So I was driving the other day and all of a sudden I feel this "tha thump", "tha thump", "tha thump" sound coming from the front driver's side tire. I take the wheel off and this is what I see. It's like a big blister/bubble on the inside sidewall of the tire. Anyone know what would cause something like this?

 

Usually a defective tire...what kind of tire is that?

 

That is the famous Bridgestone REO 40 tire that comes stock on the 350Z. I thought maybe the rim pinched it or something like that.

 

Thats what is called a tire seperation. It usually comes from the belts inside a tire seperating enough to the air to bubble out the outer layer of the tire form. I know when I worked for discount tire we use to warrenty those all the time as a manufacture defect.

 

Thanks for the info SOCAL350. It might be worth taking to the dealer for warranty work.

 

No worries......Its fairly common, believe it or not ive seen a few in my day. I do find it strange when it happens on low profile tires....sidewalls are just stronger thats a no brainer. Just be glad it did not decide to come out your tread or you would have had a nasty blow out. I would take it to the dealer and try to get a new one or pro rate it or something for you.

 

I have seen this happen when a wheel gets bent due to a pot hole or similar. Did you hit any big ones recently?

 

This happened to one of my old maxima's stock tires, from hitting a pothole. It was after like 3.5 years of ownership though, and parking in the sun every day. The tires were all, cracked, low tread, and overall just deteriorating. I needed new tires anyway...

 

yea everyone is rite on this one... i experienced a couple of those in my time with the hondas.

 

I hit a pot hole a few weeks ago, but the problem didn't arise until awhile later. Maybe it could have happened over time. I will check the wheel to see if it's bent.