I've had repeated blow-outs over the last 2 years (at 140 quid a time) and have just learned that the tyres being fitted have the wrong 'load index'. This results in cracking around the inside wall, a blow-out and a shredded tyre. I'm not a boy racer - I'm 37 yrs old with grey hair!!
The guy that I've been buying the tyres from ("well mate, you obviously keep hitting kerbs, or parking on building sites.") has said he only replicated what was on the car when I first brought it to him.
My question is: is it the job of the tyre dealer/fitter to ensure that the tyre fitted is one recommended by the manufacturer (both of the car and of the tyre)?
This has cost me about 1500 quid over the last 2 years.
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What rating was he fitting then?To have so many failures they must have been well below the recommended rating;the car manufacturer would have fitted suitable ones.
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You have a definate grievance here. Many diesels are so 'nose heavy' they specify a greater load rating for their tyres than would be the case for say a 4 pot petrol car.
I'm guessing the same is true of your Mondie V6. The tyre services should at the very least not fit a lesser speed or load rated tyre than they take off.
Have a look at this URL which explains the load rating www.blackcircles.com/general/sidewall
Then cross ref with your car manual or original tyres.
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Another thought;the tyres on a V6 Mondeo would normally be wide/low profile and I would doubt such tyres would be available in a low rating and you certainly seem to have been paying premium prices-just how many tyres have you got thro'.
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This sounds very strange - I am not convinced that the alleged wrong load rating is your problem. What tyre spec have you been fitting? Not surprised you have grey hair if you've had £1500-worth of blow-outs....
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2 years -£1500-worth
Blimey, I bet I have not spent that on tyres in 40 years!! And that's in replacing worn out tyres. I can only recall a couple of punctures in that time and (thankfully) no "blow-outs".
Something is seriously wrong, but I don't know what - sorry.
--
Phil
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I'm guessing you have a mk3 Mondeo. According to the dealers, all Mk3 mondeos should be fitted with "XL" or "extra load" rated tyres. Some low profile, high performance tyres are rated for speed and are fitted to lighter cars. The mondeo is a heavy car and should have the higher load tyres on. I found out the hard way too when I went to a local tyre fitter and got some front tyres with the correct speed rating but they were only load rated at 580kg, they cost me £125 each and wore out on both edges in 7000 miles, with correct tyre pressures. The load rating for the XL tyres I bought to replace them was 640kg and they wore nice and even across the tread and still had about 5mm tread on them when I sold it after a further 11000 miles (same tyre pressures).
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silver fox.......................an original colour for a mk2 escort no less
you dont give make of tyres
you dont give size of rims
you dont say what mileage you are doing and where you live
as a matter of fact on the 2.5 mondeo ford have fitted 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 inch rims,have you the correct fitment for your car? ie are they oe fitment or has someone changed them for more bling ones etc?
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as a matter of fact on the 2.5 mondeo ford have fitted 14 / 15 / 16 / 17 inch rims,have you the correct fitment for your car? ie are they oe fitment or has someone changed them for more bling ones etc?
Not 14" surely?, 15" on some MkI/II variants, 16 and 17 as you say and 18" on MkIII ZetecS, optional on GhiaX.
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Re load rating, the std 17" tyres on a MkIII Ghia X etc are 205/50-17 91W, the 91 being the load rating, I checked with the dealer before fitting the 89V rated Bridgestone tyres and was advised that they would be fine. They have not worn quite as well as the previous Contis though not much in it. My friendly tyre man has 93Y rated 'Extra Load' Falkens at a good price, they have been well reviewed so I might get four of those when required.
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The car is a 2002 2.5l V6. The (correct) tyre is a 225/40 ZR18. Load index is 92Y, as opposed to the (incorrect) 88Y.
I'm doing about 15,000 miles a year.
Does anyone know whether legally it is the duty of the tyre fitter (the professional) to ensure that he only uses the correct tyre for the car? Surely this isn't the duty of the poor consumer who knows nought?
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Well, according to my tyre wallchart an 88-load index tyre is rated for 560kg and a 92-load index tyre is rated for 630kg. That's not a lot of difference (70kg - about the weight of a person) so unless the car was driven fully laden all the time I can't see it leading to all those blowouts you've had. Certainly the tyres on the rear wouldn't be carrying much load - did either rear blow?
You sure that with 18" tyres that the sidewall wasn't catching on the body or suspension - were the wheels OE Ford or aftermarket (I'm thinking maybe offset is wrong or something).
Don't know about the liability issue, but I guess the tyre info is given in the handbook if its a Ford OE fitement?
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To add another potential cause; I know of a guy with rubber band low pofile tyres on his car who experienced a number of blowouts over time. The cause was a porous alloy wheel allowing pressure to leak away, the "flat" tyre not being as visible to him as low pressure in a tradtional aspect ratio tyre would have been. The result was he did nothing about it, and "bang".
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yes silver fox the tyres do seem to be the right size but as i and aprilia have said are they oe wheels?
i also tend to agree somewhat with SjB {P} but i would be more inclined to blame the fact that in my opinion putting 40 series tyres on a motorway burner by the manufacturers is a joke too far,my old push iron had more sidewall than those when it comes to potholes and kerbs
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Does it have the Zetec S std wheels or the optional (on Ghia x and Zetec S) 18" split rims?, the latter are known to corrode in a Toyota kind of way and leak between the bead and the rim.
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In other words to add what I ought in my first post, "do you check your tyre pressures regularly?"
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The 18" wheels were usually only fitted as an "on-cost" option tho' some dealers threw them in for free;most were fitted in Germany where the roads tend to be of better quality than the UK.
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The 18" wheels were usually only fitted as an "on-cost" option
>>
The Zetec S had 18" as std.
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Well, according to my tyre wallchart an 88-load index tyre is rated for 560kg and a 92-load index tyre is rated for 630kg. That's not a lot of difference (70kg - about the weight of a person) >>
70kg per tyre, multiply by 4 tyres = 280kg under rated for the whole car.
IIRC my V6 had 93Y tyres on (17") from new, which were rated for 650kg. My new TDCi has 91V (16") which are 615kg.
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I've had an ST24 with Avon ZZ1's all round and now have an ST200 4 door with Goodyear Eagle F1's all round. Never had any probs with either tyre, and I am a boy racer.
AdyBee...
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And no-one has mentioned that if you had a serious accident and ensuing insurance claim, the insurance company may well refuse to pay out on the basis that you has the wrong tyre types. (in which case, I'll mention it).
My local tyre depot quoted me by phone a price for replacement tyres, (quoting me size & rating), but when I went there he discovered that the car had higher-rated tyres, he refused to fit the ones he had originally quoted. In the end, I chose the same as was already on the car, which was as per the manufacturer's recommendation.
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