Tyre Crack/cuts On Inner Sidewall - What Could Be The Cause?

[KiwiRS4T]

I can't get past the "only 15,000km on them" - I have chewed out tyres in 15,000km. I think you would be hard put to say they were not fit for purpose having done 15,000km.

[V28VX37]

Well if there's enough tread left for another 15,000 kms but sidewalls start cracking, are they fit for purpose? Should tyres last for more than 18 months in normal use? I guess we'll never find out.

These Goodyears are fairly hard compound and people normally get a lot of km's out of a set.

[MrStabby]

I can't get past the "only 15,000km on them" - I have chewed out tyres in 15,000km. I think you would be hard put to say they were not fit for purpose having done 15,000km.

Wear on the tread is fine, cracks/tears in the sidewall are a different thing entirely.

[niZmO_Man]

Don't buy those tyres lol. Plenty of other tyres on the market.

32 psi won't do that damage so that's a load of shit. if you had 10psi then yeah it's plausible then.

I had a flat (twice) on one tyre, drove around for a few (10) km, pumped them up, kept driving. Bigger sidewall than yours but no damage, they were cheap Nankangs as well.

[sucram]

If it was 25psi or under, yes under inflated but 32psi is BS. I would go to the manufacture and provide a copy of the invoice.

For example if you were using them on the track, and wanted 38 psi hot temps, you would be starting at around 32 psi cold depending on track, track temps, speed/driving style.

[niZmO_Man]

32 psi is for driving around town soaking up bumps . Pump that shit up to 38-40 psi.

[Missileman]

For my daily I always check the depth of tread on the outside of the tyre compared to middle, then adjust the pressure until the wear is even, and then every 6 months rotate the fronts to the rears. If the middle has less tread depth than the outside, the tyre is over inflated. If the outside has less, the tyre is under inflated. If one edge is wearing down more than the other edge then you have an alignment/ camber issue.

[sucram]

32 psi is for driving around town soaking up bumps . Pump that shit up to 38-40 psi.

I used to run 36 all round, dropped to 33 in the front, couldn't stand the noise from cracks in the roads on the direzza Z1's. I must be getting old...

Edited September 18, 2014 by sucram

[niZmO_Man]

I stopped driving my GT-R for that reason haha. Shame I have to run my Pulsar's crappy tyres at 40psi.

[GTR-N1]

Interesting. So my warranty claim was denied due to the 'low pressure' and 'non-standard camber', I wonder if I could refer this issue to anybody else? Manufacturer? I obviously don't have the damaged tyres anymore so it's getting a bit complicated..

Sorry for locating this thread belatedly.

When I had 2 cracked 3 yr old Nankangs on a Prelude some years ago, I rang around to find out what company was the Aussie distributor of Nankangs. So Blaire Tyres kept one offending tyre and placed a submission on my behalf. Within a week Nankang replaced the whole set despite 40% wear on the existing ones.

A Goodyear distributor with clout could have been your best friend, and lots of goodwill could be had. The distributor would have lost nothing except a bit of time. That's all!

[V28VX37]

Sorry for locating this thread belatedly.

When I had 2 cracked 3 yr old Nankangs on a Prelude some years ago, I rang around to find out what company was the Aussie distributor of Nankangs. So Blaire Tyres kept one offending tyre and placed a submission on my behalf. Within a week Nankang replaced the whole set despite 40% wear on the existing ones.

A Goodyear distributor with clout could have been your best friend, and lots of goodwill could be had. The distributor would have lost nothing except a bit of time. That's all!

Thanks heaps Terry. I haven't been able to get distributor's details from the vendor but perhaps I could try Goodyear directly. Might give them a call.

[V28VX37]

Thread revival – I was just under the car then and I think I can see a couple of cracks appearing again on the inner sidewall of the front left tyre. WTH?!

They are small and only visible in the bottom part where the tyre is bulging under the weight of the car. However if the previous set is anything to go by, there will be more cracks soon

These tyres have been religiously run at 38 PSI for about 15 months and just 12,000 kms, and rotated a couple of times. Not daily driven and only occasional spirited driving. They are 3213 manufacture and made in Germany.

I don't get it. Could it be something mechanical after all?

[V28VX37]

...then again, I was doing some more research and found all these:

• 2006: http://www.scoobynet.com/wheels-tyres-and-brakes-13/518065-goodyear-eagle-f1-gsd3s.html
• 2010: http://www.lancerregister.com/showthread.php?t=347325
• 2011: http://www.carforums.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31314
• 2011: http://www.vwgticlub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10027
• 2015: http://vwclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=116811

Each has photos of various Goodyear F1's cracked in a very similar fashion to mine. I just can't believe I would have two faulty sets in a row.

Design flaw? Thoughts?

[Dose Pipe Sutututu]

with all those bad reviews and posts why persist in buying those tyres? For the money and reduced stress level I personally would get either Nitto INVO or Bridgestone Potenza RE003

[MrStabby]

The consumer law is strong - push hard and use it. Expect to be bullshitted and pushed back against. Get all your monies back. Boycott Goodyear when buying tyres. Get on with your life.

[Hadouken]

Yep. I just recently got federal to replace 2 tyres.

[V28VX37]

Quick update on this, I just received a set of replacement tyres (Kumho KU36's) from the retailer and the second set of Goodyears is being returned to them for inspection.

Just in case anyone lands here googling for Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 2 inner sidewall cracking, here's the notes that sent back to the retailer:

Here's some quick notes on the Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 2's I ran for when you discuss this with your distributor:

• First set was mounted in Jan 2013 and removed in Aug 2014. These were on the car for 15,000 kms, run at 32psi. At this point they had developed cracks on 3-4 of the tyres on the inner sidewall.
• Second set (3213 manufacture) was mounted in Aug 2014 and removed in March 2016. These were on the car for 14,800 kms, run precisely at 38psi as per your recommendation. I found several cracks on one of the tyres back in December 2015, again on the inner sidewall.
• The car has always had a solid alignment settings and there wasn't excessive camber wear on either set. Also both sets of tyres had recent manufacture dates so that shouldn't be the issue.

My best guess is that it's a manufacturing flaw e.g. faulty compound that results in inner sidewall failure under certain circumstances. As mentioned before, there are photos of various Goodyear F1's cracked in a very similar fashion to mine on several forums:

• http://vwclub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?f=94&t=116811
• http://www.vwgticlub.co.za/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10027
• http://www.carforums.co.za/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31314
• http://www.lancerregister.com/showthread.php?t=347325

I never got any refund for the first set and had to fight real hard for the second one despite the identical symptoms ... I can assure you that I won't be buying Goodyears again anytime soon.