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[JazStar740]

About three weeks ago I had to replace the rear tires on my car.

In November or December I purchased the new rear wheels for my car on sale and was waiting for the fronts to go on sale in order to buy them. Well since I was planning to put new wheels and tires on my car, I purchased the new tires for the rear, but set them in my garage to go with the new wheels, and took some old $400 each tires (practically brand new) that were in my garage taken off my 740iL back in 2008 and had them mounted on my current wheels on the car. The normal tire place that I use refused to mount the tires on my wheels since they were old, although they had over 95% of tread still on them. So I took it to another shop with questionable ethics and had the tires mounted and balanced to get use of those tires that had been sitting in storage for so long. This past Sunday I drove up to Huntsville to see my mom for mothers day. About 60 miles away from Huntsville, I stopped to get some gas, when I jumped back on I-65, I felt a tire snap and the car had a small shake as if one of the tires were out of balance. I continued my journey to my moms, but once I got there I inspected all my tires for a bubble, nothing. Drove it to the store, more shaking as if the tires were unbalanced, checked the tires over again and nothing. Later that night as I started my journey home I stopped and did a triple check of all the tires looking for a bubble in one, checked all the lugs to see if they were secure but nothing was out of place. So I made the long journey home with the car shaking and me frustrated. So mad that I got home and immediately purchased the front wheels and tires and decided to leave the car in the garage until I got the new tires and wheels and installed them. Today I took the rear tires and wheels to get them mounted and balanced. After I got home to and pulled the rear tires off to mount the new wheels/tires I noticed that the drivers side tire had split completely apart on the inside and the entire outside of the tire was bubbled, which explains why I could not see a bubble.

The tire was held together by the grace of God for my entire trip to Huntsville and back. Things could have went really BAD in addition to the fact that we do not have spare tires.

Long story short, I thought I was saving a few bucks, but I really could have cost myself a lot had it not been for the grace of God. If your tires are old, get rid of them, find some other use for them, but DO NOT put them on your car/bike...... New tires on the horizon for the 740iL when I decide to put it back on the road......

[VMRWheels]

Glad to hear that you're okay! Did you happen to snap some photos of the damaged tire? I'm curious to see how it looked.

[AllBlackBimmer]

Pics lease.

Another caution with used tires is how "old" they are. Date is stamped on the outside part of the tire by the tire size and speed rating. Tires that are 6+ years old should be replaced... Even if they still have tread... I have read that many places.

It sucks because tires are expensive.... But safety first.

Glad you or no one was hurt and you didn't have an incident... Which is lucky considering how you explained the tire damage, which seems pretty bad.

[techwhiz]

Tires have a shelf life. Newer tires have a shelf life of 8-10 years.
Older tires 6 or so.

The rubber oxidizes and degrades.

[tc535i]

You learned your lesson at a very low cost, considering recent events

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar...eport-20140325

"Investigators also determined that a pair of 9-year-old tires contributed to the crash, not a mechanical failure. There was no evidence of any car system failures, such as the brakes, according to the report."

[JazStar740]

Originally Posted by VMRWheels

Glad to hear that you're okay! Did you happen to snap some photos of the damaged tire? I'm curious to see how it looked.

Not yet, I think it will be hard to see in a picture, but I will give it a try tomorrow.

Originally Posted by AllBlackBimmer

Pics lease.

Another caution with used tires is how "old" they are. Date is stamped on the outside part of the tire by the tire size and speed rating. Tires that are 6+ years old should be replaced... Even if they still have tread... I have read that many places.

It sucks because tires are expensive.... But safety first.

Glad you or no one was hurt and you didn't have an incident... Which is lucky considering how you explained the tire damage, which seems pretty bad.

Was aware of the date code on the side just never expected it to be an issue. I thought it was just a scam to get people to buy new tires every few years whether they drive the car or not, now I see and understand. Never again. I was about to buy new tires for my 740iL, but I guess that will have to wait till I decide to put it back on the road.

Originally Posted by tc535i

You learned your lesson at a very low cost, considering recent events

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/mar...eport-20140325

"Investigators also determined that a pair of 9-year-old tires contributed to the crash, not a mechanical failure. There was no evidence of any car system failures, such as the brakes, according to the report."

Interesting..... The tires I put back on my car were purchased in 2005 also. They were brought right before I shipped my car from Germany and the car was driven from the port in Dallas to San Antonio and taken off the car and stored since then...

Like I say lesson learned... Never again

[XM_Rocks]

Originally Posted by JazStar740

The tire was held together by the grace of God

.....

grace of God.