We went for a ride out to Oatman, AZ yesterday. On return about 40 miles from home we heard a big Kaboom! It sounded like I drove over something on the highway and was dragging it underneath the car. I stopped and looked underneath and saw nothing. Got back in the car and noticed the warning that there was no air in the right rear. I went back outside in the 116 degree heat and had my wife slowly roll the car forward so I could examine the tire. Right smack dab in the middle of the tire there was a craggy star shaped tear in the tire. Ouch! Fortunately I had my Michelin A/S ZP tires that afforded me the opportunity to drive the car the remaining 45 miles to Discount Tire in Lake Havasu. I couldn't have repaired it myself if I didn't have the run flats because there was no shoulder on that portion of RT 66.
Gotta love those run flats!
I'm going to get all four tires of the new version the tires. The ones I have on are down to about 5/16 tread depth anyway and have 30K on them. Pretty good for the way I drive it. The tires that came with the car I wore out in the first 10,000 miles.
Going to buy this set, and only have to pay for 3 of them because I had the Discount tire road hazard on them that it would be replaced free if anything like what happened to me should occur. The tires won't get here until Monday or Tuesday. So I just drove home until they call me.
Pilot Sport A/S 3+ ZP (Y-Speed Rated)
This is the 3rd flat tire I have had with my car. It has 39K on it after just a year and a half. Every one of the those flats was in a real inconvenient area to have to change a tire, or wait for someone to come out to me.

 

I swear by RF's, Joe.
Glad you're on top of this w/ new skins, laying on the ground in gawd knows what kind of weather/location w/ a patch kit doesn't cut it for me, extra weight or not.

About the 'kaboom'.
In 14 years driving Corvettes w/ RFs only had ONE 'blowout', happened where/when I last expected, naturally.
When it blew it was literally an explosion, sounded like a large steel bar or rock smacked the undercarriage somewhere, hard.
DIC informed what'd happened, but man it scarred the ever loving bejebbers outa me.

 

Only had one tire blowout in my life. While sitting at a red light no less. Really cheap Cordovan tire somebody gave me. Not on a vette but some POS car I had back then.

 

Did you actually hit something, or did the tire just blow out?

I've had one blowout. It was on the rear of a '68 Opel Kadette at 60mph. Pretty wild ride.

 

I'm certain I didn't hit anything. I believe I ran over something previously that put a cut in the Tire and it just gradually hit the exploding point. I check my tires at least every couple of weeks and the cut wasn't there at that time. I might have been there though, and I just didn't notice it, or it might have expanded over time.

 

I've been on the stretch of 66 out of Oatman. There just ain't no tire stores around. Happy to hear you were able to get 'er home. Run flats for the win.

 

Yep, while it's popular to dump on ZP tires on this forum, no one who's ever had a flat tire in your situation will ever do that again. Considering how they have become equal performers to standard tire technology, it's silly not to run them.

 

 

3 flats in 39K....holy crap...you have bad luck

logged over 450K in our 4 Vettes and nothing *knock on wood*

occasional screw in tire and slow leaker but nothing major like you have experienced

 

Interesting https://www.edmunds.com/driving-tips...-a-primer.html

The J.D. Power study found that "customers with vehicles equipped with run-flat tires are nearly twice as likely as those with vehicles equipped with standard tires to have to replace a tire due to a flat or blowout."

 

Years ago run flats were noisier than regular tires. Not anymore. When I bought the ZP tires I am replacing the dealer let me drive on the non ZP first and then installed the ZP tires. My wife couldn't tell the difference in road noise, and believe, this gal can really hear. I couldn't tell the difference in handling. I'm not a race car driver but I can sure pull the Gs. I could tell no difference in the handling. To summarize.
ZP=NOBRAINER

 

Had a Firestone 500 blow on my RR of my van, in 1985. Me and the van bicycled for a while before it set back down. The entire tread came off the tire, like the tread off a semi tire. Naturally Firestone tried to tell me it was my fault.


.

 

I had 4 flats on my C5 and 1 on the C6, all construction screw related. Did you ever make it to the Sunday morning Corvette coffee at the Starbucks? I haven't been there in ages...

 

I cringe when I see construction dudes in old pickups with all kinds of materials in the back dropping out on our construction undergoing roads. I once had a Craftsman 3/8" ratchet inbedded in a tire. Took it to Sears for a free replacement so all wasn't lost. Hard to find a Sears now.

 

I've had more than three tires on different cars go down so fast but not what anyone would call a real "blow out."

ZP on a Corvette in the desert, 116 degrees?---truly a no brainer as to what tire to have on the car.

 

Ok Joe. Now tell us the truth. You ran over one of the burrows didn't you ?

 

OK. You got me. I ran over a hoof, and boy are those sharp!

 

I go once in a while, but it is just too darn early, as I believe you once stated. 7AM! I get up at 5AM and once I do all my morning routines its to late to get down there. Maybe you and I should meet up sometime and start a 8AM get together.

 

.... too late. I went down for the first time in a long while. About 6 or 8 Vetters there...

 

Around 10-12 years ago we had a very bad hailstorm, and everyone's roof shingles had to be replaced. Of course this was spread out over a 6 month period. Just about every day, it seemed, a roofer would drive down my street. In the evenings I would walk the street looking for roofing nails. Each time, I would find some roofing nails. Some of the local kids saw me out in the street and wanted to know what I was doing. I told them I would pay them a quarter for each roofing nail they found in the street. Sure cut down on my walking.

Once, when I was young, someone let a screwdriver get away from them in the pits at the drag strip. Of course, I was the lucky one to run over it, and ruin a tire.