A little advice from all you fabia owners please!

My little brother drives a fabis Vrs. He does a fair few miles in it and has just clocked up 54k in a year and a half.

His tyres (front and rear) are having to be replaced every 6-10k depending but even with doing this he has had 2 high speed blow outs, 1 front wheel and 1 rear.

He always replaces the tyres with the same brand as came was on it when he bought it (whatever that is - cant remember)

so my question is

1) has anyone else suffered any OEM tyre failiures on there fabias?

and

2) Can anyone recommend a tyre that could stand up to long high speed motorway journeys on a daily basis without exploding or wearing out in half an hour?

Cheers - Si

god no! highspeed blowouts are a nightmare and SHOULDN'T happen unless he has the tyre pressures too low! does he check them all the time?! he should... I've replaced a tyre already due to a nail in 15,000 miles..... If I hadn't checked and replaced it, I would have had a blow out! I bet this is what's happeneing to him! he must do a visual check before each journey and a pressure check every weekend! you say he's replacing with OE... make sure that they are w rated , any less could cause a blowout due to the wrong heat dissipation.... he can get the same "type" brand make ect at 'v' rated, which could blowout.... 'w' is a must....

How often does your brother check his tire pressures? At motorway speeds an underinflated tire would get properly hot and may cause a blowout. Overinflation can also be dangerous. Checking once a month is pretty much minimum, and seeing as your brother does a lot of miles, it should be even more often I guess.

(edit) looks like sharkrider beat me to it

His tyre pressures are checked on a weekly basis

Good point about the rating though, I assume they are correct but I'll have to check.

Front wheel blow out was at 90mph! Suprisingly (and very luckily) it wasnt scary at all.

Heard a band, though it was a brick,

Steering got heavy, we bagan to slow down and move over to stop

Steering became non existant as we pulled up on the hard shoulder - No tyre left on the rim apart from about an inch of sidewall all the way round!!!!

good to hear the furby has a good reaction like that, sounds quite stable..... and yes the speed rating could be it... have him check em v's are usually cheaper than w's but they have different heat characteristics, and as hussein said the overheating will cause the blowout

Maybe you should get the rim checked out just incase there is an issue with that.

Have to say "touchwood" mine have been fine, I've ever had an issue with the London to Crewe run.

Maybe you should get the rim checked out just incase there is an issue with that.

Have to say "touchwood" mine have been fine' date=' I've ever had an issue with the London to Crewe run.[/quote']

that's a good idea... is it always the same wheel?!

No its not the rim - different wheel with each blowout, and he's had them both checked by his tyre guy (who he's getting to know very well now) before the tyre was replaced

His tyres (front and rear) are having to be replaced every 6-10k depending but even with doing this he has had 2 high speed blow outs, 1 front wheel and 1 rear.

Motorway use is the most gentle thing you can do with tyres. They wear a lot more around town with braking , turning, parking etc. My tyres have reached 24k with 3mm of tread still left & my use is a mixture of autobahn, up to 130mph regularly & Nordschleife use at weekends. My tyres have had a harder than average life (see photo).

If he is wearing out tyres especially rears in 6k then there is something seriously wrong with the set up or pressures. Blow outs are usually caused by low pressure either through neglect or slow punctures. The tyre overheats as it runs flat & this causes the failure.

He's not getting confused with 2.2bar tyre pressure thinking it's 22psi for instance is he? Heard of that a lot...

Other than that, if the tyres he's using aren't up to the job of motorway miles, and there's nothing wrong with his pressures, the set-up on the car, carrying too much weight in the car and not adjusting pressures etc etc etc, then why doesn't he try a different tyre?

I've had no problems with Michelin, Hankook, Goodyear, Pirelli, Toyo, Falken or Vredestein, all of which I've used in the past few years for all sorts of driving... including a lot of high speed motorway stuff!

He's not getting confused with 2.2bar tyre pressure thinking it's 22psi for instance is he? Heard of that a lot...

I dont think so but he can be a bit of a nob at times so I'll check that out too!

That is odd, 3 of my tyres, from factory have lasted 40k. Though I do drive slower than 90mph.

Mostly motorway miles here but nearing 20k and should still pass quite easily, although the first 3 mm went quick on the fronts.

Rears are still 'as good as new', pretty much. Tyre pressures are checked regularly, and I have NEVER had a blowout in any car I've ever owed - only thing other than extremely bad luck hitting something very sharp or similar that I could think of is bold tyres and/or underpressured tyres.

Tyre manufacturers would be sued every time otherwise?

Mine are like new at 12k.

Bet he's been driving with the traction off

Mine are like new at 12k.

Bet he's been driving with the traction off

Yes - all the time!

I changed my standard jobbies at 18k and that was after 1 track outing and they still had 2-3mm left on them.

Maybe it's worth taking the wheels off and checking for any damage on a regular basis? Has he upset someone maybe they are being punchured/slash/damaged. Maybe the tyre is catching on something and he hasn't noticed.

Is there even tyre wear?

Like some others have said try a different brand and see if it still happens.

No, other than the two blowouts the tyres that have come off have been fairly evenly worn down to the tread indicators. Each time he gets new fronts he rotates them to the back so each new pair get an even pounding 4/5k on the back 4/5k on the front then in the bin!

I know the fabia is a heavy car but on a motorway cruiser they should last more than 10-12k. Even in my saxo VTS that I used to rag the nuts off would get 12k on the fronts with out a change (that was with regular pod visits and track days).

Just out of interest what is the motorway surface he is travelling on?

mainly he is M25,M1, M3, M4, M40, M42, A12

I use most of them aswell I doubt it's the surface then.

In that case he needs to get his car checked - sure, there is some glass on the road sometimes on the roads mentioned, but as said, 18k and still going strong, pumped up the tyres a few times since new though?

My car has done 13,000 miles since new on original tyres, and they look about 2mm above the wear indicators, so should go to 20,000 miles. I do have to put a couple of PSI in occasionally.

Sounds like there is something seriously wrong with the car or maintenace of it if he is using tyres at that rate! :eek:

I recommend a weekly check of oil, tyre pressures and washer fluid top up... Is he using the correct pressures? :confused: I use 34PSI all round.

Hi

If the geometry was out, maybe too much toe in / out, incorrect rear toe (dont know if it is adjustable on the Fabia), the tyre will be getting exposed to excessive shearing forces in a straight line. This would give both high wear rates and stress the carcasses possibly to the point of failure.

Until recently, I used to cruise around 98mph on motorways, 130 or more if I thought no one was looking (say early morning) and have never had a tyre failure. Tyre pressures should be checked at least once a week and before any longish journey and a visual check carried out whenever you get in to drive. Letting tyres wear down to the indicatr is not great. By that time, they are relatively useless for standing water dispersal.

Chris

Hi

If the geometry was out' date=' maybe too much toe in / out, incorrect rear toe (dont know if it is adjustable on the Fabia), the tyre will be getting exposed to excessive shearing forces in a straight line. This would give both high wear rates and stress the carcasses possibly to the point of failure.

Until recently, I used to cruise around 98mph on motorways, 130 or more if I thought no one was looking (say early morning) and have never had a tyre failure. Tyre pressures should be checked at least once a week and before any longish journey and a visual check carried out whenever you get in to drive. Letting tyres wear down to the indicatr is not great. By that time, they are relatively useless for standing water dispersal.

Chris[/quote']

Rear camber is not adjustable as far as I know.Mine is negative due to fitting eibach springs and I too cruise at 90+ (kmh officer...honest), with a few runs at full whack on my private road. I am on 15k now, had to replace my front tyres after hitting a brick put an egg in my side wall at some speed, still didnt blow out. The two original continentals that were on the front for 6k, now on the back, still looking good for a few more miles. Modern tyres just don't blow out, not without something causing it, ie underinflation. A good tyre man should be able to spot why the tyres keep going, either from under/over inflation, something catching (unlikely as it happens on different wheels, foriegn objects penetrating the tyre.......)

The "V" or "W" rating is the speed rating, the "W" is rated at a constant speed of 168mph, the "V" is 149mph, which is more than satisfactory for a car that wont go past 145mph. I would definately be looking toward tyre pressures as the cause.

P.S. - Hi Steve:thumbup:

P.S. - Hi Steve:thumbup:

After all the rain & fog you had to suffer at the Nordschleife you'll be pleased to know the last 2 weekends have been dry & warm! Traffic was awful 2 weeks ago though; 20 mins queueing just to get off the track.

Steve