problem with tire or rim?

[frusciante fan]

so yesterday i made a trip about 60 miles away. about half way there i thought i might be a little low on air. so i pull over and put a little bit it. it drove fine with and on the way back it started making this clunking noise. you know, like there was a dent or something making the tire not its usual roundness. yesterday was also one of the hottest days of the year. so this morning i had to go to work and i had the same problem. pulled over and let some air out. same problem again later so i let some out when i got to work. i stop at carquest later today before work and buy a tire gauge. needless to say i am a complete dumbass and my pressure was at 50lbs. i had always thought that some tires aren't the greatest and maybe leak air. fuck no not this one of course. so thereafter i adjusted it to 35 lbs and on the way back tonight still the same freaking problem. i had my mom drive it slowly and it looks as though the right rear tire isn't running properly. i don't think so but i hope i didn't damage a strut, although they need to be replaced in about 6 months anyway.

 

it makes a clunking noise when you drive it and the frequency of the noise rises with speed. so i'm sure it is the tire or rim. so?

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Unless you hit a curb or something I would rule out the rim...

 

If you had 50psi I wouldn't be surprised it you hit a pothole and bruised the tire. Best thing to do would be to get it on a balancer and you'll see for sure if it wobbles or anything.

[frusciante fan]

could i still drive it or would it be too sensitive....like if i hit another pothole

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Well if it is a damaged (bruised) tire that usually means one of the radial belts inside is shot. I had a bad tire and when I went faster than 50mph it would start shaking the car, much like how you're describing. As long as you don't drive to fast and take it in asap you should be fine.

[Cutlass88er]

I would not drive on it, oor at least don't get on the highway or go past 40. At least until you check it out. Same thing happend on the Escort. I had a horrible wobbling. Threw everything of and I had a hard time stearing. I had a tire out of round (front drivers). And it went away after I fixed it. Try a properly filled spare and see if it does the same thing. If it doesn't, do like I did on the escort and get a used tire at a JY for like $20.

 

-D

[frusciante fan]

so replacing the tire should fix it?

[Cutlass88er]

It's the easiest/cheapest place to start, try your spare or a "borrow" a similiar tire and see how it goes.

[frusciante fan]

my dad thinks it's just out of balance. i took it slow this morning but on the way back i drove 60 for two miles without problems.

[Cutlass88er]

SOunds like it could be balance, you could have thrown a weight, but it could still be out of round. The escort would shake bad @ certain speeds 0-20 then 50+ but not always.

[frusciante fan]

yeah mine doesn't shake at all and i've put problem 10+ miles on it while it's been doing this. there's a tire shop a mile down the road so i'll check it out tomorrow, that's about the only good thing.

[DiscoStudd]

Are you sure your lugnuts are tight? If the wheel is loose, you'll get a loud clunking along with some wobble that increases along with your speed...

[frusciante fan]

i finally checked it out in daylight and it was just a huge ass piece of tar that was all the way into the tread. got out my blowdryer and screwdriver and got that crap out and it's back to normal.

[DaveFromColorado]

.. just for future reference... (not tryin' to pick on anyone)

 

a bruised tire is refered to when talking about either a re-tread, or a solid rubber tire (think armored cars) and a chunk of the rubber ends up missing after hitting a pothole - usually the retreads will then loose the entire gator (all the tread)

 

a tire that's damaged from a pothole is called a "sepperated" tire, this happens when the radial belts sepperate from themselves causing an uneven wobble in the tire, and taking it "out of round"

 

again, not tryin' to pick on anyone, but I thought I'd help set the terminology correct there for everyone.

 

--Dave.

[Guest TurboSedan]

...moved to Brakes/Suspension/Steering/Wheels/Tires section....

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

a tire that's damaged from a pothole is called a "sepperated" tire, this happens when the radial belts sepperate from themselves causing an uneven wobble in the tire, and taking it "out of round"

 

Is it the same when you smash the tire and get a "bubble" on the sidewall?