[pnut]

I hit a huge pothole this weekend that sounded like a shotgun blast. It ruptured the sidewall on the front passenger side. That sucks, but it was my own fault and understandable. I got a new tire (stock Eagle F1) mounted on Monday - not a huge deal. Then a few miles away from home today, Tuesday, a small block of wood fell from a flatbed in front of me on the freeway. I moved out of the way as quickly as I could but it got under the rear passenger tire with a little bump . . . and then the TPMS alarm goes off. Sure enough its ANOTHER SIDEWALL RUPTURE!

Sure, either one of these events on its own are perfectly capable of producing a rupture and its probably pure coincidence that they happened FOUR DAYS apart. But this will be the second tire I've had to replace with less than 3500 miles on the car and I can't help but think that its not entirely my fault. I've had two flats my entire life before this week. Does anyone else think the Eagle F1's rupture easily? Luckily my warranty should cover most of the cost again, but I was planning on replacing the stock wheels eventually and I may just get a TireRack wheel/tire combo now with some different rubber. Thinking about trying some Super Sports or P Zeros for close to the same price as the Eagle F1's. Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[androidtopp]

This is why my ST won't see downtown Chicago anytime soon. Regardless of whether these tires really are that fragile, those streets are *murder*. If the tires are gonna pop - that'll do the job.

I can't say I've ever had tires as sticky as the F1s...but I have always had good luck with Continentals on my SVT. Reasonable tread life, and they hang on pretty well, although, granted, the SVT has nowhere near the power.

 

[agr964]

In both cases you've mentioned, most passenger vehicle tires would have likely have suffered the same sidewall damage. Although low profile tires are a bit more vulnerable to potholes than their higher aspect ratio cousins.

 

[Cowlynz]

WOW, both those are nailbitters. Either would burst any tire, under those conditions. Always check for Rim damage after something like that. The rim can get bent, or distorted; out-of-round. Did you get that flatbed's plate #?

I would hardly say theese F1's are a bad or weak link.
I know that The pirreli's are not good in the rain. Hydro-planes a lot. Continentals are an equal tire to the F1.

You may want to check if your dealer offers a wheel protection plan, Covers pot-hole damage, and other unforseen happenings.

 

[blackbird]

Yep, unfortunately sounds like crummy luck. At least from the sound of it you didn't have any wheel damage. The last car I lost a tire due to impact sidewall damage I also had to replace a wheel because it bent the inside, non-supported edge ('04 SVT Focus). The stiff sidewall needed for a max performance tire so the car doesn't lean and flex in corners and the short sidewall doesn't help compared to something like a 70-series truck tire but even a softer all-season tire in the stock size likely wouldn't have faired better.