Hello All

Sorry if this has been covered elsewhere - I did try to search before asking but didn't find anything.

Anyway - I have a 2012 c30 T5 with 60K miles. I bought it for my wife to use as a commuting car just because its small and I've always thought they were cool looking cars. This may have been a bad decision.

In the year or so that we've owned it we have had 5 or 6 blowouts with the run-flat tires. To be fair - we drive in and around NYC so there are lots of potholes but still, is that a common issue?

I like the car b/c its peppy and handles well but my wife, who is the primary driver, HHAAAATES it because of all the flats.

Is this a common thing? Is there a solution?

Thanks -

Michael

PS - Anyone want to buy a 2012 c30?

 

Are your wheels very low profile? If so, you can potentially increase the side wall when it is time for new tires as long as the room allows. Compare current tire size to the sticker on the body when you open the driver door. I did that on my 2018 because my first winter I broke a rim due to a pothole. I went with a 40 side wall to 45 aspect ratio. Also, are your tires properly inflated?

 

Thanks - I think they are the stock size but I'll check

 

check your tire pressure. As somebody who regularly drives NY roads, I'd simply add 3 PSI above what the placard suggests. In the past I've had blowouts - all from a pinched sidewall. Bumping up the pressure won't hurt the tires but will prevent blowouts and protect the rims . I currently run 36-39 PSI on 235/45-17s. PS a few months ago I was driving home on the FDR coming home from a wedding downtown at the Beekman Hotel - hit a pothole the size of Texas that literally made my car jump to the point I was concerned that I broke something. No flat, drove home - all because I put 39 PSI on all four corners before venturing downtown :-)

 

thanks

Ill check the pressure

 

Front 215-45/18 & Rear 225-50/18 Run Flats. Lowered on Silvers Coilovers as low as I can be safely with Zero Blowouts.

Increasing your tire air pressure & increasing side wall height looks like a great method to avoiding those blowouts. I went to a 195-55 sidewall on a Fiat 500 successfully for better ride quality.

Good Luck.

 

Thanks in advance of any help

 

If your C30 keeps getting flats, it’s worth checking whether the tires are old or unevenly worn, because that can make them more vulnerable even in normal driving conditions.

 

usually, the problem is hitting a pot hole collapses the side wall hard enough to pinch it and cause a rupture. oddly run flats have stiffer sidewalls so I'd think they'd be less prone to blow outs. With that said, the easy solution is to run 3-5 PSI higher than what the card says. I generally keep 36-39 PSI since the roads here in Vermont are really beat up from the winter - well above the car's stated value but way less than the maximum PSIs for the tire (read the side wall). True story, I was coming back from a wedding down near City Hall and I hit a pot hole on the FDR doing about 50 - enough to make your fillings rattle but no blow out (235/45-17 Conti's). Suggest you check your tire age and if they are more than 5 years old, replace them and keep +3-5 extra psi for ciity driving.