Spencer

This is from todays Business Week re: Bridgestones


A New Blowup over Bridgestones


Ask Anthony Lanzillotti about Bridgestone tires, and he'll get angry--and he doesn't even own a Ford Explorer. When the Brooklyn engineer bought his 2000 Audi S4 last January, the sports sedan came equipped with Bridgestone Potenza RE040 radials. But less than three months later, three of his tires had developed mysterious bubbles in their sidewalls, which could potentially lead to a blowout. Lanzillotti insists Bridgestone (BRDCY) is at fault. ''It was a brand-new car, and these tires cost $250 apiece,'' he says. ''The first time I guessed I just hit something, but not after the second and third time.''

For almost a year, a growing number of the 6,000 S4 owners in the U.S. have found similar sidewall bubbles. They're bringing their gripes to Bridgestone, Audi, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It's yet another potential public-relations headache that neither company needs. Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. is in the midst of a massive recall of millions of tires on Explorers. Audi is still coping with the lingering effects of a devastating 1985 probe of charges that some cars were prone to sudden acceleration. The claims were not proven, but Audi's brand was mud in the U.S. for years.

SWAPPING TALES. In the current dustup, it's unclear who is at fault. Some Audi owners insist Bridgestone is selling a defective tire; others say Audi erred by putting a too-flimsy radial on the 3,700-pound S4--an issue similar to the Explorer controversy. The companies counter that drivers are damaging the tires, and some independent experts agree. Bridgestone/Firestone spokeswoman Anne Conrad acknowledged that there had been complaints but it hasn't been enough of a concern to warrant a recall.

One thing is clear: The Audi brouhaha isn't simply hysterical spillover from the Explorer scandal. Some Audi buffs have been complaining since at least November, long before the Explorer's woes made the nightly news. S4 owners have flocked to Internet sites such as AudiWorld.com to swap tales of bubbled tires. Drew Ries of Houston had his first tire distort after less than 2,000 miles. A second met the same fate 1,000 miles later, he says. He replaced the radials with a similar low-profile performance tire, Pirelli's P6000, and has driven more than 4,000 miles with no problems. ''I drive the exact same roads,'' he says.

Others blame a mismatch between the RE040 and the twin-turbocharged 250-hp S4. ''They put cheesy tires on a really good car. That's basically it,'' says Philip Yiu of Closter, N.J. Yiu says he had three Bridgestones bubble after less than 5,000 miles.

Like Ford Motor Co. (F), Audi denies using the wrong tire. It asserts that drivers demand low-profile, high-speed-rated tires such as Potenzas, but overlook the fact that tires with narrow sidewalls offer reduced protection from road hazards. Independent tire experts agree. ''We've seen this happen to all brands,'' says John Rastetter, director of tire information for retail chain The Tire Rack. ''The lower the sidewall, the more risk that you may damage the tire.''

Audi is referring all complaints to Bridgestone, which has reimbursed some of the most persistent owners. But most have had to shell out up to $1,000 to buy replacement rubber. Bridgestone argues that because road hazards or driver error cause the bubbling, replacements aren't covered under most warranties.

Audi is shifting gears a bit for the 2001 model year. The company is now mounting Pirellis and Michelins on many '01 S4s, although Bridgestone points out that it will still supply Audi with some tires for the S4. That, of course, only fuels owner suspicions about shoddy Bridgestones. NHTSA, which has received a dozen complaints but no reports of injuries, may look into the issue. In the end, it may prove to be a case of a bubble that bursts, period. Still, more questions about poor tire quality are the last thing that a beleaguered Bridgestone needs right now.

By Nicole St. Pierre in Washington

BOOSTD

Bridgestone's argument is BS. driver error??? methinks most S4 owners know a bit about driving

RKA

This paragraph gets me..."Like Ford Motor Co. (F), Audi denies using the wrong tire. It asserts that drivers demand low-profile, high-speed-rated tires such as Potenzas, but overlook the fact that tires with narrow sidewalls offer reduced protection from road hazards. Independent tire experts agree. ''We've seen this happen to all brands,'' says John Rastetter, director of tire information for retail chain The Tire Rack. ''The lower the sidewall, the more risk that you may damage the tire."

I've never seen bubbling as a result of "road hazards". Where are they getting this from????

BOOSTD

low profiles = damaged rims more than anything else.

Kinetic510

DUNLOP...There is no substitute =)<p><A HREF="http://registry.audiworld.com/audi/registry/details.asp?car=5667" target="Resource Window"><img SRC="http://members.home.net/chrism0510/kineticaudi.jpg" alt="Click for registry entry" Border="0"></A>

<B> -Chris (Colorado)</B>

RangeR BoB

Most audis are bought by well meaning but car inane idiots, exactly the same as most brands. Except for the small core of enthusiasts, I would generalize and say that european car owners by nature are less mechanically inclined than kids who grew up on small block chevys or bleed ford blue. How else do you explain all those Boxsters being driven along at 50 mph in a 65, with CURB FEELERS! No, not pimped out, blue haired.

Pardon me, I have to go don my Nomex for the inevitable flames.<p>99.5 1.8Tqms Laser Red
97 Jetta ]I[ 2.0 GL Gold
88 ZX-10 Red/Black

ChuckH

...I have never had a low profile tire bubble. The closest I came was I picked up a nail in a Pirelli, but that doesn't count. I have also owned many Bridgestone tires but never the RE040. Methinks the RE040 is just not up to the task at hand!<p><img SRC="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/A4xtsg5.jpg" BORDER=0></a>
2000 Nissan Xterra SE V6 4x4 (personal)
'98 A4 2.8 Q-Tip (business)

Mark Collett

...which rupture the carcass structure of the tire. Radial constructed tires have steel / nylon cords which extend 'radially' from the bead (rim) to the tread, across the contact patch, to the other bead. These cords support the tire (along with internal air pressure) as it rolls down the road. True, lower profile tires could be more prone to damage because there is less sidewall to dampen impacts. A bubble typically occurs when one of the cords weakens and breaks, then it can no longer support the tire (or contain air pressure) at that point. The bubble is the inner liner pushing out against the sidewall. The bad news is that a bubble means one or more broken cords, which will lead to more.
IMHO a large number of S4 owners with bubbled tires means more than driver habits.

Mark Collett

Pelican Pete

I'm not saying that you don't have some bad roads out there in Seattle, with all the rain you get.
But NYC is notorious for bad roads.

It's not like one or two roads are bad -- they are ALL bad. Some worse than others. Even when the city repairs a road, the repairs are only good for a year or so.

The complainant in the posted article lives in Brooklyn. I don't doubt that the bad roads damaged his tire. I drive in Brooklyn all the time. It's not pretty.

I have seen Ned Cejaj's tires too -- he has at least one bubble, maybe more by now.


For what it's worth, however, my friend has a Subaru SVX in Boston and used to have Pirelli 7000's in 225/50-16. (same size as on my A4.)

He got lots of bubbles in those Pirellis.
After 8k miles, my RE730s in the same size have been fine.

-- Peter