pyc2002

my back left tire (falken azenis 215-45-r16) blew out on the freeway at
about 70mph. i have never seen this before: the sidewalls were still
on the rim but the rubber that touches the road was completely gone.
looked like somebody peeled off the tire leaving only the sidewalls. i
drove about 1/4 mile to the first exit and changed to the spare tire.
i was wondering . . .

1. what's the probability that my rim is damaged? i was kind of on the
rim but also on parts of the sidewall. . .how do i find out if it
really is damaged? i asked one mechanic and he just sort of glanced at it
and said it looked okay.

2. what could have caused this? i was low on tread but i don't think
it was at the bursting point. . .and the way it blew out (as described
above) seemed strange. any ideas?

3. my brakes now makes a strange creeking, crunching kind of sound the
first few times i apply them after starting the car. but then after,
feels fine and normal. could it have been damaged during the blow out? or
does it have something to do with the fact that my spare tire is taller
than the rest of the three tires and makes for an awkward angle (my
spare is 205-65-r15). . .

thanks for the help!

Eddie@Tirerack

Hard to say the cause, but a tire shop may be able to examine it (what is left) and to try to dee based upon how it failed what may have been the cause of failure.. some tire forensics may be needed by your installer.

As for wheel damage, if the wheel was driven on at all (say on a portion of the tire) it could have some damage, but it can be inspected & spun on a balancer to tell for sure!

brakes- not sure.. should have it looked at too to be sure, but tire differences not likely to be a contributing factor.