ATX350

iTrader: (8)

Yup, Dan was spot on. I never felt a tire pressure difference and since they are already low profile I never saw a noticeable difference. Took the tires to Discount tires and they actually found two nails which caused the initial tire pressure leak. I must have been running on low tire pressure for the last two days because I checked the psi no more than 3 days ago.

Lesson Learned: Install the TPMS in new tires instead of being lazy

Dan, once again your customer service has shined and I appreciate you working with Nitto in my behalf.

quakerroatmeal

iTrader: (9)

That sucks...but at least you learned a lesson and you are getting a discount as well. Are you going to install tpms on the wheels now? I love the fact my gauge tells me my tire pressure.

ATX350

iTrader: (8)

Yes, I will be installing the TPMS this weekend to avoid this in the future.

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

What do you consider to be a week sidewall. Yes its a bit softer than many of the tires it competes against , but its also quiet etc etc. Even for railing the canyons daily the sidewalls on these are not an issue, but i wouldn't buy them for a dedicated track day tire.

blasian

iTrader: (29)

Agreed.

davidv

iTrader: (2)

Note to self: No Nitto Invo tires for you.

cmoose11

i always ran 42 psi front 36 rear on my invos in my old car.

i would definitely go back to the shop you got it from.

read the whole thread, interesting they got that messed up from low tire pressure and getting refilled.

ATX350

iTrader: (8)

Meh thats is a little harsh and don't hold anything against Nitto at this point. I just need to install the TPMS and watch the air pressure more carefully. I am a little disappointed with their customer support for not replacing both rear tires however.

tecni

iTrader: (28)

Damn! make sure you put a bra on those tit$

ATX350

iTrader: (8)

^Thank you for that most intelligent comment.

Spike100

I think there is still something very wrong here… and not explained by running the tires at very low pressure.

Your pics show deviant bulges localized to very specific positions. That should not happen, even with very low tire pressures. It’s definitely a faulty tire. You would expect the tire’s sidewall to fold over with an excessively low pressure (someone here mentions the colored “fold-band”), but not fail by bulging in multiple and small spots.

I say this from experience running off-road tires at very low pressures for rock crawling (and, occasionally experiencing failure when flirting with the lowest pressure possible to maintain rim-seal). Of course my off-road tires have high sidewalls with lots of reinforcement, but the concept isn’t too far from what would happen with low profile tires run at low pressure.

No matter how many nails you had in the tire, this failure demonstrates a defective and unsafe tire. I would be concerned about the other three tires you have on the car.

--Spike
_______________
EDIT: Of course I'm rock crawling with my 4WD and not my Z. Added just in case someone would not assume this.

godmans

iTrader: (10)

That kind of customer service really throws me off. I guess I am going to bite the bullet and stick with my PS2...

Spike100

You have PS2’s and debating about “biting the bullet.”

I gotta ask… What is your issue with PS2’s?

--Spike

terrasmak

iTrader: (8)

There customer service did what they needed to do, Discount tire (if i read right) is taking care over everything, and is only replacing the one tire. But wait , you ran the tire low on air, really freaking low for a couple days, and how many miles ? But you want them to give you 2 tires for your mistake ?? Unless you bought the full coverage warrenty certs, you should be paying for a new tire yourself.

Spike, look at the sidewall. I know offroading you run tires low, but your also running at low speed , and the tires are better equiped for that. It doesn't take much over a couple hundred yards to screw up a tire, and if you look , it even looks like it was driven low enought to hit the rim.

quakerroatmeal

iTrader: (9)

He admitted it was his fault, I believe Dan is giving him 50% off for his tire purchase?

Abishop

iTrader: (19)

wow, that is crazy. sorry to hear about this man!

Spike100

I think you’re correct. After reading your message, and when I look closely at the pics in post # 1 of this thread; it appears that the inside rim of the wheels is at least scratched.

That would only happen if you ran for awhile on a flat tire. What happens in this case is road debris (i.e., surface stuff like gravel, sand, or whatever) gets trapped between the separating seal of the tire and rim, and the result is the wheel–rim-scratching you mention that is visible in the pics.

Of course running a flat tire would explain the leprosy-like bulges on the tires inside wall. Who knows what will happen under this type of abuse? Worst case the inside sidewall of the tire might shred, or at least display random bulging.

Very good observation. I was totally distracted by all of those ugly bulges and missed what you saw.

BTW… I’m getting a little tired of you always being right (just kidding of course).

--Spike

ATX350

iTrader: (8)

Hey fellas, rim is not scratched at all. I can take close up pictures when I get home for lunch to settle that debate. I suspect I was running on 20-25psi after the nails caused a gradual leak. I went inside of work for 5 hours and when I came out the tire was flat. Filled the tire back up to 30psi to drive home about 2 miles. I never drove the car while it was flat, the damage was caused after driving on 20-25psi for those past two days because of the nails.

ATX350

iTrader: (8)

Oh and for the record I went ahead and lowered the PSI on the other three tires from 42 --> 35psi.

Spike100

I’m certain your report is accurate. But consider the fact that your Nitto’s are performance tires made with a very hard compound. Summer performance tires are quite rigid, and they maintain their shape even with very low pressures. But, that doesn't mean you won't damage the tire at a low psi.

Once you approach 20 psi, you’re effectively running a “flat tire.” While the tire is in motion at this psi, the sidewall flexes excessively, heating the air inside your tire. That’s why you could continue driving, and why it went completely flat when you stopped driving (the interior air cooled, and the psi dropped even more).

Most likely the weird bulging you see is from an excessively heated sidewall that began failing in random spots.

Since the tire went flat, you lost the seal between the wheel rim and the tire. That means you had debris work into this area/seal (and possibly into the tires interior). Adding air allowed driving again, but the damage is inevitable and obvious viewing your pics.

--Spike