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One cause of our wheel wobble, old tyres

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Hasbeen
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One cause of our wheel wobble, old tyres

Postby Hasbeen » 31 Oct 2013 12:08

The 7 spent 18 days sitting stationary in the shed, waiting for the new electronic ignition system to arrive. When it was parked there was a slight detectable, but virtually unnoticeable movement in the wheel at that 95 to 100Km/h, but certainly no wheel wobble.

When I drove it yesterday for the first time after the spell, the wobble, while not enormous, was enough to have me avoiding that speed, driving under 95Km/H, or above 105 Km/H. This was not unexpected, I know flat spots develop in tyres when sitting loaded in one place for some time.

What was a bit surprising was it was still there after 30 Kilometers. Even more surprising was how much was still there today. It was only after another 50+ kilometers today a total of 90Km that it was down to almost what it was before the spell. This was much more miles than they have taken in the past, even after longer spells stationary.

I checked the production date stamp on the front tyres, & found they were produced in October 2005. I remember accepting them in November 2007 as they were the last decent Pirelli tyres available in Queensland.

So 8 years old, & due for replacement, even if looking as new, with only 20,000 Kilometers on them, they are obviously getting hard, & having trouble recovering from a flat spot.

Not normally a problem in Oz, where we can drive all year, & usually wear our tyres out before they age, this must be a problem for summer only cars, which could develop huge flat spots sitting for months. Particularly in cold climate, these flat spots may never completely recover, giving a permanent unbalance.

Hasbeen

FI Spyder
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Postby FI Spyder » 31 Oct 2013 13:34

Market Place, a consumer advocate TV show on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) did a show in response to exploding tires that was happening at the time. All were tires over 7 years old. They found that some "new" tires in the warehouses were over seven years old due to stock not being rotated. I run my tires at 30 to 32 pound range and even up to 36 when stored for the winter projects, some times having the car on jack stands over the winter when on extended projects. I don't drive it in our rainy winters as I have other cars to drive so it can be laid up for months at a time.

I have old tires on my Integra and there is limited grip in the rain due to their hardness so I drive accordingly.

- - -TR7 Spider - - - 1978 Spitfire- - - - 1976 Spitfire - - 1988 Tercel 4X4 - Kali on Integra - 1991 Integra - Yellow TCT
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Workshop Help
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Postby Workshop Help » 31 Oct 2013 13:45

Yes, old tires are bad tires. The left front on the Ford Pickup exploded weekend last. It WAS a Continental Contitrac made in the fall of 2004 with about 42,000 miles on them. There now reside on all four rims fresh Cooper Discoverers cast in late August 2013.

No, I was not driving at the time. Caleb said it was a scary ride when the !BANG! went off. The hilarity came when we had to mount a rescue operation some 60 miles. The truck landed in soft dirt where the on board jack sunk into the moist soil instead of the lifting the wheel. Oh! The abundance of 'technical' terms issuing forth from his vocal chords left a blue cloud hastening the sunset. There is a lot to said in favor of lightweight aluminium floor jacks. I don't think there is enough muscle left around here to heft the old heavy iron one into a car trunk any more.

Mildred Hargis

RadioGuy
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Postby RadioGuy » 31 Oct 2013 14:47

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">a rescue operation some 60 miles.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

ROAD TRIP !!

Those "rescue operations" were a lot of fun once upon a time. They usually ended in an inebriated state over the state border...an no..not on the road.. Oh to be younger...again.

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Maintained on Saturday…Drive on Fun-Day !!! 1976 FHC - 1980 DHC http://tinyurl.com/7rkonrx

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