My rubber has perished!!!!!!

Blue · **Reply #30: September 21, 2009, 08:19:13**

Yup, just what he said !

accim · **Reply #31: September 21, 2009, 10:43:28**

Huh it doesn't look nice, but I had similar experiences with Hankook tires. I've had them on Elantra and the first Accent and happened exactly the same. After period of 2-3 years they started to crack and became very hard, so the driving in wet conditions wasn't as safe as before - many times you couldn't normally start (drive off), because the tires didn't have any grip. It was very dangerous when you had to drive off suddenly, because you just couldn't..the wheels just kept turning..

I would consider changing them.. Using warranty or buying them yourself..

Maybe that's not the case with your tires, I'm just explaining my experiences with "cracking" and stuff.

bumpkin · **Reply #32: September 21, 2009, 12:36:22**

I'm also not convinced that geometry is out, you will always get a difference across the width of the tyre (which will be a different difference (now I'm confused!) to the wheel at the other side due to the camber of the road. This is why we are supposed to rotate to even up the wear.

Goldfish_8 · **Reply #33: September 21, 2009, 16:43:56**

Hi Bumpkin,

Road camber isn't a causal effect here, but the suspension geometry and wheel alignment on the car is . And as pointed out by others the age of the tyres contributing to the cracking.

The i30 set up is with negative camber front and rear, so this means the tyres tilt in at the top, ( like this / \ from in front or behind), and this puts more pressure on the inside of each tyre. Add to this the incorrect toe, either to much positive or negative and this will cause further wear to the inside of each tyre (from above, toe in / \, toe out \ /, neutral | | ). The reason for rotating is because the fronts will wear quicker than the rears, as they are carrying the weight of the engine, in a front wheel drive car they are responsible for transferring power to the road and also the steering, the rears just support the weight of the back of the car. Additionally, the outer edge on the fronts can wear due to cornering. With neutral geometry the rears should wear uniformly across their entire width, but as the i30 has a small amount of negative camber, will wear the inner edge slightly more. To balance this wear the tyres would need swapping side to side, off the rim, but even with asymmetric tyres this is not always possible as the tyres can have an outside and an inside marked on them.

I am not able to rotate the tyres on mine due to having a directional tread pattern, so can only swap front to rear to balance the wear, without having to take the tyres off the rims, which I try and get done every 6000 miles or so. Currently my rear tyres have approx 3mm tread left on the inner edges and 5mm on the outer edges, these tyres have now done 12000 miles, the last 1000 miles on the rear, the previous 5500 miles on the front. I have the lowering spings so have greater negative camber all round than a car on stock springs, so the wear to the inside is more noticable. I also get the alignment checked as well, and the the wheels are normally reset so they have a neutral toe, but as the camber is not adjustable I have to put up with the inner edge wearing prematurely to the rest of the tyre. Sometimes adjustment to the toe is required because of the shock transmitted to the suspension from the poor quality roads here in the UK.

Mark

eye30 · **Reply #34: September 21, 2009, 18:26:17**

Called into an independant tyre service today.

They checked all tyres and basically said they were a mid range tyres - the best of that price range.

Tracking OK and wear was uniform across all the tyre(s).

Cracking was not a bit issue but said they looked more like a 5 year old tyre.

I'm still going to replace, for peace of mind especially as here in UK we are going into winter months soon - not that you would have noticed any difference between last winter/spring/summer and request the tyre manufacture for a FULL reimbursement.

2i30s · **Reply #35: September 21, 2009, 23:57:03**

very interesting,5 years.

eye30 · **Reply #36: October 21, 2009, 18:55:20**

UPDATE

Got my 4 new tyres today.

Had to buy the same brand/type etc to comply with the terms of the tyre warranty.

The garage will send them off to Hanook for testing and hopefully a "FULL" refund.

Noticed that the new tyres are embossed - MADE IN HUNGARY.
The originals - MADE IN KOREA.

I'll be keeping an eye(30) on these and checking the tread area regularly.

Fingers crossed for a FULL refund!

Dazzler · **Reply #37: October 22, 2009, 09:28:57**

Gee a full refund would be brill.. good luck!!

Myowni30 · **Reply #38: October 22, 2009, 19:22:22**

Quote from: eye30 on October 21, 2009, 18:55:20

UPDATE

Got my 4 new tyres today.

Had to buy the same brand/type etc to comply with the terms of the tyre warranty.

The garage will send them off to Hanook for testing and hopefully a "FULL" refund.

Noticed that the new tyres are embossed - MADE IN HUNGARY.
The originals - MADE IN KOREA.

I'll be keeping an eye(30) on these and checking the tread area regularly.

Fingers crossed for a FULL refund!

I would ring the BBC WatchDog team. They seem to like car features and usually get a good response to problems.

eye30 · **Reply #39: October 22, 2009, 19:51:02**

Quote from: Myowni30 on October 22, 2009, 19:22:22

Quote from: eye30 on October 21, 2009, 18:55:20
UPDATE

Got my 4 new tyres today.

Had to buy the same brand/type etc to comply with the terms of the tyre warranty.

The garage will send them off to Hanook for testing and hopefully a "FULL" refund.

Noticed that the new tyres are embossed - MADE IN HUNGARY.
The originals - MADE IN KOREA.

I'll be keeping an eye(30) on these and checking the tread area regularly.

Fingers crossed for a FULL refund!

I would ring the BBC WatchDog team. They seem to like car features and usually get a good response to problems.

Watch tonight and see if I get thro'

Lorian · **Reply #40: October 22, 2009, 20:09:44**

They are too busy talking about how bad BMW alloy wheels are.

eye30 · **Reply #41: October 22, 2009, 21:25:14**

Quote from: Lorian on October 22, 2009, 20:09:44

They are too busy talking about how bad BMW alloy wheels are.

Yes I watched.

Just been outside to check my alloy's - They are OK

Now I wonder if they will say something similar that it's due to the state of our roads?

eye30 · **Reply #42: October 31, 2009, 16:26:14**

Quote from: eye30 on October 21, 2009, 18:55:20

Got my 4 new tyres today.

Only had the new tyres 9 days and 1 has already been in for repair.

3 inch screw had gone through the tyre in between the new deep tread.
Fortunately it has been repaired with a "mushroom" type plug/patch.

Now the chap said that if I still had the old tyres this wouldn't have happened as the screw wouldn't have got "jammed" in the tread.

Shambles · **Reply #43: October 31, 2009, 16:36:15**

Quote from: eye30 on October 31, 2009, 16:26:14

... if I still had the old tyres this wouldn't have happened ...

Classic example of Murphy's law mate

Lorian · **Reply #44: October 31, 2009, 16:53:42**

Quote from: eye30 on October 31, 2009, 16:26:14

Quote from: eye30 on October 21, 2009, 18:55:20

Got my 4 new tyres today.

Only had the new tyres 9 days and 1 has already been in for repair.

3 inch screw had gone through the tyre in between the new deep tread.
Fortunately it has been repaired with a "mushroom" type plug/patch.

Exactly same happened to my OH's car day before yesterday, they were only 6 days old. Tenner to fix.

eye30 · **Reply #45: October 31, 2009, 18:04:14**

Quote from: Lorian on October 31, 2009, 16:53:42

Quote from: eye30 on October 31, 2009, 16:26:14
Quote from: eye30 on October 21, 2009, 18:55:20

Got my 4 new tyres today.

Only had the new tyres 9 days and 1 has already been in for repair.

3 inch screw had gone through the tyre in between the new deep tread.
Fortunately it has been repaired with a "mushroom" type plug/patch.

Exactly same happened to my OH's car day before yesterday, they were only 6 days old. Tenner to fix.

Snap. £10 all in

Dazzler · **Reply #46: October 31, 2009, 22:35:35**

Unlucky about the damaged Tyre eye...

Any news about your refund yet?

Dirtboy_aus · **Reply #47: November 01, 2009, 01:13:25**

sorry to hear about the quick wear and tear with the cracks
i work for a workshop that does tyres here in Australia and what you read and posted about the week and year is correct, and you said about the tyres being made in a different country it will be interesting to see how they last.
Here the local car company's were using bridgestone RE92 from factory and people would get like 50,000 to 60,000ks from them then replace them with the same and only get 30,000 to 40,000ks turns out the factory fitted one are made slightly different and are actually harder.

anyway Cheers
Brandon

eye30 · **Reply #48: November 01, 2009, 14:23:10**

Quote from: Dazz on October 31, 2009, 22:35:35

Any news about your refund yet?

Not yet but I understand the tyres have been returned for examination.

eye30 · **Reply #49: January 03, 2010, 17:38:30**

Update - Still no reply from the tyre manufacture.

Will be getting in touch with the dealer during the next few days to see how long it takes to test etc.

But in the meantime I noticed from day 1 that the car tended to steer to the left (RHD UK ). Initially I put it down to the camber of the road. Prior to replacing the car went in straight line.

Had tracking checked etc. Nothing needed altering. Anyway today while surfing the net I came across a posting on a tyre site which said to swop tyres from left to right.

Has anyone done this and found the car does not steer left but moves in a straight line with little or no steer to left/right?

Dazzler · **Reply #50: January 03, 2010, 20:43:25**

I'd be jumping up and down by now ... over 2 months is a long time to wait!

Surferdude · **Reply #51: January 06, 2010, 05:13:52**

Quote from: eye30 on January 03, 2010, 17:38:30

Update - Still no reply from the tyre manufacture.

Will be getting in touch with the dealer during the next few days to see how long it takes to test etc.

But in the meantime I noticed from day 1 that the car tended to steer to the left (RHD UK ). Initially I put it down to the camber of the road. Prior to replacing the car went in straight line.

Had tracking checked etc. Nothing needed altering. Anyway today while surfing the net I came across a posting on a tyre site which said to swop tyres from left to right.

Has anyone done this and found the car does not steer left but moves in a straight line with little or no steer to left/right?

You've been got at in a big way.
I just found this topic.
Regardless of what anyone else may have said, were they Dunlop, Bridgestone, Goodyear, Yokohama and several others, at least in Australia, those tyres would have been replaced on the spot, with minimum hassle to you. Although you are supposed to pay for fitting, balancing etc, almost no one would have charged you for it if a reputable dealer.
Those cracks are NOT cosmetic.
They indicate a serious problem with either the tread rubber curing process or top belt issues.
Pro rata payment is normal and fair enough really.
I can't beleive they've got to send the tyres away for assessment. Again, at least in Australia, the dealer should have enough knowledge to be able to make a decision on the spot and he should have enough of a relationship with the tyre manufacturer / distributor to be able to do so.
Ask them for a phone contact at Hankook in Britain and ring them. Or look them up in the phone book or on the web.
Please keep us posted.
Interesting set of circumstances.

Lakes · **Reply #52: January 06, 2010, 18:37:23**

Quote from: 2i30s on September 21, 2009, 23:57:03

very interesting,5 years.

i'm surprised they did not show the date, all tyres have date of manufacture on them ( cast in the mold )

eye30 · **Reply #53: January 06, 2010, 18:58:39**

Quote from: Lakes on January 06, 2010, 18:37:23

Quote from: 2i30s on September 21, 2009, 23:57:03
very interesting,5 years.

i'm surprised they did not show the date, all tyres have date of manufacture on them ( cast in the mold )

The "5 years" was what the dealers siad they look like but the date coding (quoted in an earlier posting but copied below):

According to the DOT code the date is showing as 2607 i.e. week 26 year 2007 so they were only 3 months old when I bought my car, assuming week 1 is first week in January.

So just over 2 years old!!