My day gone bad

Went out this morning to meet up with (UConn Husky) and a new guy in the "hood" with a Noble (Myslow1). Climbed out of bed and found it raining. Second guessed myself and decided not to go. Called the buddies to cancel, they said the sky was cloudless and a perfect day was emerging. Checked the weather radar and found that a quick shower had passed through my area only. Changed my mind (my car needs a wash anyway) and called the Noble guy. He didn't want to take his car out in the wet so he decided to ride with me to see Jays 355.

Picked him up, drove for 20 minutes at 65 - 70 mph up a local highway (good to excellant asphalt) and heard a noise...louder...louder braked to pull over and felt a wiggle in the steering, mirror was filled with white smoke....Ohhh crap...this can't be good.

Got safely to the shoulder and hopped out to investigate. Driver side rear tire flat. I figure it blows my plans for the day but could much worse. I pop the bonnet to get my "fix a flat". I'm reading the directions and preparing to use this stuff. It says try to find and remove the cause of the flat. I reach under the fender and start feeling my way around. Hmmm...something doesn't feel right....what's missing...The inside tire wall is kaput.

I call the wife and have her load up my stock wheels with (thankfully) the Pirellis on them. She brings them to me along with the appropriate lug bolts, tools, and a floor jack. I mount them up and drive home.

After my heart rate returns to normal I take a closer look at the problem. It seems I picked up a piece of a steel band strap causing the tire to go flat. My relatively slow and comfortable cruise on a smooth road with these extremely low profile tires prevented me from noticing the flat. Some miles later it was all over but the invoicing.

I'm prayng the wheel is not damaged but I'm not sure yet (it looks ok). The Vredestien Tire is no longer in production in that style requiring me to replace all 4. I hate the Pirelli's. I've heard good things about the Michelin Pilot Sport. You guys have any other recommended sneakers for me to consider? Who can speak about the Vredestein Sessanta's.

I have 3 good Vredesteins available if anyone is interested.


Lane
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Vredestein tires are from Holland. www.vredestein.com They fairly recently became available in the US. I'd guess at 8 to 10 years. I believe they started in the 2 wheel tire industry and have blossomed since then. They are imported by Vredestein USA in New Jersey. It remains difficult to find local distributors which would be why your not familiar with them. The dreaded "highline" wheel company in Florida ships their wheels with this rubber exclusively. That's how I got them. I liked them much more than the PZero's. I found them fairly quiet, reasonable sticky, and they warned me (slip and recover) before letting go in a corner. The PZero's were downright scarey. They would let go all at once.

What are you running Chris?

Pap...Thanks for your thoughts...Thank God it wasn't a front one, but then I probably would have felt that go flat.


Anyone know if there is an aftermarket TPMS. Seems prudent after this affair.


Lane

 

Gee thanks craig....such a flattering photo

Here's what I was looking at from my crappy, foggy cell camera.
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I've more or less wittled it down to the Potenza's, Eagles, or Pilots sports. Does any one have experience with any 2, or all 3 of these for comparison purposes. The Michelins seem to garner the most favorable comments but come with a cost premium (about +$100 each). Not terrible in the big picture but "is it worth it?". As stated above, I hate the Pirelli's. Having had to remount them and drive I now remember all the reasons why. They break loose without warnig, they grab every road groove and track terribly. I understand from a fellow chatter (that has the Pilots) that the Michelins grab road grooves also. This absolutely sucks on a non power steering 348 and would be a major consideration. The Vredesteins did not do that at all.

Brock - did you mean to say that you have driven both Michelins and Goodyears and find the Goodyears superior?

As an alternative...how would you guys feel with new Vredestein Sessanta's on the back with Old Vredestein Ultracs on the front. Same tire, dramatically differant tread pattern. It coukl save me alot of cash and I do like the tire. I'm just concerned about 2 tread patterns.

Lane

 

Wanted the Michelins, too much money, settled for Bridgestones, waited 1 month, out of stock, tried Eagle's, pricey and also out of stock....got frustrated and bought Toyo T1R's. I guess we'll see if their any good.