Tire Blowout - Safety Benefit of Tri-Motor vs Dual Motor

[HaulingAss]

You got me thinking, I wonder what is the #1 main cause of a tire blowout....tire pressure? Object in the road?

The number one cause of blowouts is low tire pressure. Old degraded tires and hitting objects in the roadway, often in combination with low pressure, are also causes. A degraded tire could be due to low tread depth due to a lot of miles, uneven tread depth due to misalignment, too old (calendar age), it could have been run at too low of a pressure or overloaded for part of it's life, especially in hot weather or at high speeds, most likely a combination of the above factors.

It's exceedingly rare for a tire to be defective enough in manufacture to blow out, especially without one of the above factors compounding whatever minor defect the tire may have.

From this it should be clear that blowouts are almost always self-induced or, in the case of a used vehicle, caused by the previous owner. To almost guarantee that you will never have a blowout, follow these simple common sense rules:

1) Buy quality tires of suitable size, load, and speed ratings.
2) Keep inflation pressure appropriate for the load and speed at all times.
3) Maintain tire alignment.
4) Replace tires low on tread or with excessive calendar aging, cracking sidewalls, etc.
5) Avoid road hazards.

Following these common sense rules will virtually guarantee you won't have a blowout because defective tires are exceedingly rare these days. Modern tires are so good you could break every rule in the book and you still might not have a blowout. But that just increases the chances dramatically.

Tires need a higher PSI when loads and speeds increase, particularly in hot weather, to limit temperature rise, a primary cause of blowouts, and tire degradation that leads to blowouts. Remember, you will probably temporarily "get away with" running too heavy of a load, at too high of a speed, with too low of a pressure, on a hot day. But you will dramatically age the tire, which could lead to a blowout next year, even if everything is in spec when the blowout occurs.

Treat your tires well, and they will treat you well.

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[CodeSection]

The number one cause of blowouts is low tire pressure. Old degraded tires and hitting objects in the roadway, often in combination with low pressure, are also causes. A degraded tire could be due to low tread depth due to a lot of miles, uneven tread depth due to misalignment, too old (calendar age), it could have been run at too low of a pressure or overloaded for part of it's life, especially in hot weather or at high speeds, most likely a combination of the above factors.

It's exceedingly rare for a tire to be defective enough in manufacture to blow out, especially without one of the above factors compounding whatever minor defect the tire may have.

From this it should be clear that blowouts are almost always self-induced or, in the case of a used vehicle, caused by the previous owner. To almost guarantee that you will never have a blowout, follow these simple common sense rules:

1) Buy quality tires of suitable size, load, and speed ratings.
2) Keep inflation pressure appropriate for the load and speed at all times.
3) Maintain tire alignment.
4) Replace tires low on tread or with excessive calendar aging, cracking sidewalls, etc.
5) Avoid road hazards.

Following these common sense rules will virtually guarantee you won't have a blowout because defective tires are exceedingly rare these days. Modern tires are so good you could break every rule in the book and you still might not have a blowout. But that just increases the chances dramatically.

Tires need a higher PSI when loads and speeds increase, particularly in hot weather, to limit temperature rise, a primary cause of blowouts, and tire degradation that leads to blowouts. Remember, you will probably temporarily "get away with" running too heavy of a load, at too high of a speed, with too low of a pressure, on a hot day. But you will dramatically age the tire, which could lead to a blowout next year, even if everything is in spec when the blowout occurs.

Treat your tires well, and they will treat you well.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write, detailing tire blowouts and tire failure causes! You went way beyond, and I recognize the time you spent writing the above and truly appreciate it!

Now knowing low tire pressure is the number one cause of tire blowout, I will no longer drive with a slow leak from a nail, especially on the highway (see post above regarding a business trip). I will get the tire repaired.

I have always checked my tire pressure every two weeks and before going on a trip or driving between offices. I think I will now start checking weekly.

Again, thank you for the information!

 

[ABILISK]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write, detailing tire blowouts and tire failure causes! You went way beyond, and I recognize the time you spent writing the above and truly appreciate it!

Now knowing low tire pressure is the number one cause of tire blowout, I will no longer drive with a slow leak from a nail, especially on the highway (see post above regarding a business trip). I will get the tire repaired.

I have always checked my tire pressure every two weeks and before going on a trip or driving between offices. I think I will now start checking weekly.

Again, thank you for the information!

Hauling always goes the extra mile. If you see him post, grab some popcorn and buckle up.

 

[65SoYoLO]

I have always checked my tire pressure every two weeks and before going on a trip or driving between offices. I think I will now start checking weekly.

If you had a Cyber truck al you'd have to do is look on the dashboard.

 

[CybertruckWraps]

Honey we definitely need a Beast… it’s much safer

Yea dude did all this just to convince the wife. Not hating. Jealous I didn’t think of this before I ordered. Cheers!

 

[CodeSection]

Yea dude did all this just to convince the wife. Not hating. Jealous I didn’t think of this before I ordered. Cheers!

Old habits are hard to stop. Our Sequoia and EV9 have tire pressure monitors that indicate the tire pressure.

I suppose the question I have is how accurate they are compared to my Milwaukee M18 air pump. It always seems that when all tires, for instance, are set at 42 psi, inevitably, one of the tires will be lower at 41 when looking at the dashboard.

So, which tire pressure measurement is correct?

 

[CodeSection]

Yea dude did all this just to convince the wife. Not hating. Jealous I didn’t think of this before I ordered. Cheers!

Safety first!

 

[Coolhandz]

Interesting post. I was on the autobahn in Germany a while back (decades) in my BMW 325i which was rear wheel drive. I had a front passenger tire blowout at about 120mph. It was a bit scary as I had never experienced a blowout at any speed, but calm nerves and mental training made it no big deal. Simply let off the gas slowly and crept over to the right side until i was out of traffic and could come to a complete stop. Maybe this is all anecdotal, but I think mental reps and even some driver training on a closed course go further than just having more motors or 4 wheel drive. All that being said, just get the beast if stats show it could have an edge over the AWD in this very specific scenario.

 

[CodeSection]

Interesting post. I was on the autobahn in Germany a while back (decades) in my BMW 325i which was rear wheel drive. I had a front passenger tire blowout at about 120mph. It was a bit scary as I had never experienced a blowout at any speed, but calm nerves and mental training made it no big deal. Simply let off the gas slowly and crept over to the right side until i was out of traffic and could come to a complete stop. Maybe this is all anecdotal, but I think mental reps and even some driver training on a closed course go further than just having more motors or 4 wheel drive. All that being said, just get the beast if stats show it could have an edge over the AWD in this very specific scenario.

Thanks for sharing! I was trying to find the stats, but I haven't found anything. I wonder if Tesla has stats and if they are willing to share? I'll try calling them....

 

[HaulingAss]

Old habits are hard to stop. Our Sequoia and EV9 have tire pressure monitors that indicate the tire pressure.

I suppose the question I have is how accurate they are compared to my Milwaukee M18 air pump. It always seems that when all tires, for instance, are set at 42 psi, inevitably, one of the tires will be lower at 41 when looking at the dashboard.

So, which tire pressure measurement is correct?

When you use a tire gauge (either stand alone or the one on your pump) you are using the same gauge for all four tires. When using the TPMS, you are using a different gauge for each tire, each one with it's own accuracy differences. Some will probably read slightly high, some slightly low. It's more important for the tires to be inflated to the same pressure than it is for them to be at exactly one pressure.

Tesla TPMS sensors seem to be pretty accurate in general, although they will deviate a bit from sensor to sensor. Tire inflators usually measure the pressure "on the fly" (while pumping) so they have to guess how much back-pressure there is. They are the least accurate way to inflate your tires, even if they might be pretty consistent from tire to tire (assuming the tire valves are all identical and the air chuck is fully inserted on each valve stem). A stand alone pressure gauge is the most accurate, although cheap ones can have large variations.

The bottom line is that variations in TPMS sensors are the likely cause of the differences you noted, although you would need to use a stand-alone pressure gauge to eliminate the possibility that different back-pressures when using your Milwaukee inflator are causing the variances. I like to get both tires on the same differential to within less than 1 psi difference to prevent the half-shafts from turning at different speeds and causing the differential to have to work, even on a straight road.

 

[CodeSection]

When you use a tire gauge (either stand alone or the one on your pump) you are using the same gauge for all four tires. When using the TPMS, you are using a different gauge for each tire, each one with it's own accuracy differences. Some will probably read slightly high, some slightly low. It's more important for the tires to be inflated to the same pressure than it is for them to be at exactly one pressure.

Tesla TPMS sensors seem to be pretty accurate in general, although they will deviate a bit from sensor to sensor. Tire inflators usually measure the pressure "on the fly" (while pumping) so they have to guess how much back-pressure there is. They are the least accurate way to inflate your tires, even if they might be pretty consistent from tire to tire (assuming the tire valves are all identical and the air chuck is fully inserted on each valve stem). A stand alone pressure gauge is the most accurate, although cheap ones can have large variations.

The bottom line is that variations in TPMS sensors are the likely cause of the differences you noted, although you would need to use a stand-alone pressure gauge to eliminate the possibility that different back-pressures when using your Milwaukee inflator are causing the variances. I like to get both tires on the same differential to within less than 1 psi difference to prevent the half-shafts from turning at different speeds and causing the differential to have to work, even on a straight road.

Thank you for another detailed explanation! I'm learning a lot!

 

[bg002h]

Like you, with decades of driving experience, I have never had a tire blowout. Now, with increased highway driving between AZ and CO, I am concerned about the possibility.

Thus, if there is an edge, like having a tri-motor, to help control the vehicle when there is a tire blowout, I am inclined to buy it just for that safety edge. I know that may not make sense to many, but I would hate to have experienced a blowout that caused a rollover or crash that resulted in an injury or death, and then later live with the fact that I could have spent a little more money to protect better against such an incident.

Thanks for sharing!

I presume beast mode has lower power efficiency (more watts per mile)…so it sounds like a tradeoff.

 

[CodeSection]

I presume beast mode has lower power efficiency (more watts per mile)…so it sounds like a tradeoff.

Yes, I believe you are correct. If there is a measurable safety benefit, I am willing to accept the lower efficiency of the CB tri-motors as compared to the CT dual motor.

I'm still trying to get data from Tesla.....

I see you are in AZ. How has the heat affected your CB glass? Did you tint your windows, and if you did, is there a concern about the roof glass shattering that I read about? Something about the tinting causing it to shatter......

I ask because it gets to 118 degrees on various days at our home in AZ. Even in the garage, it gets to 108 degrees. While I will be installing a HVAC Mini-split in the garage to mitigate the heat issue, I am still concerned about the heat in July/August when I may be in AZ rather than in CO.

Thoughts?

Thanks for posting!

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