jRaskell

A few weeks ago I took an offramp very aggressively and midway the front end started vibrating noticably and continued to do so. Today I took it to the shop to have the balance checked (figuring I lost a weight or something, start off with the small stuff first). The driver's side front tire was out of round. No balance problem, the tire was messed up. The tires only have 2k miles on them. They're putting a new one on at no cost saying something about a belt slipping in the tire. I told them what I was doing when it happened. Definitely a defect in the manufacturing of the tire.

I'm not trying to give Yokohamas a beef or anything. On the contrary. I love 'em and I'm going to continue using them. There was no question about whether or not I did something unacceptable.

I was just wondering if anyone else has had a problem similar to this in the past, or have heard of others having similar problems? This was a first for me. At least the tire didn't fly apart completely like some we know.

MikeDwhoROCZImports

iTrader: (1)

With yokahama or just any tire? That's the oddest thing I've ever heard. I've pushed my Dunlops HARD and never had a problem.

My friend runs Nitto's EXTREMELY HARD and hasn't messed anything up yet.

Yokahama is a respectable name, I'm surprised to hear that. What size tire are you running?

Ed Maher

I'm no tire expert, but the tire guys explanation makes sense. It is possible for a belt in the tire to break/shift and mess things up.
And like you said, i wouldn't hold anything particular against yoko unless a bunch more people post similar problems with them. In any mass produced item there are bound to be some defective ones in the batch, and sometimes QC doesn't catch everything. Score a big one for the tire guy to be honest and replace it for free, as should have been done in this case. Refreshing to hear about good service (and possible tragedy averted.)
...ed

camaroguy99

I have the intermediates on my camaro and love them. I have had absoluely no problems and they handle wonderfully. I've pushed those tire really hard. In some cases to hard...

jRaskell

I've got 245/50ZR16s all around right now. Don't remember the Yokohama specific model numbers. I really like these tires though. Good predictable handling, and I do really push them to the edge a lot. The shop said it didn't matter how hard I pushed them, after seeing the tire on the balancer he knew it was a faulty tire. From the side you could see the outside of the tire itself wobble slightly, even when the rim was spinning smooth. When you looked at it from the front at the top edge, you could see the bulge was on the inside two sections of tread only. I've never had anything like it happen before, and he said he's only seen it happen on the cheaper tires like General, Continental, etc, and never any Z rated tires to speak of. I don't know, I kinda like the idea that I pushed a name brand Z rated tire beyond it's limit. Ya ya, I know it was defective, but I can't be bothered with trivial details.

poncho9789

I don't know about you but I would make them put 4 new tires on your car that whole batch might be bad, what if that happens to one of the other tires going 70 or so and you loose the the tread? just a thought. plus while you are waiting on the other tires you can burn the **** out of the old ones.

Grim Reaper

I had a similar problem with belts seperating in the tire with a set of Pirellis. Needless to say, I don't buy Pirellis anymore.

Also, Firestone has had some problems in that area.

jRaskell

I never thought about the other 3 tires possibly being bad. I certainly don't like the thought of that, especially the way I typically drive. Time to call the shop again.