Hey Guys!!,

I hope some person can help me out. My 08 Coupe is a summer driver, never the winter(I live in Niagara Falls, Canada). I don't put a lot of miles on the car. I've had it for three years and have put just under 30,000 kms (18,600 miles) on it.

I've done a bunch of mods to it,a few are - lowered on Eibach springs, put a set of 4 - 20" Vossen rims on, and a set of Kumho Ecsta SPT tires.

Front: 235 / 30ZR20 88Y and Rear: 255 / 35ZR20 97YXL

The front tires appeared to fit properly but the rear tires were stretched a bit. Apparently Kumho sent the wrong size tires for the rear and when called they said that they don't have any tire that would fit better than what they sent. The tires were balanced and I had an alignment done as well.

For the first two years I had no problems whatsoever with the tires or rims. I occasionally would drive the car a bit spirited, in and out of corners, etc. About 2-3 weeks ago I noticed a slight vibration coming from the passenger side front tire and also a small one from under the driver side. It got slightly more strong and I could feel it badly in the shaking steering wheel and even in my ***, dfrom the seat.

I took it to a tire store and they took the two front tires off and were totally shocked and amazed. Both the rubber inside side walls of both tires and dents in them. And these dents were fairly close to each other and went around the whole inside of the tire!!! They said it looked like there was contact but with as many dents as there was it didn't make sense. They strongly advised that I not drive the car with the tires like this. I came home and parked it in the garage.

I'm baffled though as I have no idea of what happened to these front tires!!!

Any help or insight into this problem would be greatly appreciated. Can someone tell me what the hell happened here!!

Help Please!!!

Thanks Guys!!!

Nick

 

Do you have any pics that you can post of the sidewalls? Sounds like the sidewalls have failed. I've seen sidewalls that are as you described, but this is usually caused by riding on a very low inflated tire and the sidewall rolls to the point where it will be permanently damaged. FWIW those tires are quite mismatched, 1.5" diameter difference front to back, and those very narrow sidewalls in the front vs. the proper rear sidewall isn't ideal. What wheel width & offsets are your Vossens BTW? If the tires are on the proper width wheel and have been properly inflated on a correctly aligned vehicle, you may have a warranty claim w/ Kumho. Check the date codes on your tires too, always good to know how old your tires really are.

 

Thank you so much for replying!! I will get them off and get some good pics for you and any others that may have some insight into what may be wrong with these tires. Hopefully there'll be some answers after you see pictures.

Thank you again my friend!

Nick

 

where do I find the wheel widths and the offsets of my Vossen rims by the way. I just don't remember what the specs are. I was doing a lot of modding at the time so I had stuff going through my head left and right and I just don't remember the specs.

Nick

 

Should be a sticker or an actual casting on the inner barrel or spokes, as an example, a 20x10 +45 offset can be listed as +45 or ET45. And the diameter/widths will be listed in inches

 

Hey Blnewt!,

You seem to know a lot about wheels and tires and I appreciate your help and insight greatly!!!.

I have a question-

I want to get you the pictures of the inner tires and the info about my Vossens but before that I need to get my car up. I want to know if my 08 G Coupe will be safe and stable on 4 (2-3) ton jack stands so I can take all 4 tires off to take pics and get you the info.

Thanks my Friend

Nick

 

I'm not blnewt but I can answer your question: yes.

 

Well thanks a lot for your help!! That was very nice of you to help with the info. that I needed.

Thanks again!!

Keep an eye on this strip or whatever it's called. I'm gonna get the wheels off and get some pictures and specs. of the wheels and tires. Maybe you'll be able to help me with the help I need after I get the tires off.

Nick

 

I suspect you never really checked the air pressure in your tires.You probably drove it on low pressure or SOMEONE else drove your car.

Since you have not put too many miles on it - was it out in the sun parked for too long?
It's been 2 years so I think it's about time to get a new pair of tires and listen to BLNEWT.. he knows what hes talking about and will definitely advise a resolution and you might need to get some different size tires?

 

Ya I think it's time to get a new set of tires. I'll give blnewt my rim sizes and he can give me the best tire sizes to get and the appropriate poundages to run the tires at. His input is necessary especially when you hit corners at high speeds. That's a lot of pressure on the front outer tire. I definitely need his knowledge about tires and wheels to help my setup.

 

Dang, Brad. You are a tire GOD.

 

I'm guessing your wheel specs are 20x9 front and 20x10.5 rear, which is a typical staggered setup for the G. With that setup you would want to run 245/35/20 in front and 275/30 or 285/30 in the rear for the best fit and performance.


Like blnewt said, your front tire was extremely skinny and your rear tires were stretched. With the new sizes you should be much better off.

 

No, but I DID stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night

 

You guy's are right!!!

Front is 9.0 x 20 and
Back is 10.5 x 20

so the sizes you gave me make more sense than the ones that Tire Rack put on. They said that was the only size they could get and they were already installed when I went back for them. Now I will be in a position to order the tires and see them before I have them installed.

It'll be a better experience all around thanks to all the help and insight from you guys.

Thanks guys! I woulda been screwed without all of you!

Nick

 

Okay Guys... I know tire choices are about preference a lot of time but I would like some input.

I've got it down to two tire choices,

Hankook Ventus V12 Evo2, or,
Yokohama S.Drive

any preference on those two tires? any input would be a help.

Thanks.