Muray

I got another flat just now. I went from 19'' to 18'' because I got a tire bulge from a hitting a pothole. Well tonight, right in front of my apartment, I hit a pothole that I glided over many times before, and my 18'' Conti went completely flat over a few seconds. I had the car for about 9 weeks and it's my second flat already. Never had a flat from pothole driving another car in my neighborhood for the past 10 years. Granted, the biggest tires the other car had was 17's....

Funny thing is, it happened at night, on the front right side, just like the first time I had a flat. I guess that's my "blind spot" as far as wheels go. I think Conti's come with manufacturer's road hazard warranty so hopefully I'll be able to get a new tire for minimal cost. I am wondering if I should get an alignment because my car is getting banged up a lot from potholes. Is there a specific alignment machine I should be looking for? I know Hunter does the best tire balancing, so may be there's equivalent in alignment? Sucks getting a flat every month! How do people drive this car around?

rktskicar

I have had no flats over last year and a half.

You must be in pothole city.

Bruce

redrocker55

My guess is it's just a fluke. There's nothing about the design of the S4 that would cause you to get more flats...nothing about the design of the wheels that would cause you to get more flats.

My wife has been driving about 25,000 miles a year since we got married 10 years ago and she has never had a flat...except for one instance. She hit a pothole in a rain storm and she lost both right side tires.

I know NYC area has a ton of potholes...just do your best to avoid them...one sharp edge and hitting it in a particular way and you can easily loose a tire. Potholes change also...they get hit all the time and their edges get sharper or change shape so that same pothole might have changed since the day before.

You might want to go with a heavier , more durable tire like the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S Plus to help deal with the potholes. Or call Tire Rack and see what they might recommend for a more durable tire...my guess is weight and construction materials are part of what makes a tire more durable.

The Michelins I suggest are made in USA exclusively. The Original Equip Contis are made in Germany...the DWS are made in Mexico and Portugal. Personal thoughts here and I could be wrong, and I understand that tires are designed for different markets and get shipped all over the world...but the Germany Contis (P7's) might have a design bias for the awesomely smooth highways of Germany... Maybe the Portugal/Mexico DWS tires suffer from occasional quality issues?? Who knows I'm sure there might be other feelings out there about this.

The US roads are among the worst in the developed world and maybe a US manufactured tire is more designed for US roads and you might have more luck with a tire like the MIchelin. I could be wrong...just trying to give you another way to think about it.

I've never had a flat on any of the Michelins I've driven over the past 10 years ( I drive about 40,000 miles a year...wife about 25,000) so I've become very biased towards Michelin based on my personal experience and luck with their tires...they offer me fantastic grip, tread wear, MPG, quality, selection, warranty, reliability, etc. Until they begin to let me down I'm sticking with them.

Goony

The DWS is known for a soft sidewall. Since you didn't mention what psi you're running, perhaps upping it a bit may help as well.