Chunks of tread coming off Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS RFT Tires

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Hi folks,

Wondering if anyone can diagnose this issue. These are the horrid OEM Run-Flat tires on my vehicle that I've noticed pieces of tread coming off of. I'm curious if a tire shop can take care of this issue as a warranty claim or if anyone has seen anything like this.

I'm attaching photos for reference.

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If it's on the outside of all tires, I'd almost say you have a 4 wheel alignment issue. Too much toe in??? Just a guess, as I've never had a all wheel drive vehicle.
 
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Originally Posted by Spartuss
Infiniti Q50 AWD.

What year? Looks like dry rot from an old tire with all those cracks. Wear indicator looks to be surfacing soon too.
 
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I've seen that sort of thing on some particularly aggressive OE tires (Low RR) that were used on gravel roads or fairly aggressive pavements.

Is it adjustable? Probably.
 
Vehicle was bought pre-owned with 2x,xxxx miles on it. I'm thinking the owner did drive on some type of gravel road and damaged the tire. Any worry about the safety of the tire? The cuts aren't all the way through. Seems to be fine on the highway with no apparent vibration.

I plan to replace them before next winter either way as these RFT offer minimum performance, handling and offer a fairly loud ride.
 
Originally Posted by CapriRacer
...... used on gravel roads or fairly aggressive pavements.
I was thinking the same thing. If a road is very smooth & thinly graveled, people may travel on it at speed. I remember a primary mountain gravel road that gave access to many gravel roads. The primary gravel road was in immaculate condition. Some larger-than-normal, sharp gravels love to eat tires.
 
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Originally Posted by Spartuss
……. Any worry about the safety of the tire? …….


No worries! The chunks that are loose now may come off and those spots may result in that spot reaching the wear bars sooner, but now that the tires aren't experiencing the gravel road, the chunking will stop.
 
Someone taking a CUV on a gravel road? How dare a person drive a CUV on more than just mall parking lots.

I've driven on plenty of gravel roads with my CUV... never had a tire that chunked like that.
 
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a lot of their tires run a dual-compound rubber, with a softer rubber on the inner treads. They do this knowing that as the tire ages, the rubber hardens. This way, as the tire wears and the rubber hardens, a new softer layer is revealed to prolong traction. It looks to me like that's about the right tread height. It's a feature - I happen to like it.

I have no idea if this is attributable to a tire problem, a driving incident, a traction moment, rolling over gravel during a stop... and if it's only in that one spot it's more likely to be a road hazard than a tire problem. If it's happening around the tire, that leans towards a tire problem rather than a road hazard IMO.

I've owned many sets of bridgestone tires advertising the feature. However, I've never once seen them shed like that. If you bought those tires, I think I'd take it in and ask for them to look at it as a safety issue, specifically ask about tread separation, and see what they say. If they say it's not an issue, I would ask for them to write on the ticket that the tread separation is normal and ask them to staple that picture to the receipt. If they are willing to sign their name to that, with the picture, they'll have to think about that a bit.

-m
 
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