Bizarre Tire Issue or Bad Luck

[Hoonin]

I have a set of Bridgestone Potenza re97as-02’s (225/45r18) on my Stinger Gt2 AWD. I believe these tires are straight from the factory. So far I’m 3 weeks and 1,500 miles into owning the car and I’ve experienced 5 flats from picking up nails, metal chunks, etc. Has anyone else with these tires experienced similar? Is it possible this is a result of the compound? Should I be looking for signs of sabotage? Or is it just a case of extremely bad luck?

I’ve been in the auto industry for 17 years, I’ve never seen anything like this. Over the past year I’ve put 30,000 miles on my F150 and only experienced 1 flat from a bearing that took a shit at a carwash. I travel for work and visit the same facilities and deal with the same people, so I don’t believe it’s sabotsge.

I can’t even enjoy the car, I’ve been having to stop constantly to add air my tires, so I can wait at a tire shop for an hour. It’s been extremely frustrating! I also have two tires on order due to 2 of the patches being in a questionable location.

 

[Freelancer]

That is bad luck. Unless you have a hater, but you can verify that by simply walking around your car before you drive and inspect the tyres for tampering. Also, bad luck for me as well. 22nd new car I've owned and the first one to have a chipped windshield. 5 different locations over the past 20 months.

 

[eflyguy]

Specific tires aren't more likely to get punctured than others. It's more likely you're driving in an area that has been "contaminated" for some reason.

Many years ago, we had an incident which had us wondering if someone was vandalizing vehicles. I spent a little time investigating, and it turned out some construction worker had dropped a strip of roofing nails off his truck on a nearby street.

 

[Nasscar]

Can't imagine different brands of tyres are more prone to punctures than others. The less tread on the tyre, the more likely a nail will go through however. Sounds like just real bad luck. Take a different route to work.

 

[Hoonin]

Can't imagine different brands of tyres are more prone to punctures than others. The less tread on the tyre, the more likely a nail will go through however. Sounds like just real bad luck. Take a different route to work.

I visit 4 different locations all 2-3 hours apart and in different directions. I’ve now gotten a flat two and from each location.

 

[Girbles]

Have you walked around where you live and looked for debris? That's a lot of punctures.

 

[Nasscar]

I visit 4 different locations all 2-3 hours apart and in different directions. I’ve now gotten a flat two and from each location.

Like I said before, just bad luck. I find I get more punctures from industrial areas.

 

[MerlintheMad]

That's the worst flat luck I've heard about! But I agree on the "contamination" theory. Here's a pic of what I picked up on a walk a few years ago. If I, or somebody else, had not picked these up, just imagine how many flat tires would have resulted from just this one dropped box of screws!?

 

[Hoonin]

That's the worst flat luck I've heard about! But I agree on the "contamination" theory. Here's a pic of what I picked up on a walk a few years ago. If I, or somebody else, had not picked these up, just imagine how many flat tires would have resulted from just this one dropped box of screws!?
View attachment 37817

Jesus Christ, Once the snow clears, I’m going to take a walk down my street and see if there is anything similar.

 

[Hoonin]

Have you walked around where you live and looked for debris? That's a lot of punctures.

I’m going to check it as soon as the snow melts.

 

[Nasscar]

That's the worst flat luck I've heard about! But I agree on the "contamination" theory. Here's a pic of what I picked up on a walk a few years ago. If I, or somebody else, had not picked these up, just imagine how many flat tires would have resulted from just this one dropped box of screws!?
View attachment 37817

It's like a war zone for tyres out there.

 

[Helo58]

I can’t even enjoy the car, I’ve been having to stop constantly to add air my tires, so I can wait at a tire shop for an hour. It’s been extremely frustrating! I also have two tires on order due to 2 of the patches being in a questionable location.

Sorry to hear of your bad luck with the flats. My only flats so far were due to a pothole.

As for enjoying the car, I might suggest upgrading from the RE97. They are garbage and don't do anything particularly well. You may be surprised how much more you will enjoy the car with some better rubber underneath. Michelin and Continental do a pretty good job at making all-seasons for our cars.

 

[Hoonin]

Sorry to hear of your bad luck with the flats. My only flats so far were due to a pothole.

As for enjoying the car, I might suggest upgrading from the RE97. They are garbage and don't do anything particularly well. You may be surprised how much more you will enjoy the car with some better rubber underneath. Michelin and Continental do a pretty good job at making all-seasons for our cars.

Which models do you suggest from Continental or Michelin?

 

[Helo58]

Michelin A/S 3+ would be my choice. They are a little pricey, but well worth it.

 

[Nasscar]

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 is a far better tyre than the Continentals that came with the earlier Stingers. The Continentals tended to wear a lot quicker with hard driving.

 

[Helo58]

The Michelin Pilot Sport 4 is a far better tyre than the Continentals that came with the earlier Stingers. The Continentals tended to wear a lot quicker with hard driving.

Due to his location and previous tire choice, I think the OP is looking for an all-season tire.

 

[Hoonin]

Due to his location and previous tire choice, I think the OP is looking for an all-season tire.

I’m honestly open to whatever, I’ve driven a lot of cars that should not have been driven in snow storms... in snow storms, so just having the AWD and TCS is good enough for me!

Due to my daily drivers being absolute junk over the past 10 years, I’ve been forced on occasion to drive my Supercharged Roush Mustang in severe snow storms.... 275/40/18 (front) 275/40/20 (rear) Mickey Thompson street comps paired with a Trak Pak suspension and a car set up for road courses... is not fun in any amount of snow. If anyone here is familiar with the Detroit area, I almost didn’t make it up the I75 rouge bridge..... with only a half inch of snow on the ground....

 

[Helo58]

I’m honestly open to whatever, I’ve driven a lot of cars that should not have been driven in snow storms... in snow storms, so just having the AWD and TCS is good enough for me!

Oh good! Then the sky is your oyster. As mentioned above, hard to go wrong with the Michelin PS4 but I have no idea what the weather is really like, only assumptions. Depending on how often it gets cold (and how cold) it gets there, you may be better served by an UHP all-season as a good year round tire. AWD gives you lots of options when not limited by RWD traction levels.

 

[Hoonin]

Oh good! Then the sky is your oyster. As mentioned above, hard to go wrong with the Michelin PS4 but I have no idea what the weather is really like, only assumptions. Depending on how often it gets cold (and how cold) it gets there, you may be better served by an UHP all-season as a good year round tire. AWD gives you lots of options when not limited by RWD traction levels.

Weather in winter at the locations I travel to/live is normally 0 degrees Fahrenheit - 30 degrees Fahrenheit. The Stinger is my daily now that my wife’s Explorer has been totaled and I fully gave her our Lariat FX4 since she transports my kids more often (Better for severe conditions). I’ve never ran winter tires on any of my vehicles with most of them not being AWD or 4x4 and have been just fine, with the exception of the Roush haha.... that thing can’t even get traction on the hottest day in summer (granted I have a good portion of interior including the trunk interior and spare sitting in my garage for weight reduction).

 

[Helo58]

Have you ever run summer tires up there? I live in NC and with even our mild winters my tires turn into hockey pucks on the cold days. Many agree that you can actually damage a summer tire driving in 0F temps. That was my only reasoning for suggesting the all-seasons over the summer tires.