[bulahee]

hi all, today's my first lesson on what's like when one of my passenger-rear tires blew up on the freeway. While travelling eastbound on I-80, all the sudden I heard a large pop and I knew my tire blew. But what's worse was that I realized my tire inflator was left at home! Finally, I decided to call my friend to pick me up 30 miles away and we inflatted the spare tire at the nearest gas station. Fortunately I was home another 45 minutes later, travelling at 50mph. After I took the wheel off, I noticed that the tire was struck on the side, and there's a 3" wide hole. I probably just got lucky and hit the tire at the right angle with something on the road. Now I need new tires, but I have the following questions:

1) By any chance, can my tire be replaced under warranty of the tire manufacturer? I only have 15000 miles on them.
2) If I have to pay out of pocket, should I replace just the two rear tires or I should replace all 4 of them for our AWD system?

Thanks!

 

[4xMotionTDI]

...
1) By any chance, can my tire be replaced under warranty of the tire manufacturer? I only have 15000 miles on them.
2) If I have to pay out of pocket, should I replace just the two rear tires or I should replace all 4 of them for our AWD system?

I doubt the manufacturer would cover road hazard - if that's what happened. If the tire failed due to manufacturer defect, I think you might get something.

Assuming you can get the same make/model of tire, I'd guess the key factor for deciding whether or not to replace all your tires is the relative difference in circumference between the new and old tires. The mileage is important as an indicator of wear - but not the only one.

 

[bulahee]

Thanks for the reply. I'll go measure my remaining tire tread, but I wonder what's the adverse effect if I were to replace just that one single Dunlop and keep the other good old ones. It seems to be quite wasteful to throw away the rest. Or perhaps any other ideas? Thanks again!

 

[Jimbuffalo]

It seems to be quite wasteful to throw away the rest.

Unless another is ready to blow.....

I recently replaced my OEM Pirellis ...I could have run them up through November, probably...one was worn worse than the other three...but I just bit the bullet and did it.

What did I lose in the bargain? Arguably another 3-4,000 miles...

What did I gain? New rubber is sure nice...no noise, mitigated risk for the upcoming Princess #1 off-to-college road trip....the car feels like new.

I am a big believer in tires and tire maintenance...rotate every 5k....keep an eye on them.

If the others three are looking "tired", ditch 'em for a new set...especially if the ride is pretty new. My 2 cents

 

[bulahee]

Well the other 3 tires look pretty good, with good amount of tread left (can probably get another 10k out of them if not blown). So I decided to order 2 Michelin Latitude All season 255/60/17 rated V and keep that Dunlop good one as a spare in case. What I dislike about this arrangement is that I won't be able to tell definitely how good the new rubbers are.

 

[gaijin]

Well the other 3 tires look pretty good, with good amount of tread left (can probably get another 10k out of them if not blown). So I decided to order 2 Michelin Latitude All season 255/60/17 rated V and keep that Dunlop good one as a spare in case. What I dislike about this arrangement is that I won't be able to tell definitely how good the new rubbers are.

This is not a wise choice.

Mixing tire sizes/types on the Touareg is not healthy for the drivetrain.

Your Dunlops could be as much as 0.4" larger in diameter than the Michelins. According to data at Tire Rack, the Dunlops have a diameter of 29.5" (746 revs/mile) while the Michelins have a diameter of 29.1" (712 revs/mile).

Further, the Dunlops are H-rated and the Michelins are V-rated.

Mix and mismatch on the Touareg = bad juju =;

Assuming you mount the Michelins on one axle (front or rear) and the Dunlops on the other axle, your center differential will be under constant strain because of the different tire diameters.

Just because tires are the same metric size designation, does not mean they are the same actual, physical size.

From the manual:

"All four wheels must be fitted with radial tires of the same type, size (rolling circumference) and the same tread pattern. Driving with different tires reduces vehicle handling and can lead to a loss of control."

I would strongly advise replacing your two remaining Dunlops with two more new Michelins.

HTH

 

[bulahee]

Thanks for the info. That was what I was asking in my first thread. But perhaps I can just replace that one single Dunlop?? Though the wearing is different between the new and old....

 

[gaijin]

Thanks for the info. That was what I was asking in my first thread. But perhaps I can just replace that one single Dunlop?? Though the wearing is different between the new and old....

I think you are better off doing that than putting on the Michelins.

Of course, the safest course (and most expensive) is to replace all 4 tires.

 

[bulahee]

You're right. I should replace all 4 of them. I read some 4x4 site that unless my other 3 tires still have 70% or more tread left, I should replace all 4 of them when only 1 or 2 have gone bad. This is indeed very expansive on this type of cars. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[bulahee]

Just replace all 4 of my tires with Michelins. My 1st impression is the definite improvement in terms of its stopping/corning behavior. At red light, the car stops very gently. Same softness with corning. The ride is softer and the noise level is probably lower than the old Dunlops. Overall, I'm quite satisfied.

 

[Jimbuffalo]

Now y'er talkin'!

safe travels