Had a blowout......

[ChrisUK]

Hey guys,

Coming down the motorway after work in the outside lane, and I have a tyre blowout.....

Not as bad as I expected, I didn't even know about it, my car just felt a bit bumpy, looked in my rear view mirror to see plumes of black smoke........

Pulled on the hard shoulder to this:

Sidewall has totally blown !!!

They were the original tyres, 27k on them, not at minimum tread either. Not sure if my front & rear struts helped stabilise the car, or whether I was just lucky......

Took me the best part of 20 mins to get the cover off the damn nuts - found a piece of metal on the hard shoulder which aided me - note to every Leon owner - carry a small flat head screwdriver in your boot !!

Got the g@y 50mph wheel on at the minute, just booked in for Sat morning to get another fitted

 

[ChrisUK]

ps - good news is that the jack point cover went back on 1st go.........

 

[DIFT]

Nice Picture!!!

Nice to hear the Leon behaved itself running on 3 tyres at motorway speeds!

 

[ChrisUK]

The split went like that 3/4 of the way around..........

 

[matt_s]

note to every Leon owner - carry a small flat head screwdriver in your boot !!

Is the one in the end of the spanner too big?

Looks like the tyre was going down and overheated, happened to a mate.

 

[Neg.]

ohhh lovely! i remember having a blow-out in my 106 at close to a ton! Actually handled well suprisingly. Glad to hear you came out unscathed!

 

[ChrisUK]

Is the one in the end of the spanner too big?

Spanner? I haven't got a spanner !!



- Cheers Neg

 

[swissrebel]

Any damage to the alloys?

 

[ChrisUK]

Not that I can see, suppose I'll know more when the tyre comes off, but nothing springs out !

 

[Nathanio]

Wow thats pretty serious! Bet your glad she pulled up0 nicely!

Was it busy when it happened?

 

[matt_s]

Spanner? I haven't got a spanner !!

Sorry, should have said wheel brace. Pull the plastic cap off the end and it's a screwdriver.

 

[Mike Green]

That really was a good blow out! had one in my old escort (yes it was many years ago!!) scary but I was able to drift from outside lane on hard shoulder. tyre was not as bad as that pic above though.

I think my speaker blowing was more frightening. All i heard was a massive bang and smoke everywhere!

 

[edc]

With a blowout like that I would be asking some serious questions of the tyre manufacturer ...

 

[jay cupra r]

how quick was you going at the time?

 

[Mike Green]

Don't think you can ask too much from tyre manufacturer if lasted £27k miles!! Either I drive way too hard (probably do!) but that is a lot of miles before replacing any of them.

 

[edc]

Look at that tyre, it looks like a serious failure. There is little evidence of side wall wear or deterioration and the visible tread looks in good condition. 27k or not, I've seen my old man's mk1 Golf last 10+ years on original tyres before needing replacing - and not from a failure like that. If something has punctured the tyre then it must have been a tought old bit of stuff!

 

[Mike Green]

Yeah I see what you mean. Still is a long mileage count on a performance car. Actually my last car was a golf mk 3 and those tyres lasted me pretty well, but I never hammered.

I think he must have smacked into something and not telling us.....

 

[RobM]

Blimey, sorry to hear this Chris. Glad you're OK though, as blowouts at motorway speeds can be pretty nasty!

 

[BCM]

Took me the best part of 20 mins to get the cover off the damn nuts - found a piece of metal on the hard shoulder which aided me - note to every Leon owner - carry a small flat head screwdriver in your boot !!

You not got a toolkit in your boot, LCR comes with a spanner, screwdriver (double ended), locking wheel nut key and wheel brace, not to mention a full size 18" spare!

Sorry if this seems like a brag kinda thing, its not, just my mk4 gti had all that minus the alloy spare - full size just steel, just thot all vag cars had it, infact, my little polo mk4 even had a tool kit too!

 

[ChrisUK]

Cheers guys

Was it busy when it happened?

Few cars about, i leave work at 4, so it's before rush hour hits.

Sorry, should have said wheel brace. Pull the plastic cap off the end and it's a screwdriver.

I'll have a look at that - cheers mate

how quick was you going at the time?

Outside lane of motorway speeds..........

Don't think you can ask too much from tyre manufacturer if lasted £27k miles!! Either I drive way too hard (probably do!) but that is a lot of miles before replacing any of them.

I only replaced the fronts at 25k (shortly after getting my 2nd BAS remap lol) - the rears have plenty of tread left on them (well above legal limits). I was waiting til both the rears wore down to minimum before I replaced both !

I think he must have smacked into something and not telling us.....

Yea yea lol - I was traveling on the outside lane of the motorway !! Like I said above as well - I didnt even know I had a blowout, I thought it was the road surface...........Doh !
I only knew when looking in the rear view mirror and my tyre was smokin !! No loss of traction that was noticeable (which is rather weird really)

Blimey, sorry to hear this Chris. Glad you're OK though, as blowouts at motorway speeds can be pretty nasty!

Cheers mate - I know what you mean, seen a few nasties myself. 1 up for the Leon I think !!


I'll get some more pics posted up in a bit - working from home today as I have that g@y little 50mph wheel on at the minute. Can only get the tyre I want fitted on Sat (to match the fronts - really good tyre, gone up though since I got my fronts).