I recently questioned the idea that the Goodyear RSA's have a widespread problem with cracking or splitting, saying it probably had something to do with danage to the tire or underinflation, etc. Well, I may owe the forum an apology ... I looked closely at my own tires a minute ago and I now see what you're talking about.

I've attached a pic of one of my sidewalls. I've oversharpened the pic just a hair to make the split more visible. It is in the hatched area of the sidewall, and it runs in a radial direction (same as the direction of rotation). You have to look closely to find these spits, but it may be worthwhile to check your tires in bright light to see if yours is doing the same.



Looks like Goodyear and I will be having a meeting today ...

Mike

 

Gosh!!, it looks like a cut from a sharp object......

Mike, i have seen your other posts and you have mentioned that you run with 30 or 28 PSI which is below than the recommended. Do you think it can be related? Just a thought!!!

 

Mike, those are what some of my splits look like too. Some were even worse and I had them on all 4 tires. The worst of them actually showed the cording underneath when the split was in the 6 o'clock position.

I'm sure you read my post about them, make sure you have the Good Year rep call Good Year for you to get the best price, don't let them just throw the tread guage number into the computer and give you a cost.

The difference in price because my guy called was crazy. If he went by the tread guage pro rate the tires would have cost me $640 (150 for the fronts and 160 for the backs) compared to the $303 installed I paid to get all four tires replaced with 27k miles on the set.

 

Yeah, I just got back from my Goodyear store. The guy there knew nothing about the issue, and he looked on the Goodyear website to see if there were any "news" stories about the RSA (which he said there weren't). He is calling the rep to see what to do and will get back to me later today.

I've already mentioned to him that Goodyear is doing more than just pro-rating on treadwear, and that I think they should just flat replace them at no cost if they're defective. They won't go that far, I know, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

Mike

 

No, it's not a cut. And it's the same on at least two of my tires (I stopped looking after I saw two like this). It's a hairline split. My Goodyear dealer used to work for Nissan (!), and he said maybe they put load on some of the tires before they had time to cure completely, but that was just a wild guess.

Interesting you mention tire pressure ... the Goodyear guy just asked me what pressure I run. I told him 30psi cold, and he recommended I go to 28psi. He says these low-profiles will absorb shocks (like potholes, hard bumps, etc.) better with a little less pressure, and 28 is what they recommend to their customers!

Mike

 

It seems that everone with split tires has something in common. They live in the southern US?

Low tire pressure and high ambient temperatures caused havoc with the tires on Ford Explorers a few years back. I'm not laying blame or making accusations here...just an observation.

Being paranoid I checked my tires today while I was washing the beast. They're all good. Thanks for posting the pic Mike. Now I know what I'm looking for.

CM

 

Those look very scary. Shouldn't you guys be sending complaints to the NHTSA? Some poor fool with these tires that don't frequent these boards may not be so lucky.

 

Well, Max, I still don't know what's really happening here. Goodyear has been making tires for, what, a hundred years? And there have been a relative handful of people with this showing up that we know of. I wouldn't want to sick the beaurocrats on Goodyear at this stage, only to find out it was something Nissan's people did. Or that it is an isolated thing.

If Goodyear takes care of it properly, I'm okay with it. An informational note to DOT or NHTSA might be in order, but I think it's too soon to be filing complaints.

Just my take on it.

Mike

 

Well, so far so good. The Goodyear dealer just called. Said the rep told him to warrant the tires (all that are split). Said they would have to pro-rate for the wear on the tires (which is fair ... I've used them for 20,000 miles).

Another tire dealer measured my tread the other day and said I have between 7 and 8/32 tread remaining. If that holds, the tire dealer said I'd probably have to pay maybe 40 or 50 bucks for each tire replaced. The list price at Goodyear is $275 each, so he's just eyeballing a price based on the tread I have left, but if he's anywhere near the right number, I should come out okay. I mean, 4 tires (assuming they're all split) for $200 or so? I think that would work.

This tells me this is something Goodyear is definitely aware of and is willing to deal with us on it. Assuming the issue has been dealt with and won't happen again, I'm a happy camper.

The tires won't be in until Friday, so I won't know more until then. I'll let you know what happens. IN the meantime, you might want to go out and examine your 245/45/18 Goodyear Eagle RSA's verrrry carefully. If you find any splits on the sidewalls, go have a talk with your Goodyear dealer. And as Yanger has said, insist they call the rep, since many tire dealers don't seem to know about this yet.

Thanks, Yanger!

Mike

 

Hi Mike I was just wondering what was your driving habits? Did you push these tires or were you easy on your baby?

 

Well ... I don't know how to answer that. My wife would say I'm a menace to mankind, since I drive pretty fast and I'm impatient in traffic. I also get up to the speed limit (or actually a little over it) as fast as reasonably possible after a stop. My motto is "Heck, I go faster that that when I'm not in a hurry!".

But I do not squall the tires, and I don't try to go into 4-wheel drifts at every offramp. I'm conscious of the things that scrub tread off my tires and since I have to buy them, I don't want to erase tham any faster than necessary.

Does that answer your question? If not, the fact that I have over 7/32 of tread leaft after 20,000 miles (and the tires start with only 10/32) should tell you something. I'm fast but smooth.

Mike

 

I see none of the tell-tale signs of this tire having been run underinflated, or having been sharply curbed in the area of the split. Also, there is no way this could have been caused by a sharp object, either intentionally or otherwise, as there is an offset in the split on several stria (the narrow sidewall ribs radiating from the axle). The tread area, as well as the part of the sidewall adjacent to the tread, both look to be in excellent shape for a tire with 20K miles.

I am not aware of any extended 'curing' period needed for low-profile (or any other) tires. I'm sure the tires were made by Goodyear and then shipped (probably by rail) to Smyrna. That should be a week (or several) of 'curing' right there.

If this crack appears only on one area a foot or so long on any given tire, there might possibly be something to the 'load/curing' thing. But I would be surprised. Why does this not happen with other brand tires? Or even other tires by Goodyear?

In my opinion, this is the result of either a design flaw or a manufacturing defect. Or a combination of both. It appears too low on the sidewall to be associated with the edge of the belts that circle the tire along the tread. I can't think of any structural entity that would be in this particular area of the tire. It is, however, right about the thinnest part of the sidewall. I would love to have this tire off the wheel and examine the inside closely.

I have never seen exactly this defect before. But then I have only been 'tiring' it for fifty-some years (I'm still not fully adjusted to tires without inner tubes).

Not parroting the old Michael Jordan phrase of 'be like Mike', but I totally agree with Mike that all SE drivers should look closely at their tires (both sidewalls) in good light.

 

Mike TX - I told you brother. I'm just glad that you inspected them and are OK. I am pretty pissed that this is becoming a fairly common thing with the RSA's. I have checked a few other tire forums and there are usually alot of threads that have this same problem with the RSA's. Be CAREFUL out there guys. I will never buy another Goodyear, they seem overpriced anyway - especially for V rated tires...

 

Hey Mike, glad it worked out for you bro!

 

Thanks Mike yes that anwsered my question. But push= bend the tires on curves. If you do the results of your pics with cracks are unexceptable for these high perfomance tires. The abrasive wear on the edge of your tire is unexceptable if you dont bend this tires. I will always be looking to my tires for such cracks. Thanks again for your great post. Just to add one thing I never like these tires! even in the snow here in nyc.

 

Latest report - It's Saturday and the tires just came in (the dealer had to order them from the warehouse). They inspected all the tires and found only two with splits. They had decided not to go to the Goodyear head office with it, but just to prorate the treadwear and replace them under warranty. In addition, since the tires are all from the same batch, they agreed to replace the other two under the same deal.

I told them I really preferred that they go to Goodyear, since they are aware of the problem and are apparently making special concessions for owners. They tried to call someone in authority at Goodyear, but being Saturday, they couldn't get any additonal discount authorization today.

So, I had all four tires replaced. The bottom line price, with new valve stems, balance and mounting, was $387. The dealer is waiting to charge my credit card, though, since we hope Goodyear will cut me some more slack on Monday.

Given that the dealer normally sells the tires for $275 apiece, I'm obviously getting four for way less than half price even without further consideration from Goodyear. Of course, I could get them from Discount Tire for $211 mounted and balanced, but again, the dealer price is still less than half that. And since I have 21,000 miles on the old ones, you could say I've used up half the tread life. Because I shouldn't have to be buying tires now, though, and because it's their defect, I'm expecting Goodyear to come across with something in the way of further discount.

Btw, I had 8/32 tread on two of the tires and a little over 7/32 on the other two. The tires have 11/32 new. I've read a lot of posts about fast treadwear on the RSA's, but 3/32 in 20,000 miles for a wide low-profile tire sounds very reasonable to me!

Mike

 

Good report, Mike_TX. I hope the tire dealer is able to get hold of Goodyear, and they can sweeten the deal even more.

3/32nds inch wear in 20K miles on a 45 profile tire pulled by a 265HP engine is far more than 'reasonable'; it is exceptional. This is better than I have ever done with any low profile tire on any car, and I consciously try to drive in a way that doesn't put excessive wear on my tires.

 

I had my 2nd RSA replaced this last week. My cracks were in a different location than yours, more up on the sidewall where the tread meets the sidewall at the dark radial line in your pics. And my cracks were waaaaay worse.

I had mine replaced at Discount. They gave me $105 for each tire, and if they go bad now, they're gauranteed full replacement.

I'm going to check for the other type of cracks in the morning. Thanks for the pics.

 

That's good info ... I didn't know if places like Discount Tire could or would get Goodyear to warranty these tires for something like this, but apparently they can.

I forgot to mention that, for mine, the Goodyear dealer also based his calculations off his cost for the tire, rather than the retail. He normally sells them for $275. each, but his cost is $190., and he appplied the prorata charge to the lower number.

Mike