General Tyre problems

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General Tyre problems

redfairy

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Oct 3, 2005
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North East England
I started getting a soft tyre, passenger rear. got to the point when I was having to pump it up every other day. I couldnt afford to get it replaced, but when I took 'kitten' for her exhaust work to get her through her MOT, that morning I got a total flat:( .

I managed to get to the garage to get some air in, then took it up to workshop for the exhaust and mentioned the trye.they said they'd have a look at it.

when i went to collect 'kitten, and they said the tyre had had a hole in it, and they had put an inner tube in. and charged me about £9 for it. I just said ok, didnt think about it.

then yesterday I set off from home, and knew something was up. go out, and noooooooooooo, a total flat. the same tyre:( . call me stupid, but there wasnt alot i could do, so i went the 100 metres on to the garage to get air. drove like 5 mph.

but got there, and found the valve had popped inside the rim. there was nothing i could do.

i ended up calling RAC and acting the dumb girl. but as I've said I donthave a jack, its missing and havent been able to get one yet. The RAC guy put the spare on and said its only temp, it has a speed limit of 50 mph on it, and a charming red hubb:( .

so I went up to the garage, but they were closed. so went to another I've not been to before. First off he said my tyres are very rare size tyres:rolleyes: (typical).then he said the back tyres are in a right bad state, and wouldnt get through an MOT. he pointed out what he meant and it was obvious. they are all perished and cracked:(

he was also shocked to see the other garage had put an inner tube inside, and said they shouldnt have done that.

he said he could get the tyres ordered and gave me a quote. it was a little bit more than the other garage had quoted, but becasue I felt like the other garage had done the wrong thing I just agreed to this guys doing it monday.

I really want them done, I'm all worried now about the state of them. and wondering why the other other garage allowed it go get through MOT if the tryes are that bad. :confused:

so great timing, just under £100 for the two tyres..just before xmas!!!!

do you think the first garage was wrong for putting an inner tube in? are the guys at the new garage saying this about the MOT to make themselves look good? or do you think the garage that did the MOT were in the wrong? I feel totally let down and a little confused, not entirely sure who I'm suppposed to trust now:(

would appreciate your views on this thanks

xxjen
 
a 13" or 14" in practically any width/profile is not that rare, unless you go seriously wide/ low... Punto's are not exactly rare cars, and therefore it should be pretty easy to find some tyres. The garage I used to use with my cinq had some "camac" tyres which cost me 15 quid each, plus VAT. They lasted about a year on my car, but i think i did about 14k miles... didn't do much good for the engine but hey! I used the same tyres on 2 cars and only had to replace one tyre because the tracking was out.

EDIT: what size tyres are they?
 
:eek: an inner tube you can still get them for cars, i thought theyu died out ages ago. as for the cracked tyres if they look bad then its well worth getting news ones put on. not sure how they got through the mot. maybe they were just on the limit of failing. not sure about the rare tyre size more likely just a less popular one that he dont keep in stock. its peace of mind to have the 2 new tyres done so £100 is worth it. you can probaly get cheaper tyres and im dam sure you can get more expensive ones also so price is ok.

by way what size tyre do you have on kitten ???
 
the tyres have the numbers 175/60 P14 78T written on them...sorry I'm feeling blonde right now, very tired and have no idea what they mean without checking first (ahem).

xxjen
 
not so blonde, I found out what they actually mean...doh!!!

So for a metric reading its 175mm wide with an aspect ratio (side wall height) of 60% of the width and to be fitted to a 14 inch wheel. :D ...do I get a certificate for that now?;)

ok I'll just get my coat..anyway...

xxjen
 
If you're getting a dodgy tyre best thing to do is get it checked. Repairs can cost as little as a tenner - and can save you the cost of a new tyre.

I seem to remember someone on here had their tyre taken off, a metal plate inserting, a hole filling and the tread replaced, balanced and refitted for something like £12 - which saved him something like £60 for a new tyre.
 
redfairy said:
not so blonde, I found out what they actually mean...doh!!!

So for a metric reading its 175mm wide with an aspect ratio (side wall height) of 60% of the width and to be fitted to a 14 inch wheel. :D ...do I get a certificate for that now?;)

ok I'll just get my coat..anyway...

xxjen


yep thats the right size. should be r14 not p14 though unless that is the strange bit guy was on about. the t at the end means its rated to do 118mph before you may have a problem.
 
Last edited:
thefishdude said:
yep thats the right size. should be r14 not p14 though unless that is the strange bit guy was on about. the t at the end means its rated to do 118mph before you may have a problem.

aha thank you for that, so doing 120mph wasnt the best idea then....

anyway, so are these weird tyres?rare?anyone else got them?

they do look a bit skinny:chin:
 
redfairy said:
so great timing, just under £100 for the two tyres..just before xmas!!!!

I know, it's not good, but it's important to have a safe car with good tyres, especially at this time of year. And it could be worse, last week I had to spend £100 as someone cut my fuel pipes hoping to get some petrol (they didn't get any)...
 
Gav said:
I know, it's not good, but it's important to have a safe car with good tyres, especially at this time of year. And it could be worse, last week I had to spend £100 as someone cut my fuel pipes hoping to get some petrol (they didn't get any)...

Jeepers!! Silly a*ses!!! How rude.

Well I've told myself that the safety of the car is paramount, I have three kids and it just aint worth the risk, nor the cost if the wheels get damaged if I drive with dodgey tyres either.

I will attach gift bows to each on Christmas morning and tell myself they were the best present:D

xxjen (still waiting for garage to phone to say they have them in stock:rolleyes: )
 
could allways get some good part warns no more than £15 a tyre thats what i allways payed for 185 60 14 and my 185 55 14 dont think they should of put an innertube in think they was just been lazy not to plug the tyre and put a new valve in this should be £5 or£6 for this unless you tyre sales they wanted £17 just to fix a puncture asked if he was having a laught he said you get a new valve told him to **** off lol
 
dave said:
have you shopped around? are they a garage or tyre an exhaust place?
they are a tyre exhaust place, same place i just got the exhaust done.

I've been a bit naughty actually, cos the place i went to on saturday said they'd phone today to let me know when the tyres were in, they had quoted £96 for both. But i waited til 1, and no call, and my impatience got the better of me. so i went up to the other place(where i got the exhaust done), and they were straight on the case. checked it out for me properly.told me that yes the tyre was a right off as suspected.

so he gave me a quote, which was a little less than the pther place. so i said go ahead. he did it there and then on the damaged one. got another one ordered for tomorrow for the other rear.

he didnt say it was totally essential, said it would last a bit longer. so wasnt trying to scare me into HAVING to change it. but i said to do it, because i may aswell do both at the same time and have them equal.

total cost £82. so still alot of money but like i said worth it.

there isnt a lot of choice here, its a small place. and so far this place have come up with cheapest quotes so far for both tyres and exhaust.

still not happy that they did the inner tube thing, but i guess it was a cost cutting thing that didnt work. oh well.

glad to get the emergency spare off, it was horrendous to drive with.

xxjen
 
Ok, forgive me if I haven't understood correctly but it's 7.49 am around here. :p

So, you say that you changed the two rear tyres only? If yes, am I the only one around here who strongly believes that we should change all 4 tyres at once?

Secondly, I hope you bought some good ones, esp. if you care about safety, as Gav said. Bridgestone are good, Pirelli are Good, Michelin are good (although they're a bit soft and break easily if you go on bumpy roads). What I want to say is that it's best to spend some more money and actually be safe than less and just feel safe.

175/60-14 is common. I don't get why the seller told you it's rare. Maybe he didn't have them in stock or just wanted you to buy sth else. It's wise to walk away from these sellers when you see that you know a whole lot more about specific things than them. They are only trying to sell to make loads of money after all.

My 2cents.
 
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