Tyre ( Hankook) got a small bulge and I am not sure if I should change it now or could run for few more kilometers.

Please post some pictures of the tyre to understand the situation better. However would recommend to replace the tyre and not worth the risk in my honest opinion.

[paramjeet]

Originally Posted by Aj_thenomad

Apologies, I am reviving this old thread as I found this relevant.
I have a similar issue with my Audi A4. Its just 20 months old and only 21000 KMS on the odometer. Front left Tyre ( Hankook) got a small bulge and I am not sure if I should change it now or could run for few more kilometers.
Looks like people have faced a similar situation, would be great if someone could help and throw some light on - If they had to replace the Tyre OR Can it be fixed ?

Moreover, one more thing crossed my mind, my insurance has a Tyre add-on, was wondering if I can claim it or will it not be covered under insurance. If yes, then it generates another question, can I go to Audi workshop or any Authorized Tyre dealer can get it done.
Note- There are no Hankook dealers anymore in India. I couldn't find one.
Any pointers would be appreciated.

The possible reason for bulge in the tyre have been discussed above in this thread. If this is not a brand new tyre, you can rule out manufacturing defect. Most probably this is caused by 'impact break'. Regardless of the reason, you should replace the tyre asap.

If you have a tyre add on in the insurance, you should be able to claim the expense. However, Hankook tyres are hard to find these days. I would recommend go for Goodyear Assurance if you can't find Hankook

[TurboBiscuit]

I found out a small bulge in my A4 front right side. The car has done just 9600kms so far and only a few months old. Is this tyre to be changed?

If so, is it covered under factory warranty as the car is under a year old? Or do I have to get it myself?

Attaching a picture of the bulge for better understanding.

Any and all feedback / advice is welcome. TIA.