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Well, I have now had my 2nd pothole clip in 33 years of driving! A couple of weeks ago I was caught off guard while changing lanes and did by best to miss the 12" wide pothole and was able to just 'clip' it with a pretty good "bang" on the passenger front. Watched for my TPMS to light off or feel a funny wobble and didn't get either...whew! When I got home I did a quick looksee in the dark and didn't spot anything...whew #2. Last Wednesday one of my co-workers and I were talking in the parking lot and he starts to stare at my passenger front...uh, oh. What I found is pictured below... Ok, how is that damn thing holding air and how did I miss it the week before! I am guessing the low light combined with it facing downward when I parked and am sticking with that Looks like the inner sidewall of the RF tire design is holding up and keeping air in, so I am avoiding tossing my spare tire on.
So, looking into getting a replacement pair of the OEM Pirelli RF's I was greeted with the wonderful price of $230/tire...are you KIDDING me! OEM tires are usually a bit more than replacements, but I am not use to double aftermarket equivalents. I have 15K on my vehicle and am showing just over 1/2 depth left. I really don't want a new pair to go with a 1/2 worn pair, especially since I have an HPDE scheduled for my MINI in June. I was hoping to put these all season Pirelli's through a good torture test at the track day and change them out at the start of the next winter season. I have decided to jump over to another all season tire, but non run-flat and a whole set of (4) to keep things even all around. Should get them mounted up tomorrow, they came in to my local Discount Tire shop today.
With that said, I will have (3) reasonable good Pirelli Cinturato P7 All Season Run Flat tires in the 225/45VR17 variety available to anyone local who may want them as a backup. As noted above, they have 15K miles on them and between 5/32 & 6/32" tread left. I will post up additional info in the market forum once I get them off and back home to ensure they are actually still good. I would ask for local pickup and can meet somewhere reasonable close to the NW suburbs. Will ask $50 each or $125 for all (3). PM me if interested.
Here's a great resource if your next pot hole dings the wheel or knocks it out of round. I've used them twice and they do a fine job. http://www.awrswheelrepair.com/
Dude! Who have you pissed off lately? Looks like someone stabbed your tire to me.
Smart move to go ahead and replace all four. Hope you have better luck with the new set.
Dude! Who have you pissed off lately? Looks like someone stabbed your tire to me.
Smart move to go ahead and replace all four. Hope you have better luck with the new set.
It does look like a knife wound doesn't it! The inner RF layer saved the day with that tire for sure, but that tires is now on its way to becoming a recycled resource, as I got the new BFG's on this afternoon...
So far, car still runs true without any pulling. Will do a quick camber check when I can feel my fingers outside, still 30 deg F and hella windy today. If something shows off, I will certainly get into the alignment shop.
I am surprised the rim didn't take any damage, but my last pothole sniper in my former Legacy actually put (2) sidewall splits in the Conti DWS's I was running and not even a mark on the rim. Sometimes I wonder if it would almost be better to hit the pothole dead center rather than clipping it on an edge. That way both sidewalls would take the load rather than a single.
So far with ~20 miles on them they ride pretty comparable to the OEM Pirelli's. Bumps are maybe a bit softer, but only fractionally so. I think these BFG's have a pretty stiff sidewall, so not much change there. I did notice that the tires have a bit of a 'bong' sound when you hit a pavement crack as compared to the deadened 'thud' of the RF's. That is definitely a product of the different sidewall construction. There is also a low level 'hum' to the tires which is expected when looking at the tread pattern, nothing annoying just an observation. As I get some miles on these I will see if anything crops up, but for now I am happy with my choice.
I did notice that the tires have a bit of a 'bong' sound when you hit a pavement crack as compared to the deadened 'thud' of the RF's. That is definitely a product of the different sidewall construction. There is also a low level 'hum' to the tires which is expected when looking at the tread pattern, nothing annoying just an observation.
I had a pretty bad run-in with a pot hole myself recently. The inner layer of the RF still held up but I was not willing to test it as I had several bridges/tunnels to cross between Brooklyn and NJ. I had Roadside service flat-bed me to Mini of Manhattan and they quoted me at a similar $230/tire, but ended up only charging $200 (replaced both front as the passenger side also had a bump in the sidewall).
These tires only had 11K miles on them and I registered the tires with Pirelli when I picked up the vehicle, so I dropped the two tires with an authorized dealer near me to see if there's any chance this would be covered under their warranty. It's a long shot, but worth a try. Anyone ever use the Pirelli warranty?
So far with ~20 miles on them they ride pretty comparable to the OEM Pirelli's. Bumps are maybe a bit softer, but only fractionally so. I think these BFG's have a pretty stiff sidewall, so not much change there. I did notice that the tires have a bit of a 'bong' sound when you hit a pavement crack as compared to the deadened 'thud' of the RF's. That is definitely a product of the different sidewall construction. There is also a low level 'hum' to the tires which is expected when looking at the tread pattern, nothing annoying just an observation. As I get some miles on these I will see if anything crops up, but for now I am happy with my choice.
Looks like Comp2 A/S. I run the same tire - and love it. I don't notice any hum in mine.
These tires only had 11K miles on them and I registered the tires with Pirelli when I picked up the vehicle, so I dropped the two tires with an authorized dealer near me to see if there's any chance this would be covered under their warranty. It's a long shot, but worth a try. Anyone ever use the Pirelli warranty?
How is this still holding air??
That is 10x worse than my sidewall breech, holy smokes!! I agree with your assessment and wonder if you received anything from Pirelli on the warranty side?
Looks like Comp2 A/S. I run the same tire - and love it. I don't notice any hum in mine.
Yep Comp2 A/S, they are a great tire! After a few hundred miles they wore off the edges a bit and became quiet. Only time they make 'noise' per se is under cornering load, but not much anything in a straight line. They survived an HPDE with only losing their outer corners a bit .
Ok, how is that damn thing holding air and how did I miss it the week before! I am guessing the low light combined with it facing downward when I parked and am sticking with that 
Looks like the inner sidewall of the RF tire design is holding up and keeping air in, so I am avoiding tossing my spare tire on.
I run the same tire - and love it. 
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