Brutal Boba Fett

Last week I noticed the front driver’s side tire had a slow leak. Over the next few days I kept an eye on the psi and made sure it stayed full. I finally was able to take it to Discount Tire yesterday and after sitting there for 45 min they called me out to the bay to look at the tire. They were refusing to do any service to the tire because there seem to be some cracking on the side walls. When they showed me the tire it was inflated and on the wheel but they said when it was deflated the crack seemed to be pretty deep (I did not see this for myself). I have Riken Raptors (275/40/17) on all four corners that came with the T/A (which I have only owned for about 6 weeks). Looking at the DOT number on the side it looks as if the tires were manufactured June of 2011.

These tires look almost brand new. They still have 90% of the tread remaining and the outside of the tires still have the nipples on the side wall (don’t know if that is relevant, but it makes for a better word picture and I got to use the word “nipple”) . I was hoping to keep them for a while because I had read in other threads that they are a good, medium priced tire for daily drivers. Has anybody else had these issues? Are they safe? Do they need to be replaced? Is someone at Discount Tire just being a **** and trying to separate me from my money? I know that tires can dry rot over time but this seems pretty quick for a tire that is less than two years old. They (Discount Tire worker) were awfully quick to tell me that if I had to replace the tire that they didn’t have any in stock and they told me this before they even looked at the tire. Any words of advice would be a big help. Sorry about the long post but I wanted to put as much info out there as possible. I ran across this thread but I really don’t think it’s the same issue:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/wheels-ti...-tire-age.html

LILWS6

got any pics of said crack? Is it just one or multiple cracks on the tire? If you want to check for your self if you can. You can take the tire off the car and spray some soapy water on the tire its self. It will make bubbles if and where its leaking. Be sure to check around the valve stem itself and the tire bead to wheel as up here in the north we have corrosion problems this is common. TX probably not so much. But i'd say if its just the one cut and with out seeing the depth of it i can't say its "SAFE" but if you can't see the cords inside the tire your usually safe. If the cut was deep enough to show cords then the tire is no longer safe. Other wise you could try taking the car to anouther shop and ask them to look at the tire and you are aware of the crack as long as its not the leak can you fix it for me. Hope that helps some sorry its a little long

JDECO

iTrader: (5)

yea get some pics up so we can see it

Spartan7

iTrader: (7)

Yes, they want your money. I'm sure there is a liability thing involved, but they definitely want to sell you a tire. I took my truck there once to have a flat fixed for free. They did their little inspection of the rest of the tires, and found a chunk missing from one of my rear tires that showed part of the belts. I had no idea it was there, but I had bought it with those tires and been driving it over a year like that. They of course wouldn't fix the flat without selling me a tire. I took it somewhere else.

LILWS6

If the belt showing on the tire being fixed i wouldn't have fixed it either. Its my *** on the line if i fix that tire and 5 miles down the road your tire blows out and ends up hurting someone. It is a liability thing but from the manufacturer if the belts or cords arn't showing in a crack or some kind of damage the tire is safe to drive on.

Brutal Boba Fett

Well, yesterday after work I took the T/A to a different tire shop and didn’t tell them about the crack. I wanted them to see if they could or would find it for themselves. They did. This time I did have them spray the entire side wall with soapy water and with three of us watching and looking for bubbles we didn’t see any air escaping. The slow leak is coming from a nail in the tread. They to advised that I should get a new tire. When I asked them about the build date and how new the tire was they said it could just be a bad tire or the owner that I got the T/A from might have just let it sit for too long without driving it (1 owner before me and the car just hit 80,000 so it may be possible that the T/A spent the majority of the time parked). I work two jobs so I am going to try and get a new tire this weekend. When the old one comes off I will do my best to post some pictures.

Atdc94

I just bought a set of Torque Thrust II's and they came with Riken Raptors on the back the exact same size as yours I believe. They also have dry rotting on the side wall. Maybe it is a common problem with these tires.

Brutal Boba Fett

Do you happen to know the build date on these tires? How old are they?

Spartan7

iTrader: (7)

Belts were showing on a different tire, not the one I wanted patched. And they refused to fix the flat if I didn't replace the bad tire.

Marc 85Z28

iTrader: (8)

Riken tires are cheap junk.

Tires that have dry rotted to the point of deep cracks or shoulder/tread separation are not safe and should be replaced.

You need new tires. DTD sells new tires. They are justified in trying to separate you from your money.

DTD did the right thing. You brought in a cheap tire that not only is dry rotted and falling apart, but it's also punctured. I would refuse to repair it at my shop.

JakeFusion

iTrader: (7)

I bought my TA last year and noticed a couple of weeks ago a crack in the sidewall of one of my rear tires (Fuzion ZRi - not a bad tire). I didn't even think twice. I ordered two new tires for the rear (Nitto NT05 - fantastic tire).

I wouldn't play around with brakes or tires. Trying to save money in those two areas = playing with your life and the lives of others.

rudytirerack

Cracked sidewalls need to be replaced. No way around it. Most tires have a warranty for premature weather cracking. It depends on the purchase date and build date of the tires.

LILWS6

Thats kind of what i thought but they had no right to refuse the repair on a good tire if you didn't replace the bad tire. "That" is snooping for money even tho the tire should be replaced :-p i can't make you tho

Atdc94

I don't buddy. Sorry..

leadfoot4

iTrader: (1)

The manufacture date is stamped into the sidewall of the tire. It starts with the letters "DOT".....

7beast

iTrader: (30)

i would just replace the tire to be on the safe side

Brutal Boba Fett

Yeah, you guys are right and i was tring to be cheap and its just not smart. I have ordered the tire and it should be here either today or tomorrow. I will try to get some pictures of the cracks in the old tire posted when it gets taken off.

Brutal Boba Fett

So after some miss communication with Discount Tire, I have gotten the defective tire replaced. Before they hauled off the bad tire off i got some pictures for anybody who wants to see them (iphone pictures). You may not be able to tell but the cracks are jagged and about a 1/4" deep and they were intermittently around the entire side wall. They were all pretty equally distanced from the shoulder of the tire. The inside of the tire looked perfect and had no issues. And yes that is my fat ham hock of a hand in the pictures...







Thanks to all of you for sharing words of wisdom.

JDECO

iTrader: (5)

yea thats some significant sidewall cracking.

Marc 85Z28

iTrader: (8)

That almost looks like damage from contacting the quarter panel.