Michelin LT failure
Well, I never expected to be writing this but I had a blowout on my second set of Michelin 16” LT load range E tires. They were only a year old. We were on our way back to Houston Tx a week ago fr...
Forum Discussion
SeniorGNC wrote:
........Basically, the only thing left intact was the beads. There was no tread remaining at all.......
I am sure Tireman9 will back me up on this, but when all that is left are the beads, the first suspect is a puncture that resulted in running the tire flat. This is because the casing is only capable of handling a certain amount of load without the reinforcement the inflation pressure adds. If run flat, the casing breaks up at the point where the tread transitions to the sidewall. The tread detaches as a single piece (in the form of a hoop) and what is left are the beads.
Alternatively, if the puncture is more of a cut (and it helps to visualize this as a large cut) the cut will let out all the air, but the damaged belt area will break apart and you will still eventually get only the beads. This appears to be what Tireman9's photo shows. The key is does the part of the tread still available for inspection show any signs of separation. If not, then it is very likely that some sort of road hazard took place.
