Inner Tyre Wall Cracking - MOT Failure
Discussion
Car: Fiesta ST 2016
Mileage: 32k
I had my car fail its MOT today on the grounds that the inner tyre wall had cracks exceeding the safe limits. There was a full video walk around of the tyres from the Ford tech so I've no query on the extent of the damage it looked awful. Some of the cracks were very long. The damage had occured on both front tyres. The inner and outer edges of the tyres were worn. The main tread was consistent across the middle of the tyres at 4mm on both fronts.
tbh I'm embarrassed my tyres were in that bad a state, and also concerned that I was driving around on such bad rubber without noticing. I did give the car a cursory once over before it went in and the outside wall and tread depth were sound (confirmed by the MOT test at over 4mm on both front tyres, 5mm on rears). The tyres have probably only had around 10-15k miles on them so perhaps I was complacent on my checks.
New fronts have now been fitted. Nexen tyres. I've no idea if these are any good but I wasn't going to drive away on what I had on there so went with it. At £90/tyre I'd hope they aren't complete s
te but I will replace them if they are. A wheel alignment was carried out. I have the read outs but don't know how to interpret it so any advice would be appreciated. I assume misalignment may have been part of the issue.
My question is this. What could have caused this? My driving? Potholes? The wheel misalignment? The previous tyres were Falken.
A side issue was pitting on the rear discs. This was an advisory as there's still plenty of disc and pad left. I'm going to take them off and have a proper inspection at the weekend so any advice on this issue and at what point I should be looking to replace the discs would also be appreciated.
TIA
Mileage: 32k
I had my car fail its MOT today on the grounds that the inner tyre wall had cracks exceeding the safe limits. There was a full video walk around of the tyres from the Ford tech so I've no query on the extent of the damage it looked awful. Some of the cracks were very long. The damage had occured on both front tyres. The inner and outer edges of the tyres were worn. The main tread was consistent across the middle of the tyres at 4mm on both fronts.
tbh I'm embarrassed my tyres were in that bad a state, and also concerned that I was driving around on such bad rubber without noticing. I did give the car a cursory once over before it went in and the outside wall and tread depth were sound (confirmed by the MOT test at over 4mm on both front tyres, 5mm on rears). The tyres have probably only had around 10-15k miles on them so perhaps I was complacent on my checks.
New fronts have now been fitted. Nexen tyres. I've no idea if these are any good but I wasn't going to drive away on what I had on there so went with it. At £90/tyre I'd hope they aren't complete s
te but I will replace them if they are. A wheel alignment was carried out. I have the read outs but don't know how to interpret it so any advice would be appreciated. I assume misalignment may have been part of the issue.My question is this. What could have caused this? My driving? Potholes? The wheel misalignment? The previous tyres were Falken.
A side issue was pitting on the rear discs. This was an advisory as there's still plenty of disc and pad left. I'm going to take them off and have a proper inspection at the weekend so any advice on this issue and at what point I should be looking to replace the discs would also be appreciated.
TIA
AlphaDelta said:
My question is this. What could have caused this? My driving? Potholes? The wheel misalignment? The previous tyres were Falken.
A side issue was pitting on the rear discs. This was an advisory as there's still plenty of disc and pad left. I'm going to take them off and have a proper inspection at the weekend so any advice on this issue and at what point I should be looking to replace the discs would also be appreciated.
TIA
The likely cause is age, Falken are only a mid-range/budget tyre so may not last as well as better makes.A side issue was pitting on the rear discs. This was an advisory as there's still plenty of disc and pad left. I'm going to take them off and have a proper inspection at the weekend so any advice on this issue and at what point I should be looking to replace the discs would also be appreciated.
TIA
Have a good look & take pics/post here if you need further advice.
Monkeylegend said:
Are lower profile tyres more susceptible to cracking due to less give in the sidewall maybe?
Not really. Modern stuff crack on the sides, edges of tread blocks inside the grooves...they just seem to crack a lot for some reason.When in say modern...seems more apparent last 10 years or so.
Evoluzione said:
According to that video storing tyres near to electric motors makes them more susceptible to cracking. Herald a new era of cracked tyres as we move over to electric cars 
stevieturbo said:
Monkeylegend said:
Are lower profile tyres more susceptible to cracking due to less give in the sidewall maybe?
Not really. Modern stuff crack on the sides, edges of tread blocks inside the grooves...they just seem to crack a lot for some reason.When in say modern...seems more apparent last 10 years or so.
Monkeylegend said:
I suppose it is in the control of tyre manufacturers to build life into a tyre or otherwise. They probably don't want to make tyres that don't degrade over time.
But some are cracking after only a few months. Really, the rule makers dreamt up some bullst about noise, alleged wet grip, efficiency.....but none about quality and longevity.AlphaDelta said:
Car: Fiesta ST 2016
Mileage: 32k
I had my car fail its MOT today on the grounds that the inner tyre wall had cracks exceeding the safe limits. There was a full video walk around of the tyres from the Ford tech so I've no query on the extent of the damage it looked awful. Some of the cracks were very long. The damage had occured on both front tyres. The inner and outer edges of the tyres were worn. The main tread was consistent across the middle of the tyres at 4mm on both fronts.
tbh I'm embarrassed my tyres were in that bad a state, and also concerned that I was driving around on such bad rubber without noticing. I did give the car a cursory once over before it went in and the outside wall and tread depth were sound (confirmed by the MOT test at over 4mm on both front tyres, 5mm on rears). The tyres have probably only had around 10-15k miles on them so perhaps I was complacent on my checks.
New fronts have now been fitted. Nexen tyres. I've no idea if these are any good but I wasn't going to drive away on what I had on there so went with it. At £90/tyre I'd hope they aren't complete ste but I will replace them if they are. A wheel alignment was carried out. I have the read outs but don't know how to interpret it so any advice would be appreciated. I assume misalignment may have been part of the issue.
My question is this. What could have caused this? My driving? Potholes? The wheel misalignment? The previous tyres were Falken.
A side issue was pitting on the rear discs. This was an advisory as there's still plenty of disc and pad left. I'm going to take them off and have a proper inspection at the weekend so any advice on this issue and at what point I should be looking to replace the discs would also be appreciated.
TIA
Probably just bad luck, do you park direct sunlight often and park with your wheels angled as such?Mileage: 32k
I had my car fail its MOT today on the grounds that the inner tyre wall had cracks exceeding the safe limits. There was a full video walk around of the tyres from the Ford tech so I've no query on the extent of the damage it looked awful. Some of the cracks were very long. The damage had occured on both front tyres. The inner and outer edges of the tyres were worn. The main tread was consistent across the middle of the tyres at 4mm on both fronts.
tbh I'm embarrassed my tyres were in that bad a state, and also concerned that I was driving around on such bad rubber without noticing. I did give the car a cursory once over before it went in and the outside wall and tread depth were sound (confirmed by the MOT test at over 4mm on both front tyres, 5mm on rears). The tyres have probably only had around 10-15k miles on them so perhaps I was complacent on my checks.
New fronts have now been fitted. Nexen tyres. I've no idea if these are any good but I wasn't going to drive away on what I had on there so went with it. At £90/tyre I'd hope they aren't complete s
te but I will replace them if they are. A wheel alignment was carried out. I have the read outs but don't know how to interpret it so any advice would be appreciated. I assume misalignment may have been part of the issue.My question is this. What could have caused this? My driving? Potholes? The wheel misalignment? The previous tyres were Falken.
A side issue was pitting on the rear discs. This was an advisory as there's still plenty of disc and pad left. I'm going to take them off and have a proper inspection at the weekend so any advice on this issue and at what point I should be looking to replace the discs would also be appreciated.
TIA
205/40/17 is the tyre size for the Fiesta ST (from Google)
Tyre prices are here - https://www.camskill.co.uk/m54b0s13p0/Car_Tyres_-_...
While prices can vary a little bit I would not be paying more than a couple of quid than the price you can get them from Camskill.
(I always order my tyres from camskill)
Fitting should be no more than £15 per tyre when the shop is supplying the tyre. Some charge a bit more when you supply a tyre, which I can understand as they're not making money on the tyre.
The Nexen Tyre in that size listed is Nexen NFera SU1, maybe there is another but not one I can see from a quick search.
These retail for £52.
Even rounding up to £55 to account for any shipping costs you have substantially overpaid if you paid £90 per tyre.
I have no personal experience of this tyre but it doesn't seem to be good from reviews online.
https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/2020-Teknikens...
It came last in every measured grip test compared to other tyres.
And the tyre also weight the most by a substantial margin meaning unsprung weight increase.
It was also the 2nd to last "least comfortable" tyre.
Summary of the tyre , quoting directly : "With the exception of economy, the complete absence of positive aspects - you expect more from the tyre of this brand. The longest braking distance on dry and wet surfaces, poor wet handling, low comfort."
I'm rather afraid you have been charged substantially more than you should have been for an awful tyre.
(another tyre thread in a couple of days, yay
)Monkeylegend said:
Evoluzione said:
According to that video storing tyres near to electric motors makes them more susceptible to cracking. Herald a new era of cracked tyres as we move over to electric cars Just changed 2017 rear tyres off one of our cars because of cracking, and looking at the lads car yesterday noticed cracks starting on the rears...again 2017 age tyres on that.
So it looks like that's about it. If they are out in all weathers, you get 3-4 years if you use them or not.
So it looks like that's about it. If they are out in all weathers, you get 3-4 years if you use them or not.
E-bmw said:
Chris32345 said:
£90 for nexens 
what size tyres are on the car as that sounds expensive for a mid range brand tyre that is budget at best
FTFY what size tyres are on the car as that sounds expensive for a 
Thank you for all your replies. It seems you've confirmed what I had suspected, that I've been fleeced for the tyres 
I did think it was steep but didn't want to drive away with the damaged tyres and they didn't have much else on offer. I'll just have to take the hit and move on I think. I certainly won't be going back for any other work/service.
Regarding where it's parked the car is parked in a garage in a block and over the last year has only been out once or twice a week, usually in the evening so it hasn't had much sun in the last year.
I tried screen grabbing the tyre cracks but the footage is pretty grainy. I'll post photos of the discs at the weekend once I've got the wheels off.
I did think it was steep but didn't want to drive away with the damaged tyres and they didn't have much else on offer. I'll just have to take the hit and move on I think. I certainly won't be going back for any other work/service.
Regarding where it's parked the car is parked in a garage in a block and over the last year has only been out once or twice a week, usually in the evening so it hasn't had much sun in the last year.
I tried screen grabbing the tyre cracks but the footage is pretty grainy. I'll post photos of the discs at the weekend once I've got the wheels off.
Twig62 said:
E-bmw said:
Chris32345 said:
£90 for nexens what size tyres are on the car as that sounds expensive for a mid range brand tyre that is budget at best
FTFY what size tyres are on the car as that sounds expensive for a 
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