Tire problem

[Rolomoto]

02 Echo. The RF tire pulls to the right and there is a noticeable shimmy at about 50 mph. I looked at the suspension and didn't see anything wrong. I pulled the tire and noticed a kind of indentation or slope to the tread as pictured. Tread is good on the rest of the tire. Any ideas on what could be wrong? Also, I was wondering if the 5 P 14 things in the picture are wheel balance weights?
Thanks

Wheel balance weights?

Sloping tread on RF tire. Car pulls to R. Slopes down to the outer edge.

Another view of sloping tire.

Tread is good on the rest of the tire.

 

[bdcardinal]

Those are the wheel weights. That tire needs to be replaced immediately. A belt has separated.

 

[EdwardC]

Yeah, those are wheel weights for balancing.

It looks like you have tread separation on the bulged tire. The tread depth looks decent, but the tire overall seems fairly aged. How old are they? I wouldn't drive on a tire with tread separation, I'd plan to get new tires on it asap.

 

[cb_13]

Those are the wheel weights. That tire needs to be replaced immediately. A belt has separated. [/quote
^^^He's exactly right. DO NOT drive on that tire. Replace it immediately.

 

[SumpChump]

http://aamcoofbonitasprings.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/tire-wear-e1423250729580.jpg


http://www.class-c-motorhome-info-made-simple.com/images/RV_Tires_1.jpg


http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how...ur-car/?slide=7

 

[69GTX]

You have quite a bit of dry cracking on the side walls as well as inside the tread. Must have gotten a lot of sun exposure or heat. 6-8 years old? Check the 4 digit code next to the "DOT" code for mfg date (XXYY where XX is week of the year, and YY is the year).

 

[stephen9666]

As already noted, the reason that tire has a lump in the tread is because the inner structure of the tire is failing. It looks like they're pretty cracked, too.

Likely you need all four tires replaced. The tire with the broken belts needs to be replaced now.

 

[Bandito440]

Drive very slowly to the nearest tire shop. If they're all the same age, you need four tires. Immediately.

 

[nwjones18]

As the others have said you need another tire now not later... If its a matching set replace them all.

 

[Nick1994]

Yup separating belt. My other Camry had a tire that did this, don't drive on it because it WILL blow out.

 

[Inspecktor]

Replace now. When that tire fails, it could come apart, causing
loss of control, damaging your car and endangering other drivers. Two years ago, my family was driving from California to Arizona when a Toyota Tacoma in front of us lost the left rear tire. It started smoking, then violently came apart, ripping off a large piece of the quarter panel and sending chunks of rubber and metal onto the highway. Luckily, no one was hurt. It was an eye opener to see how much damage a small vehicle tire could do.

 

[Chris142]

Not only is it separated its rotten too. Whats the date code?

 

[Timo325]

YUP! As others have said,your belt appears to be separating.

If it were me, I'd use my spare and get the tire(s) replaced immediately. If they are all old, just replace them all.

If you decide to drive on that tire, take it slow! If it fails, you could steer yourself right into a tree, a ditch, or innocent people.

 

[Ducked]

I can't see belt separation from those pictures, but I'm no expert.

How do you "see" "belt separation" (which I thought was an internal structural failure which usually has no external symptoms until the tyre desintegrates) from the outside of the tyre anyway?

I'd guess your tracking is off, so your wheel is excessively toed-in, which is wearing the tread on the outside. But I'm no expert.

There's quite a bit of cracking. I'd say its cosmetic, and I might treat the tyre with a protectant to slow it down some. But I'm no expert.

Anyway, I'd say you can't go wrong with counsels of perfection, so you'd better buy new tyres. Or maybe a yacht.

 

[Nick1994]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
I can't see belt separation from those pictures, but I'm no expert.

How do you "see" "belt separation" (which I thought was an internal structural failure which usually has no external symptoms until the tyre desintegrates) from the outside of the tyre anyway?

I'd guess your tracking is off, so your wheel is excessively toed-in, which is wearing the tread on the outside. But I'm no expert.

There's quite a bit of cracking. I'd say its cosmetic, and I might treat the tyre with a protectant to slow it down some. But I'm no expert.

Anyway, I'd say you can't go wrong with counsels of perfection, so you'd better buy new tyres. Or maybe a yacht.
Below I'll put the link to a post I had last year about the exact same thing with my tire.

How I know it's belt separation, is because CapriRacer told me so on that post. He's a tire engineer.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3399443/So_THAT'S_why_there's_a_wobble

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Ducked
I can't see belt separation from those pictures, but I'm no expert.

How do you "see" "belt separation" (which I thought was an internal structural failure which usually has no external symptoms until the tyre desintegrates) from the outside of the tyre anyway?

I'd guess your tracking is off, so your wheel is excessively toed-in, which is wearing the tread on the outside. But I'm no expert.

There's quite a bit of cracking. I'd say its cosmetic, and I might treat the tyre with a protectant to slow it down some. But I'm no expert.

Anyway, I'd say you can't go wrong with counsels of perfection, so you'd better buy new tyres. Or maybe a yacht.
Below I'll put the link to a post I had last year about the exact same thing with my tire.

How I know it's belt separation, is because CapriRacer told me so on that post. He's a tire engineer.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3399443/So_THAT'S_why_there's_a_wobble


That looks more like the kind of "bulge" I might guess to be an internal failure. Much less clear (to me) in the above pics. That tyre does look dodgy, but there's no evidence there for scrapping the whole set, as advocated above.

I don't much like Bridgstones either, though I'm running a set at the moment. Specifically, I don't like that they don't put a max inflation pressure on the tyre. Seems evasive to me.

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Originally Posted By: Ducked
I can't see belt separation from those pictures, but I'm no expert.

How do you "see" "belt separation" (which I thought was an internal structural failure which usually has no external symptoms until the tyre desintegrates) from the outside of the tyre anyway?

I'd guess your tracking is off, so your wheel is excessively toed-in, which is wearing the tread on the outside. But I'm no expert.

There's quite a bit of cracking. I'd say its cosmetic, and I might treat the tyre with a protectant to slow it down some. But I'm no expert.

Anyway, I'd say you can't go wrong with counsels of perfection, so you'd better buy new tyres. Or maybe a yacht.
Below I'll put the link to a post I had last year about the exact same thing with my tire.

How I know it's belt separation, is because CapriRacer told me so on that post. He's a tire engineer.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3399443/So_THAT'S_why_there's_a_wobble


Concur. Those 2 photos are of the bulges you get when you have a belt separation.

Technically, we don't have X-ray vision, so we can't be sure, but the overwhelming majority of the time, a bulge like that is from a belt separation.

If left on the car, eventually the top belt and the tread on top of the top belt, will peel off, exposing the bottom belt, and doing damage to the fender as it comes off. Usually the tire does NOT deflate, but sometimes it does.