Blown tires!

[tkundhi]

Upgrading the suspension will not solve the problem. Your experience on the E90 is coincidental. More sidewall is what you need. I'm a bit surprised to hear to flattened two tire and have yet to bend a rim. It is more common to have bent rims from rough roads. Are you sure you had proper tire pressure? More sidewall will definitely help. I would not replace suspension components unless your mechanic feels yours is worn out. It is easy to identify worn suspension parts. Look for leaks, cracks and any play in the bushings.

t.

[az3579]

Hi Tony,
I have been driving my ZHP on stock 18" wheels for 4+ years now. I've been through my share of tires, but have finally settled on the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3. The minor performance sacrifice is worth the stiffer sidewall and longer tire life--especially in New England. No need for 17s during the summer. If you are driving during the winter, you'll definitely need a set of 17" wheels though. I run Vredestein snow tires during the winter and love them (Tire Rack stocks them).

Good luck!

Whoa, look who made an appearance!

Upgrading the suspension will not solve the problem. Your experience on the E90 is coincidental. More sidewall is what you need. I'm a bit surprised to hear to flattened two tire and have yet to bend a rim. It is more common to have bent rims from rough roads. Are you sure you had proper tire pressure? More sidewall will definitely help. I would not replace suspension components unless your mechanic feels yours is worn out. It is easy to identify worn suspension parts. Look for leaks, cracks and any play in the bushings.

t.

I totally agree.
Our roads suck horribly here as well but I've yet to destroy a tire due to the roads. You just have to be more careful when driving on terrible roads. I tend to go slower on roads that I know are atrocious. The slower you go, the less of an impact it will be on your car. I know, it's really hard, but it's a fact of life that we must face as drivers of performance vehicles in the Northeast.

[tonyportnof]

Excellent info, thanks!

Ah, I went to page 2 and saw the rest of the comments...so, here's the rest of the story: I had just checked the tire pressure (32 front, 38 rear) and I'm a fairly conservative driver, but 1A in Revere is something like Calcutta (no offense to all my friends from the subcontinent!) and I never even saw the hole this time.

Game plan as of now: take the rims to a good wheel shop to get them checked/repaired off-season (I put the 17' winter wheels on a little early, yesterday) and let my ace mechanic in Salem look over the suspension (the car has 80+ K on it, so it could be due) and if we agree that it's time, I think I'll go with the stock replacement as per sna77. tkhundi, any tire suggestions that might add some sidewall strength?

[tkundhi]

Tony, IMO front tire pressures are too low. 36 to 38 would be recommended. More pressure will help to a point. You don't want to ride on just the center of the tread so don't go wild and put in 40 psi. Also keep in mind that temp changes effect pressure. If you set the pressure in the summer and it is now 40-50 degree colder the pressure will be down. Also this time of year it is not unusually for some parts of the country to have swings of 30 degrees from mid day to evening or early morning to mid day. In such conditions 32 psi at high temp could be mid to high 20s during the coldest times. That is way too low. If your area is prone to such swings it may be wise to use nitrogen instead of regular air.

t.

[az3579]

Tony, IMO front tire pressures are too low. 36 to 38 would be recommended. More pressure will help to a point. You don't want to ride on just the center of the tread so don't go wild and put in 40 psi. Also keep in mind that temp changes effect pressure. If you set the pressure in the summer and it is now 40-50 degree colder the pressure will be down. Also this time of year it is not unusually for some parts of the country to have swings of 30 degrees from mid day to evening or early morning to mid day. In such conditions 32 psi at high temp could be mid to high 20s during the coldest times. That is way too low. If your area is prone to such swings it may be wise to use nitrogen instead of regular air.

t.

The unusual thing is, the factory pressures listed on my door jamb are 39 front and 46 rear(no, these are no max figures). 46 rear seems like way too much, but the factory front pressures could potentially be something to try.

[pfr]

The unusual thing is, the factory pressures listed on my door jamb are 39 front and 46 rear(no, these are no max figures)... ''

The yellow sticker on my car that has these numbers also says "over 100 mph only"

[az3579]

The yellow sticker on my car that has these numbers also says "over 100 mph only"

Mine doesn't say that.

I wonder why on earth we have sooooo many different tire pressure stickers for the same model car with the same performance package. lol

[tonyportnof]

Tony, IMO front tire pressures are too low. 36 to 38 would be recommended. More pressure will help to a point. You don't want to ride on just the center of the tread so don't go wild and put in 40 psi. Also keep in mind that temp changes effect pressure. If you set the pressure in the summer and it is now 40-50 degree colder the pressure will be down. Also this time of year it is not unusually for some parts of the country to have swings of 30 degrees from mid day to evening or early morning to mid day. In such conditions 32 psi at high temp could be mid to high 20s during the coldest times. That is way too low. If your area is prone to such swings it may be wise to use nitrogen instead of regular air.

t.

What would be a good choice for stiffer sidewalls?

T

[sna77]

All season tires have stiffer tires than summer tires (as do run-flats, which have extremely stiff sidewalls)... That's why I suggest the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3.

For summer tires, generally Contis have soft sidewalls, Bridgestones have stiff ones, and Michelins are pretty sift too.

[az3579]

For summer tires, generally Contis have soft sidewalls, Bridgestones have stiff ones, and Michelins are pretty sift too.

This must be why I wasn't able to bend or crack my BBS wheels this summer. I drove over some nasty stuff, with only Bridgestone S04 245/35 tires.