Any cure for tyre flat spots

dj_2006 · 24th November 2006, 23:16

I travelled abroad around 2 months back and my Santro was parked for about 21 days at my office ... I didn't know of tyre flat spots etc back then and therefore didn't take any precautions such as over inflation etc.

Just when I returned back I got my car immediately serviced (2nd free service @ 6 months and 7.5K of running) ... tyres were rotated, alignment and balancing was done ....

I started noticing something strange that my car was steering was wobbling very slightly at 40 Kmph and above till a particular speed around 70 Kmph ....this kept happening for 2 months .... as this was a slight problem and I had no time to get it checked I kept ignoring it ... now the problem has solved by itself ... I mean my current mileage is around 8.7K and there is no wobling at all at speeds upto 120Kmph I don't drive faster than this ....

Any ideas on what could have happened ... could it have been caused due to flat spots ? and if so does anyone know of any cure for flat spots .... just wondering

theMAG · 26th November 2006, 00:53

Unlike the other flat spot that can be fixed by hair implantation, nothing/nada/zilch/bubkis can be done about a tyre's bald spot.

v1p3r · 26th November 2006, 01:52

Standing in one place produces flat spots ONLY on cross-ply tyres. AFAIK, all Santros come with radials, so I doubt this was the problem with the car. Also, wheel and tyre balancing will show flat spots, if they exist.

dj_2006 · 26th November 2006, 19:07

Thanks v1p3r and theMAG ...

Good to know that one doesn't need to bother about flat spots if one has radial tyres (which is obviously the case here) ....

but then I am even more perplexed as to what caused the problem and how did it get solved by itself ... any thoughts ?

Manish Rathor · 31st January 2010, 07:07

I am replying to a old post. But may be useful to reduce flatspot problem.

Flat spot was a common problem in gulf, cars are shipped from Australia , US and takes 2 months to reach middle east. Weight of car only at one part of tyre.

Also used to stay in warehouse for another 1-2 months.

I was inchare of Pre Delivery Inspection for a Month for GM Holden and found many such flat spot problems. All were radial tyres.

Once flatspot had come nothing much con be done.

How to avoid and how to reduce the effect(Vibrations) of flat spot.

1. Inflate tyres at 60PSI while shipping.(Later GM holden was doing it).
2. Again at warehouse 60 PSI was kept and tyre rotating(Just rotating the contact area of tyre) every 15 days.
3. Match mounting. Good Hunder machine with RFV( Radial Force vibration) testing can help to match hi pint of tyre with low point of Rim.

By doing all this we could able to reduce 70% flatspot problems. Tyre Cos happy, Distributor happy, Customer Happy.

24th November 2006, 23:16	#1
dj_2006 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 61 Thanked: Once	Any cure for tyre flat spots I travelled abroad around 2 months back and my Santro was parked for about 21 days at my office ... I didn't know of tyre flat spots etc back then and therefore didn't take any precautions such as over inflation etc. Just when I returned back I got my car immediately serviced (2nd free service @ 6 months and 7.5K of running) ... tyres were rotated, alignment and balancing was done .... I started noticing something strange that my car was steering was wobbling very slightly at 40 Kmph and above till a particular speed around 70 Kmph ....this kept happening for 2 months .... as this was a slight problem and I had no time to get it checked I kept ignoring it ... now the problem has solved by itself ... I mean my current mileage is around 8.7K and there is no wobling at all at speeds upto 120Kmph I don't drive faster than this .... Any ideas on what could have happened ... could it have been caused due to flat spots ? and if so does anyone know of any cure for flat spots .... just wondering
	() Thanks

26th November 2006, 00:53	#2
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,219 Thanked: 1,818 Times View My Garage	Unlike the other flat spot that can be fixed by hair implantation, nothing/nada/zilch/bubkis can be done about a tyre's bald spot.
	() Thanks

26th November 2006, 01:52	#3
v1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR / DXB / LON Posts: 5,357 Thanked: 7,319 Times View My Garage	Standing in one place produces flat spots ONLY on cross-ply tyres. AFAIK, all Santros come with radials, so I doubt this was the problem with the car. Also, wheel and tyre balancing will show flat spots, if they exist.
	() Thanks

26th November 2006, 19:07	#4
dj_2006 BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Singapore Posts: 61 Thanked: Once	Thanks v1p3r and theMAG ... Good to know that one doesn't need to bother about flat spots if one has radial tyres (which is obviously the case here) .... but then I am even more perplexed as to what caused the problem and how did it get solved by itself ... any thoughts ?
	() Thanks

31st January 2010, 07:07	#5
Manish Rathor Newbie Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Mumbai Posts: 12 Thanked: 0 Times	I am replying to a old post. But may be useful to reduce flatspot problem. Flat spot was a common problem in gulf, cars are shipped from Australia , US and takes 2 months to reach middle east. Weight of car only at one part of tyre. Also used to stay in warehouse for another 1-2 months. I was inchare of Pre Delivery Inspection for a Month for GM Holden and found many such flat spot problems. All were radial tyres. Once flatspot had come nothing much con be done. How to avoid and how to reduce the effect(Vibrations) of flat spot. 1. Inflate tyres at 60PSI while shipping.(Later GM holden was doing it). 2. Again at warehouse 60 PSI was kept and tyre rotating(Just rotating the contact area of tyre) every 15 days. 3. Match mounting. Good Hunder machine with RFV( Radial Force vibration) testing can help to match hi pint of tyre with low point of Rim. By doing all this we could able to reduce 70% flatspot problems. Tyre Cos happy, Distributor happy, Customer Happy.
	() Thanks