Tire Questions (Bridgestone Potenza RE92)

I have owned my 2000 Prelude since it was new and have driven it very
responsibly, mostly highway mileage. The car came with Bridgestone Potenza
RE92 (205/50R16) tires, since I also have an older (second gen.) 1987
prelude, I don't drive the 2000 that often and have only put 53K miles in
it, today I noticed the front passenger side tire has cracks all around the
sidewall, I can only see the cracking on this tire, the others seem ok. I
check tire pressure every 2 to 3 months and don't recall going over anything
or hitting a curb that could cause such damage and there are no signs of any
wear or tear on the wheels and the tires still have excellent tread.



The questions I have:

1) is this normal wear or could it be possible I damaged the tire some how?

2) Has anyone else had any similar experience with these types of tires?



Thanks, CDMA

 

I do not think this normal. Yes, it's possible you trashed it. Good
riddance.

No, but now you have an excellent excuse to replace that junk with
decent
tires. RE92 does not belong on prelude or any other semi decent car.

 

Thanks for the comments Body Roll, Btw, any recommendations on some decent
tires without having to break the bank?, I do plan on replacing them soon.

 

Is it possible this one tire has more direct sun hitting it day to day?

 

Kumho Ecsta ASX is cheap, 712 is marginally better.
Ecsta MX is a whole lot better and a tiny bit more expensive.
Look on tirerack.com
Lots of tests and you can get an idea about prices even if you want to
buy tires
from a local ripoff joint.

 

Rob, not really, when the car is not in use it is in a garage, it seems to
me it may be a tire defect, there are not wear marks on the side walls other
than these cracks, I really take care of this car and cant recall where or
how I could have done something like that.. I check it on a regular basis,
but I wondering if low tire pressure could cause something like that.

 

The tires are old. 6 years old. This is normal for tires that are old or
don't get moved enough. It is important for the tires to roll and let the
oils in the tires move around. Eventually they loose this oil and dry out.
It varies from tire manufacture to manufacture; but generally 5 to 6 years
is the life of a tire. On my travel trailer; I change the tires every 5
years regardless of what they look like.

Steve

 

Hi Steve, Thanks for the feedback and I tend to agree with you on the tires
being old. I will be changing them this week.
CDMA

 

I previously owned a 01 Prelude. In my opinion the OEM RE92s were a lousy
tire. Replaced them with Bridgestone RE 750s and was quite pleased. You
might check into http://www.absoluteprelude.com/ for info from other Prelude
owners on tires and a variety of other info on your Prelude.

 

I agree with Stephen. When tires on my motorhome are 6 years old and still
have significant tread depth, they get replaced. And that costs almost
$2K!!

I had Kumhos on my Miata and was very pleased with them