Flat Spots on Tires!!!

[slee]

Anyone have this problem with tires that have been sitting in the same spot??

I am trying to work them out of a set of tires that I had on one vehicle and xferred to another.

It's like riding on never ending speed bumps!!

Has anyone had luck driving them out???

Thanks,
SLEE

 

[Master ACiD]

are they frozen?

 

[rpn453]

My buddy had that problem after his car sat for a few months, and it never went away.

 

[slee]

No,not frozen.I'll keep driving until summer,then

get rid of them if they don't smooth out.

Thanks!!
slee

 

[Zaedock]

My bias ply Super Swampers flat spot overnight. It's takes a few miles a rolln' and then they are round again.

 

[Jonny Z]

I wonder if over inflating tires to maximum cold PSI before storing the car for a few months would help?

 

[wander2039]

Can you say burn-out?? I've always wondered if that would take the flat spots out. Of course it will take a little tread off and could blow up the tire but the excessive heat might do the trick.

 

[ebaker]

I was told by the Michelin race tire rep that parking on a piece of double layer carpet would reduce flat spotting.

 

[CapriRacer]

This problem has come up before and I've always wondered if the following scenario would work.

Deflate the tires a bit - say 5 psi below the placard. Drive on the expressway at a high rate of speed - say 70 to 80 mph or any speed that won't alarm the police, but is just a bit faster than you normally drive. Drive until the vibration stops improving - no more than an hour. Immediately overinflate the tires - say 5 to 10 psi above the placard and drive slowly - say no more than 30 mph for 15 minutes. Allow the tires to cool - an hour and a half - then reset the pressure.

This is based on the principle that heat will reshape the flat spot - just as hot tires are more prone to flat spots - and the idea that overinflated tires are less prone to flatspotting.

Caveats: Don't do this in hot weather. Heat is the tire killer and you're only trying to generate a bit more heat than normal.

During the "driveout phase", be very conscious of the vibration and whether it is improving. If it stops improving or doesn't improve, stop drivng and reset the pressure.

 

[Mitch Alsup]

My Ferrari will flat spot its tires if I let it sit in the garage for more than 1 week. The flat spots go away after 30-40 minutes of driving as the rubber gets hot and relaxes from its compressed (sitting) configuration.

 

[rpn453]

I like CapriRacer's idea. Lower speeds at even lower pressure might work too. Worth a try, anyway!

 

[kcryan]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jonny Z:
I wonder if over inflating tires to maximum cold PSI before storing the car for a few months would help?

---

Thats what the allante gets and no flat spots for me

 

[Pontius Pilate]

weird, i got a few flat spots on one tire.... hit a curb a flattened it (was on front) cousin fixed it right away, then moveed it to the back, problem? seems according to him that due to the puncture, water got in and rusted the steel belts and now it's seperating... so it has a wobble when you drive and theres like 4 big flat spots on it, sucks cause the tires are pretty new (still has rubber nubs) so it looks funny cause some parts are bald and some are real thick with tread

 

[CapriRacer]

If you have a tire that is separating, then you need to remove it immediately!!!!! (I notice that you've posted in a different thread about dismounting a tire, so obviously you're planning on doing that!)

It only takes a few hundred miles from the time a person notices that he has a tire separating to the actual detachment. Detachments can sometimes have tragic results.

 

[Pontius Pilate]

bigtime, just got back right now from wally world and had it replaced with a new one of the same kind (douglas don't laugh) it was a good thing they were only 1.5 miles away.

it looked funny, it was warped all over the place...the sidewall, and around so the car bobbed up and down when going down the street....smooth now