Are some tyres more susceptible to picking up punctures?

[JeS10]

So in my 17 years of driving I’ve picked up a handful of punctures in different cars. Maybe five or six. Since changing tyre (Kumho Ecsta PS91) I’ve picked up two punctures in four weeks. Screws straight down the middle of the tread.

Bit pointless even wondering about it really, but it did get me thinking - are some tyres just more susceptible to punctures? Or is this either bad luck or a neighbour with an axe to grind?

[Speed addicted]

Suppose sportier tyres may have thinner carcasses to minimise weight, plus a stickier compound may be more likely to pick up detritus from the road with the fronts that then punctures the rears.

It might just be bad luck, or a builder dropping screws from their van on your commute.

[CraigyMc]

I'd suggest sportier tyres tend to be heavier built for more load.

I suspect a lot of tyre damage is caused by driving into potholes as that's where screws and stuff tend to collect.

[grudas]

Probably luck more than anything. All the tyres would have been done by a screw or a nail.

[Gad-Westy]

I notice that I only ever seem to get punctures when I’m doing some sort of project on the house and therefore going to the tip or builder’s merchants a lot. Nearly always on n/s. Always screws or nails.

[David87]

I suppose big, wide tyres are more likely to pick up a puncture just because there's more tyre to drive over the sharp stuff.

[mikey_b]

I find new tyres are always more susceptible. Because sod's law.

[spoodler]

The answer is pretty obvious, if you think about it. Drive over a screw with a chunky, old Landrover tread pattern and the screw will either pass through a big gap between the knobblies, or stick into a big, thick piece of rubber without ever entering into the air space in the tyre. At the opposite end of the scale, try the same with a soft rubber slick, any debris will go through the tyre and cause a puncture. I know the range of general use road tyres isn't that extreme, but you probably get the point. Add in different weights/thicknesses due to budget or premium brands etc... I've picked up many a screw or similar on my vans and trucks, and removed them, with no air leaks - budget tyres, but chunky tread and commercial rated build.
That said, the biggest deciding factor for picking up a puncture will be where you drive and what you drive over...

[Lefty]

Interesting question. I had a mk v golf r32 from new and on the oem standard Dunlops had 5 or 6 punctures in the first year and a half (nadgetty highland roads, crumbling edges, wicked potholes and cracks). Switched to a set of yoko winters and Goodyear eagles and never had another puncture in the following 2 years.

Could just be luck though I’ve never bought dunlops since.

[Bobupndown]

Went for years without punctures then both my wife and I had a spate of them over a few months, screws / nails in the treads. Road tyres on her car, chunky AT tyres on my Landrover. It got to the stage where she was thinking it was being done deliberately. I think it was just bad luck. Haven't had any in a while....says he tempting fate.

[Pica-Pica]

I have had two punctures recently, one last week (July 2023) the other last November 2022. Both in Goodyear EfficientGrips. Annoying. Both on kerbside (recent front, previous rear), both screws, it always seems to be screws, they are easier to get trapped in, I guess. I imagine kerbside is where most loose screws end up. How to avoid? Maybe it is the tread pattern, and also the places visited. Probably recycling centres, where people dump half torn-apart kitchen cabinets etc., where loose screws fall out from.

[Smint]

I had Nokian summer tyres at one time and had several punctures from that set.