A Lucky Escape
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I've seen a lot of frightening things (And Debbie!) on motor vehicles over the years and none of them shock me anymore. When you've seen them enough times you become immune and just rattle off the same old warnings about the near disaster the driver had just avoided and how to prevent it in the future. Sometimes the drivers listen and sometimes they don't. It often makes me wonder if they listen and act upon the advice given to them by their family Doctor when they are unwell as ignoring the advice I dish out for free may result in many months worth of trips to the family Doctor, or worse!!
This week was no different but the 'offender' was a friend who I've known for years and would much prefer stayed alive rather than dead. Fortunately she is sensible enough to listen and does prefer to stay alive!
It was the car's annual MOT inspection on Tuesday. This car does an average of 4,000 miles per year and because it's a Vauxhall Corsa it's very reliable and doesn't need much intervention during the rest of the year. To make things worse the routine service is carried out at the same time as the MOT and for the remaining 364 days of the year the driver is responsible for its road worthiness.
I collected the car and as soon as I got it above 10MPH I noticed a medium strength pull to the right and a vibration through the steering, brakes and body shell. On the ramp it went and here's the cause of drivability problems:
(Click on the photo to enlarge.)
The tyre had worn through to the cords on the inside edge which were now visible and damaged.
(Click on the photo to enlarge.)
To make things even worse (if that's possible) the tread was separating from the inside shoulder of the tyre around 75% of the circumference.
The cause of the fault can be seen in the second image. The inside of the wheel rim is damaged at the point where the cords are visible. This damage to the rim, probably resulting from driving down a curb, has caused a dynamic or rolling balance issue with the tyre and wheel leading to a 'heavy spot' which at speed has caused accelerated wear to the tyre at this point. The tyre was manufactured by a leading company and the tread depth indicated it was otherwise only 50% worn.
The dangers of using a vehicle with this type of defect are obvious. This tyre is ready to deflate without warning, not in a progressive and controlled manner which would give the driver time to react but more likely a rapid deflation or explosion followed by a sudden loss of steering control and the vehicle deviating from its path.
This tyre was fitted to the right hand side front of the vehicle (driver's side front in the UK as we drive on the left). Imagine this, the vehicle is traveling at 60MPH on a normal single carriageway and a sudden and rapid deflation occurs to this tyre. Before the driver has time to react the vehicle swerves into the oncoming traffic and collides with a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction also moving at 60MPH. That's a combined impact speed of 120MPH with the same affect as hitting the back of a stationary lorry on the hard shoulder of a motorway at 120MPH.
Prevention is far better than the cure
It takes about 5 minutes per week to carry out a tyre inspection. It's important that the entire tyre is visually checked for wear and tread depth and this should be carried out weekly. Tyre pressures are also critical and under or over inflation can lead to increased tyre wear and reduced grip and water displacement, especially when the tyre is under load. Instructions on how to carry out a tyre inspection are usually included in the vehicle handbook or workshop manual. If in doubt always seek the advice of a reputable garage.
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This week was no different but the 'offender' was a friend who I've known for years and would much prefer stayed alive rather than dead. Fortunately she is sensible enough to listen and does prefer to stay alive!
It was the car's annual MOT inspection on Tuesday. This car does an average of 4,000 miles per year and because it's a Vauxhall Corsa it's very reliable and doesn't need much intervention during the rest of the year. To make things worse the routine service is carried out at the same time as the MOT and for the remaining 364 days of the year the driver is responsible for its road worthiness.
I collected the car and as soon as I got it above 10MPH I noticed a medium strength pull to the right and a vibration through the steering, brakes and body shell. On the ramp it went and here's the cause of drivability problems:
(Click on the photo to enlarge.)
The tyre had worn through to the cords on the inside edge which were now visible and damaged.
(Click on the photo to enlarge.)
To make things even worse (if that's possible) the tread was separating from the inside shoulder of the tyre around 75% of the circumference.
The cause of the fault can be seen in the second image. The inside of the wheel rim is damaged at the point where the cords are visible. This damage to the rim, probably resulting from driving down a curb, has caused a dynamic or rolling balance issue with the tyre and wheel leading to a 'heavy spot' which at speed has caused accelerated wear to the tyre at this point. The tyre was manufactured by a leading company and the tread depth indicated it was otherwise only 50% worn.
The dangers of using a vehicle with this type of defect are obvious. This tyre is ready to deflate without warning, not in a progressive and controlled manner which would give the driver time to react but more likely a rapid deflation or explosion followed by a sudden loss of steering control and the vehicle deviating from its path.
This tyre was fitted to the right hand side front of the vehicle (driver's side front in the UK as we drive on the left). Imagine this, the vehicle is traveling at 60MPH on a normal single carriageway and a sudden and rapid deflation occurs to this tyre. Before the driver has time to react the vehicle swerves into the oncoming traffic and collides with a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction also moving at 60MPH. That's a combined impact speed of 120MPH with the same affect as hitting the back of a stationary lorry on the hard shoulder of a motorway at 120MPH.
Prevention is far better than the cure
It takes about 5 minutes per week to carry out a tyre inspection. It's important that the entire tyre is visually checked for wear and tread depth and this should be carried out weekly. Tyre pressures are also critical and under or over inflation can lead to increased tyre wear and reduced grip and water displacement, especially when the tyre is under load. Instructions on how to carry out a tyre inspection are usually included in the vehicle handbook or workshop manual. If in doubt always seek the advice of a reputable garage.
Related Articles:
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