THE FABIA CLUB

nipunkul · Newbie Joined: 05 Jul 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Bangalore

Mods please move as appropriate:

Recently, I was on an out of town trip and going at around 80kph on SH, heard a periodic screech. My first thought was puncture, but when I took my hands off the steering, there was no deviation, it was stable as ever.

So, confused, I drove on another couple of kms getting slower, before I decided to stop and look. The front left was flat, and the noise was heard only after the tyre was totally flat, since in the ensuing few kms after it, it had ground the sidewall, making tyre unusable.

Now since the steering feedback did not change and the first sign of puncture (the noise), only occurred after loosing all pressure, I am worried if this happens again. At highway speeds even if I stop immediately on loosing pressure, the tyre will always get some damage. Is there any other way to detect this early?
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Invinsible · Newbie Joined: 05 Jun 2009 Posts: 31

The same think happened with my front left tyre which went in a pot hole.. no I would say a manhole during rains, tyre had a major cut of about 3 inches. But, my car did pull a bit on right after that. At times you may not feel it due to hydraulic power steering that the Fabia comes with.

How many kms have you done on the tyres? The stock tyres "Matador Elite"
are not that good once you have crossed 35000kms.

My car has done 40000kms on it by now however 2 of my tyres were replaced at 13,000kms under warranty as they had formed some air bubbles. So, I guess those 2 tyres running in front still has some life left on it.
However it is advisable to change them after 35000kms. Noticed that they do tend to get noisy and starts giving harsh ride once crossed this mark.

Next time you will the tyre has gone flat, leave the steering to notice if it gets pulled either side. If not best to stop the car and check incase of any doubts.

nipunkul · Newbie Joined: 05 Jul 2009 Posts: 8 Location: Bangalore

Mine are at just 10K kms. No other tyre damage apparent on the other 4 yet. I guess being ever more alert when on ghats/bad roads is the only option.
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Driven by Fabia!