Im spending a small fortune on tires... help me out here...

[Presns3]

So... i keep getting bubbles!!!

I have 19x8.5, and im running 215/35/19s. A mild-moderate stretch
Stretch seen here:


Im currently running Hankook V4 ES, after about 5k miles, I brought my car in to get my tires rotated.
After taking off the wheels, we realized my front passenger side tire was bubbled up the ass on the inside, and my rear passenger tire has bubbles too.

This is driving me crazy, I keep having to swap out perfectly good tires because of bubbles.
The outside tread is still like 80%, while the inside is maybe 10% (Hence the rotation)

So, whats causing this, i have 2 theories...

1) Tire inflation: I inflate my tires usually to about 42-45 PSI (Max PSI is 50), I do this because before when I inflated it to 35PSI, I would get flats randomly, and it seemed to go away after I upped it to 45.
So maybe having the tires inflated so high, when i hit bumps/potholes, the tire has no room to compress, and the air rips through the sidewall, causing bubbles...
But when I have the tires inflated to just 35, the front tires almost look flat/low on air, due to the extra weight from the engine.
Maybe i should try 40PSI?

2) Alignment: After i slammed my car, i havent gotten an alignment. So my front wheels are cambered in, and my rear wheels as well. This is very obvious as I ate through my last set of tires (Falken 452) in less than 10k miles. The insides of the tires were worn to the belts, while the outsides still had like 50%+ tread.
So possibly, the high camber front and back, puts extra pressure on the inner sidewall, and when I hit potholes or bumps, all the force is absorbed by the inside sidewall and not as much by the outside, causing the inside sidewall strength to be compromised.
But this doesnt explain how other people can run crazy stretches with crazy camber and not have these problems.
But either way I plan on getting this fixed soon, and get an alignment.


So what do you guys think, valid theories? Maybe its a combo of both?
Similar things happened to my last set of falkens too.
Opinions??

Sorry for the long ass post, but i cant be buyin new tires every 5k miles!

[abest521]

tl/dr

jk id say it probably has to do alignment. get one with the setup you want to run and then see what happens.

[slideonKais]

its the bumps/potholes. added pressure on the inner sidewall wouldnt cause that.

it happens when theres a sudden impact with nothing to absorb the force. since youre running such large wheels with such a small sidewall, it basically pinches the sidewall when you hit anything moderately sized and causes a weakspot in the sidewall, which would bubble.

of course, its always good to get an alignment. that just isnt the reason for the bubbling.

[Dubmd]

i have a bubble too

[hotdoghogie]

Brainstorming...

well air gets more dense as heat accumulates... you tires being at 45 psi cold could easily gain enough psi to pass the dne pressure.

More pressure will put more stress on the inside tire wall making it more susceptible to bubbling. Especially with such a low profile tire, you'd be suprised how much shock the tires absorb. Also an alignment can cause this, with tire pressure as high as it is, a bad alignment will generate more friction with the tire and the surface you are bearing on, in return building up more heat then usual which will cause your tire pressure to escalate.

Another point is with nagative camber, you now have less rubber to absorb harsh impacts, this is going to cause the inner side of the tire to try and make up for it, when it runs out of tire, like slideonkais* stated, it is very likley that your inner side wall is actually getting pinched in between the rim and the pavement, dirt, hobos, what ever you happen to be driving on.

I would run no more the 40 psi and no less the 35 psi... if you are experienceing random flat spots in your tires, I'd recommed trying a new tire.

hope this helps.

[slideonKais]

dude im telling you. its impact. thats it. excessive pressure on the innersidewall from the PSI setting and camber setp STILL is consistent. it wouldnt cause a sudden bubble on the sidewall. its all from a sudden impact that the tire cant absorb properly.

[Presns3]

how do the VIP guys do it, they run huge wheels, low profile tires, crazy camber...
do they just go through tires like crazy?

[nateee]

get a alignment and stop hitting potholes. toe is killing the tires, not so much the camber
and 35psi is normal....45 is pretty high

[slideonKais]

camber DOES kill tires. toe does it more, but they chop too, not just wear down faster.

VIP people either dont drive very often, dont live in areas with bad pavement, or (like myself) know where all the bad areas are and avoid them at all cost.

the air pressure and alignment have nothing to do with the bubbling of the sidewall.

what kind of camber are you running?

[Presns3]

oo i might have some toe in the rear...

[slideonKais]

v____v

[Presns3]

so you think it'll be better after i get my alignment and correct toe in?

[loxxrider]

fuck bubbles

[Tuck&Poke]

i don't think those are impact bubbles, i think its heat. I'd definitely get your toe fixed

[geoffafa]

I posted a similar thread a while back, i think i came to the conclusion that it was impact, since i put two brand new tires on the front of my car before i drove to maryland, then on teh way back driving thru the horrid streets of VA i suddenly felt the car start shaking and to my sarcastic surprise i had to new bubbles in the side walls, and this was with camber pretty corrected and so was the toe. Now, my rear has about -4 camber and -.31 on the toe, wayy the hell off, and it caused my inner tread to chop up making a very loud sound. I have control arms for the front that i need to install and align, and then after that ill let you know if i keep blowing tires or not.