Several weeks ago I posted that I had seen some sidewall damage on 3 of my
6 G159s. None of the tires have ever hit a curb.
The damage shows up as a radial line of what appears to be weather
checking. However, the tires are all less than 2 years old and have been
garaged for all but 8 weeks. The alarming fact of the checking is that it
occurs where the sidewall splices are positioned in the carcass. The
checking is accompanied by a slight bulge around the checked area. My tires
exhibited a larger bulge after the tires were hot (driven a few hundred
miles at 65-70MPH).
Goodyear has replaced those 3 tires with new ones at no charge. YMMV.
To check for the problem:
1. inspect your G159s carefully in good light. All of my checking patterns
occured a few inches clockwise of the molded G159.
2. feel the surface of the sidewalls for bulging - dimples ARE NOT safety
problems and ARE NOT grounds for replacements.
3. you can increase contrast of the sidewalls and improve your ability to
see bulges by applying tire dressing to the sidewalls.
While my tires are going back to Goodyear engineering for analysis, I don't
expect to receive a report on the cause of the problem and whether or not
it's a safety problem. If I do get information, I'll pass it on here.
Goodyear expects that it was a curing problem that was an isolated occurance.
FWIW, I learned that Goodyear and other tire companies have light truck
tire warranties that are different from their passenger tire policy. One
thing to note: Goodyear will not honor their warranty if you put any
balancing powder inside the tires.
Henry
Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
ph: (831) 462-5199 / full service marketing
fax: (831) 462-5198
http://www.henry-davis.com/ http://www.henry-davis.com
6 G159s. None of the tires have ever hit a curb.
The damage shows up as a radial line of what appears to be weather
checking. However, the tires are all less than 2 years old and have been
garaged for all but 8 weeks. The alarming fact of the checking is that it
occurs where the sidewall splices are positioned in the carcass. The
checking is accompanied by a slight bulge around the checked area. My tires
exhibited a larger bulge after the tires were hot (driven a few hundred
miles at 65-70MPH).
Goodyear has replaced those 3 tires with new ones at no charge. YMMV.
To check for the problem:
1. inspect your G159s carefully in good light. All of my checking patterns
occured a few inches clockwise of the molded G159.
2. feel the surface of the sidewalls for bulging - dimples ARE NOT safety
problems and ARE NOT grounds for replacements.
3. you can increase contrast of the sidewalls and improve your ability to
see bulges by applying tire dressing to the sidewalls.
While my tires are going back to Goodyear engineering for analysis, I don't
expect to receive a report on the cause of the problem and whether or not
it's a safety problem. If I do get information, I'll pass it on here.
Goodyear expects that it was a curing problem that was an isolated occurance.
FWIW, I learned that Goodyear and other tire companies have light truck
tire warranties that are different from their passenger tire policy. One
thing to note: Goodyear will not honor their warranty if you put any
balancing powder inside the tires.
Henry
Henry Davis Consulting, Inc / new product consulting
PO Box 1270 / product readiness reviews
Soquel, Ca 95073 / IP reviews
ph: (831) 462-5199 / full service marketing
fax: (831) 462-5198
http://www.henry-davis.com/ http://www.henry-davis.com
