Toyo RA1 failure

At the apex of a left -hander, under full power, my right front suddenly lost all air. Instantly, but I don't think it was a "blow-out" I continued on for a while, as I thought it was a pylon stuck in the front suspension, so I chewed up the outside tire wall pretty good. The tires had one previous 20 lap / 40 mile race on them, and appeared in excellent shape. There seems to be no cuts or damage to the tread part of the tire.

Any thoughts??? Darn tire cost me the class win, had only three laps to go.

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G. Brooke Carter
Wheat Buckley Racing
# 10 Challenge Car
2002 Class Champion
Calgary, Alberta

FWIW, I recently saw a first gen with Toyo RA-1's where the bead came off a rim. Since you have no visible damage to the tire, this may have occured. The cause of it, I am unsure but logic would say that the tire would have to have low pressure to cause a bead unseating.


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Paul D'Angelo
73 ITS CENDIV
Indy Region
www.iridiumracing.com

Valve stem failure?????

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Marc Dana
#63 ITS Mazda Rx-7
#77 STS BMW 325I

Toyo engineer guy looked at the tire today. After a good look, he figures that when the tire was mounted, the mounting machine caught the edge of the bead in one spot, and tore it just a little, enough so that at speed, in a corner, the bead tore about 8", separating from the rim.

Hmmm.

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G. Brooke Carter
Wheat Buckley Racing
# 10 Challenge Car
2002 Class Champion
Calgary, Alberta

That's why I prefer to mount my own tires.

Are you going to go back to the shop and see what they do for you?

I went back to them to re-mount another set last week, and guess what, lap 5 of the two hour enduro, and the same damn thing happened....this time we had a spare in the pit, but lost a few laps changing the tire.

So, I won't be going there anymore...duh!

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G. Brooke Carter
Wheat Buckley Racing
# 10 Challenge Car
2002 Class Champion
Calgary, Alberta

Before you go blaming a shop...Do you have 2 or 3 piece wheels? If so, a compromised wheel seal or wheel half could be the cause of your sudden deflations. The tire holds pressure fine until the rim is loaded and flexes. Pressure loss can be sudden. If you have 1 piece wheels, check for cracks, then blame the shop.

Tachi
#29 ITA SFR

Brooke,

Did you go to the shop just off Blackfoot and Hiefield Rd.?

If so, I've never had a failure such as you have. Is there any sharp edges to the rim that the tire may be forced to go over during the installation?

See you in Edmonton...

One piece wheels, original 13" from Mazda. The guy at the shop has admitted they have had problems in the past.

Allen, I will be going to Kirk's from now on, as they do the original new tire mounting when I get new tires from South Alta. This other garage is next-door to my business, and alto convenient, they are not good at it.

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G. Brooke Carter
Wheat Buckley Racing
# 10 Challenge Car
2002 Class Champion
Calgary, Alberta

[This message has been edited by bcarter (edited July 17, 2003).]

Just got the tire off the rim. On the inside of the wheel, the rubber and material was torn open about 7", so that the metal bead that runs all the way around way exposed. It had to have been cut during the re-mount, then spread during racing...

I looked at the rim, and there is nothing wrong with it at all.

Whew, twice in such a short time...

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G. Brooke Carter
Wheat Buckley Racing
# 10 Challenge Car
2002 Class Champion
Calgary, Alberta