- that's the first comment (bear in mind i'm a few pints and a couple of Smirnoff Ices to the worse)

Coming home from town, I suddenly (at 60mph) heard a rapid "whack whack whack" sound come from the front left of the car. It sounded so bad I had to pull over in someone's drive, the "whack" noise becoming less repetetive as I did. So, I figured it had to be something like getting a stick caught in the spokes, but there was nothing there, I even looked with a torch and had a good fiddle.

So, I drove home slowly, whack whack whack!, and got my mechanic mate who was driving on tonite's pi55-up to come early and have a listen. (performance of the car unaffected) - he has a look with a good torch and suddenly pulls this thread, which turns out to be most of the inside shoulder of the tyre! :eek: Suddenly I was left with a tyre which IMHO (and his) was totallu unsafe to drive, and just before I was about to change it.

So, tomorrow, I'm gonna put two of my steels on the front of my car, give the two alloys to Dad to give to ATS tomorrow to put the new tyres on, and I'll fit them then. I'll take some piccies of me 50/50 steel/alloy mixed up. I should think it will look quite funny!

( And I'm quite surproised at the lack of typo's considering how mullered I am. :dtp: )

:cheers:

dont bother changing them jason they will be fine

I know the fronts were low Jason but was this one of the Marshalls?

Yep - It was the worst of the scrubbed marshalls. Its now 12.45 and I've only just got out of bed, and now need to go out in the rather miserable weather here to do this job! :(

I'll get some piccies of the affected area when I've got the alloys off - Normally I'd take it back for design fault reasons, but as the tread was illegal I figure I'd be pushing my luck!

I'll report later on.

:cheers:

What brand are you going for on the front?

Ahemmm - Marshalls again. Mainly because of the value of using my company's trade prices & not paying VAT. Perhaps I should get a pair of Toyo's through mytyres.net and get ATS to fit them?

Any thoughts?

Firstly, let me get the expletives out the way! F***! B****CKS! S***!

[that's better]

Basically, I just went to undo the bolts on my wheels, using my own car's jack & gear... BUT, because I have alloys the bloody wrench Skoda gave me will not go over the bolts, as they're sunk into the alloy.... Which means I've been driving since March with no way of changing a wheel, had I had a puncture! [cue, pi55-taking]

SOOOO, this leaves me in a quandry. I'm going to try and get my lift sharer lady to drive this coming week, so my car can be taken to ATS by my Dad or something, or try and borrow (permanently) a 1" bolt extension to keep in my spare wheel... I jacked up the left hand side and had a good feel behind the tyre, and yes, there is a bit of a "hole" around it, wire poking through, etc etc... So, the car is deffo unsafe to drive, but do I risk it?

This is a shot I just took of what was causing the whack whack whack noise last night. It's a bit fuzzy but you get the idea of exactly what the problem is! :(

- that's the first comment (bear in mind i'm a few pints and a couple of Smirnoff Ices to the worse)

:cheers:

Smirnoff ICE?.... you pansy!!... thats a girls drink!

Why not use a socket set with an extension? Failing that, why not use one of your famous hammers, that appeared in one of the photos of your lowering job! Or you could undo the bottom balljoint, remove the bolts in the engine bay, and take the struts complete with wheels on! Sorry, taking the urine now!

That tyre is a bit fooked :rofl2: .

Plus remmeber its a 3pt license endorsement and

17mm? that's the size of the bolt is it? (clueless, me)

I have a socket set, so I'll see if I have an extension in there - however, I can see myself just going to Halfords for an extension.

:cheers:

edit: and I was on Smirnoff Ice, because by 1am I'd had my fill of beer - conconction of Guinness, Spitfire & Tetleys. :dtp:

Smirnoff ICE?.... you pansy!!... thats a girls drink!

Correct Colin, and I have my suspicion Jason is trying to prove something to his lady co-driver. "see, I can drink girly drinks too, hint hint" :p

So' date=' the car is deffo unsafe to drive, but do I risk it?

[/quote']

Do you really need to ask that question ?

Jason, you really do need to put some decent tyres on your car before you visit Jabba. In addition to getting the right speed rating, you also need to think about load rating since the extra torque is going to increase the demands on your tyres considerably over standard. Read here for more information. You should be fitting a quality tyre rather than a budget one, and you also need to go to a tyre dealer who knows their stuff, rather than to one who caters for the mass market. Your car is not safe as it is, and your insurers would be perfectly within their rights to refuse a claim should you have an accident driving on that damaged tyre. Don't risk it! :shocked:

(Eminently sensible advice from someone who used to drive a 2

As much as it pains me to... i have to agree with Denis.

Think of it this way.. the tyres are the most important part of the car, as they are the only interface between the car and road. if something goes wrong with one of them.. it can have nasty results.

What speed rating are they? the ones on my vRS are W rated.. thats up to 170mph. i would reccomend going at least with a "known brand" ie dunlop, michelin, firestone... etc.

Yep

After some talk down the pub, I'm going to get a set of Kumho's instead, or at least find out a price tomorrow, and if it's quite a lot I'll pay

BTW - I did risk a drive into town and back (slowly' date=' bloody slowly) and everything was fine. I've got lift tomorrow sorted anyway. [/quote']

You really do have a deathwish lol

Just remember Jason, this time of year in particular sees a rise in the amount of Plod Patrols on the roads, its really not worth taking a chance, no matter how safe you think it is

After all, you already have 3 points....

If you dont want to mess about, what about one of those tyre dealers that come to you ?

I,m afraid I have to agree with the others here, and express my concerns on driving a knackered tyre. If you are prepared to chance it, just think of the child that isnt so lucky through its own mistake and your inability to avoid it because your knackered tyre has gone completely.

Dont mess about with your,s or anyone elses safety.

Halfords do long sockets specifically for the problem you have, I have also seen long sockets with a plastic sleeve so you dont scratch the alloy with the side of the socket but apart from Snap On (loads a money) I dont know where to get them & with Snap on they come in a set designed specifically for garages.

Re tyre prices, get the cheapest price you can get for Toyos "The best IMO" & then ring round your local dealers to see if they will price match. I got a dealer to special order for the best price I could find

Stuart

Forgot too add. Why have your tyres failed so catastrophically on the inside? It would point to either your cars Geometry or Tracking being out or you have bought cheap tyres & you get what you pay for.

Either way I would not want to drive the car with the same tyre/geometry set up without knowing the reason.

If you still have legal tread on the tyre & its the tyre wear is fairly even across the tyre & the tracking is OK then its a call to the manufacturer. Tyres should be able to run to bald before the structure starts to fail.

If you are about to Jabba the car you will be working the tyres even harder so if they failed now how will they cope with extra power.

Lastly if you have the same tyres on the rear consider changing them if its a tyre fault. Also keep an eye on them as with geometry errors these can scrub unevenly, I took a Toyo to bald on the inside during the Cannonball (3000 miles in 5 days) on the rear due to the camber being out after lowering the car.

I also once followed a MR2 (FWD CAR) that had a rear blow out at about 80 on a gentle bend on a Motorway & it ended up parked HARD against the Armco & shall we say beyond economical repair so its not just fronts that are critical. He had 3 lanes to weave across, on a B road it might have been a lot worse

Jason,

Go to Protyre in Exeter, I gave you their details before, highly recommended.

My view on tyres? They are the only part of your car in contact with the road (usually ). Get the best you can afford. Have a go with some of the following, not in any order of preference:

Toyos

Contis

Pirellis

Yokohamas

Dunlop

You could always take the opposite view and say its so much more of a challenge with "other" tryes, in which case have a look at the Roadchamp SUper grippers

As Stewart said, why have they done that? Are they rubbing on the struts or the bodywork?

Oh and its 3 points and up to a

There's deffo no rubbing. What I suspect happened is that the tyre has been illegal for some time ( I noticed for the first time at Duxford. ) and basically it's a combo of a design flaw and my tyre abuse (i.e quick cornering, hitting low kerbs too hard, etc etc - oh, and not changing them often enough). This is the 2nd problem I've had with this brand so it's time for a change.

Anyone know if Kumho's are OK? - if they're more than

My view on tyres? They are the only part of your car in contact with the road (usually ). Get the best you can afford.

Ditto.

edited to say I know the risks' date=' and last night elected to take them. I know it's stupid but I guess I'm a risk-lover. I don't mind all your tut-tuts and :nono: BTW. Keep em coming and one day I may take heed. [/quote']

I,m glad you dont mind the tut-tuts, because I will quite happily tell you that if I lived your way, and knew of your details I would inform the Police of your actions.

Would you go out driving the car knowing that your brakes didnt work?

As Forrest Gump says..."Stupid is as Stupid does".

Did you have the Suspension Geometry checked and ajusted after you fitted your Einbachs? that could affect the tyre wear.