Normal tire pressure is about 30-40 PSI and a bad rupture can kill you or break your bones even at that pressure if you’re standing next to the tire.
This person has just installed four bombs on their vehicle that will go off at the slightest inconvenience. A 90 PSI car tire is an imminent risk of death to the driver and everyone around them. Do not let your friends or family do this.
There are a lot of tragic stories of people that had the idea “I’ll slash the tires to this trucker to teach him a lesson” but instead they got a physics lesson
Had a coworker who was riding a motorcycle on the highway by a semi when the tire next to her blew out. She ended up dropping the bike and sliding along the road. Fortunately she was covered head to toe in protective gear, but it’s still amazing that she wasn’t seriously injured.
About fifteen years ago I was overtaking a truck on the motorway when one of its tyres exploded. Took out one of my side windows. The haulage company dealt with it well but I got the impression it wasn’t the first time they’d had to fix that specific issue.
Rubber tires that size are a safety hazard and should not be permitted. Transportation vehicles should have metal wheels instead that can’t rupture. Of course, our current asphalt roads couldn’t support this kind of metal-wheeled vehicle, but if we put them on some sort of rail we could solve that problem.
People behind wondering why you’re allowing a couple carlengths gap “ahead” of the semi (but in your lane) as you prepare to swiftly pass it, try watching some YouTube silly!
I’ve been driving a truck for 8 years. Never had a tire blow out myself, but have seen it happen in front of me. It is easy to loose control of the wheel when that happens.
Here is an excellent answer for anyone asking how to deal with over-inflated tires. It should be weighted above other answers.
The car tires are too dangerous to be deflated, or even taken off the car. Your only safe solution is to snipe the tires with a long-range rifle. Also shoot the spare, if possible. Once all tires have been eliminated, you may approach the car and remove them. Check your wheel wells for damage before installing the new tires.
If it were up to me to do so, I’d remove the valve core to let the tire vent some pressure. Might still recommend some safety glasses for it though because if you don’t have a good grip on that core it’s going to fire itself out of the valve stem like an air rifle pellet.
If you don’t have a valve core removal tool then you can also just press down on the tip of the valve core with a small screwdriver or something, but you might be risking some damage to the core doing that, and you’re going to be sitting there an awful long time listening to it psssshhhh its way back down to 30. Even if you do damage the core it’s nothing that isn’t fixable at a tire shop though.
DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THE VALVE CORE AT THOSE PRESSURES.
Just do the push thing. One slip and that core at best is lost at worst injures you or a bystander. They are finicky as hell when you get to the last few threads.
Also, the higher the pressure is, the faster it will deflate. It won’t take that long. Plus, if you do decide to pull the core. At 90psi air rushing out from a small orifice like that is loud enough to cause hearing damage.
Slow controled release of pressures is the standard procedure for any pressure vessel. Be it a tire at 90psi, a radiator at 15psi, hydraulic excavator at 5000psi, or a fuel injection pump at 30,000psi.
I didn’t figure 90PSI to be all that dangerous, we use a cheetah tank at my job sometimes for seating tires and that fires at 120PSI, but it’s through a much larger orifice - so it wouldn’t be as loud as through the valve stem. Losing the valve core is also a real possibility.
I, a professional dumbass and mechanic, would probably pull the cores at any pressure up to but definitely not exceeding 100, and may very well regret my decision to do so. Any normal people who value their safety and don’t deal with tires on a daily basis, and don’t have a stash of a thousand spare valve stems 20 feet away, should exercise more caution.
Thanks for calling me out on that, I probably don’t respect lowish high pressures as much as I should. I’ll try to keep an eye on that (from behind my safety glasses).
Yeah, I learned the hard way about pressures and what they can do. Not as hard as others mind you.
I started as a mechanic. Used to have a blast with the cheetah. Hell, I used one to clear out a blocked storm drain one time. That was hella fun. I do a lot of hydraulics now. Around the 90-100psi, you start to run the risk of injection injury, too. Not likely but possible. That’s why they have the safety tips on the blow guns. If the back pressure builds up over 25psi or something, the rubber let’s off and let’s the air by pass. Had a co worker loose a thumb with a paint sprayer. Got to close with the hand he had thick ass leather gloves too. Unlucky I wasn’t there when it happened. probably could have saved it if I rushed him off the e.r sooner but he didn’t know then what hydraulic injection is about and brushed it off. He showed me the next day and told me about it. Boy I near threw him over my shoulder and dragged him to get there faster.
You may also want to push on the valve-stem push valve with a “jesus stick”. This is literally “I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot-pole” territory, so go find an eleven foot one with a sharp point at the end.
My old work van ran 80 psi tires. They looked very much like passenger car tires but I assume they were different. I was surprised when I first looked it up.
My car lists it as a possible pressure for racing, Only suggested if planned use is over 100 mph all the time.
Aside from being massive explosive risk on rupture that would badly damage your car body, it also reduces traction for braking and acceleration. Not a good idea for regular driving unless you are an actual professional.
If it blows itself off the car during travel because you hit a pothole the wrong way, it is definitely a dire risk to life and limb. It’s less about the impact of the tire itself at that point and more about the fact that you’re basically guaranteed to suddenly swerve off the road.
For the non car-folks in this thread :
Normal tire pressure is about 30-40 PSI and a bad rupture can kill you or break your bones even at that pressure if you’re standing next to the tire.
This person has just installed four bombs on their vehicle that will go off at the slightest inconvenience. A 90 PSI car tire is an imminent risk of death to the driver and everyone around them. Do not let your friends or family do this.
It’s 110-120 for semi trucks. Just a note to not linger by their tires. Blowouts are statistically uncommon, but there’s a lot of trucks out there
There are a lot of tragic stories of people that had the idea “I’ll slash the tires to this trucker to teach him a lesson” but instead they got a physics lesson
Had a coworker who was riding a motorcycle on the highway by a semi when the tire next to her blew out. She ended up dropping the bike and sliding along the road. Fortunately she was covered head to toe in protective gear, but it’s still amazing that she wasn’t seriously injured.
Did the truck stop and take responsibility? Or maybe they didn’t even know?
Myth busters episode sticks out in my mind on this one
About fifteen years ago I was overtaking a truck on the motorway when one of its tyres exploded. Took out one of my side windows. The haulage company dealt with it well but I got the impression it wasn’t the first time they’d had to fix that specific issue.
Rubber tires that size are a safety hazard and should not be permitted. Transportation vehicles should have metal wheels instead that can’t rupture. Of course, our current asphalt roads couldn’t support this kind of metal-wheeled vehicle, but if we put them on some sort of rail we could solve that problem.
I had a retread blow out on my panel truck while peeing into a soft drink cup. Middle of the night in the middle of nowhere Indiana
Yeah they happen with enough regularity that companies aren’t surprised, especially if they have a lot of trucks.
So the smart move as a car-driver is not to linger by the tires ever. Really, just never linger by them.
I just hate being near those things in general. Pass as quick as possible and create some space.
People behind wondering why you’re allowing a couple carlengths gap “ahead” of the semi (but in your lane) as you prepare to swiftly pass it, try watching some YouTube silly!
That’s just what you’re supposed to do, what if the semi has to swerve or there’s heavy wind
I’ve been driving a truck for 8 years. Never had a tire blow out myself, but have seen it happen in front of me. It is easy to loose control of the wheel when that happens.
Do y’all retread? Like gluing new treads I think it is IIRC—IDK if that’s as common today as it was 20 years ago
Mine was a trailer tire on a triaxle. I still had 11 tires back there, so it was easy to find a safe spot to stop. I got lucky n that way.
And is there non-deadly way of disarming those bombs then?
Here is an excellent answer for anyone asking how to deal with over-inflated tires. It should be weighted above other answers.
The car tires are too dangerous to be deflated, or even taken off the car. Your only safe solution is to snipe the tires with a long-range rifle. Also shoot the spare, if possible. Once all tires have been eliminated, you may approach the car and remove them. Check your wheel wells for damage before installing the new tires.
Make sure to get the the dead limbs off it too they can poke ya
If it were up to me to do so, I’d remove the valve core to let the tire vent some pressure. Might still recommend some safety glasses for it though because if you don’t have a good grip on that core it’s going to fire itself out of the valve stem like an air rifle pellet.
If you don’t have a valve core removal tool then you can also just press down on the tip of the valve core with a small screwdriver or something, but you might be risking some damage to the core doing that, and you’re going to be sitting there an awful long time listening to it psssshhhh its way back down to 30. Even if you do damage the core it’s nothing that isn’t fixable at a tire shop though.
DO NOT TRY TO REMOVE THE VALVE CORE AT THOSE PRESSURES.
Just do the push thing. One slip and that core at best is lost at worst injures you or a bystander. They are finicky as hell when you get to the last few threads.
Also, the higher the pressure is, the faster it will deflate. It won’t take that long. Plus, if you do decide to pull the core. At 90psi air rushing out from a small orifice like that is loud enough to cause hearing damage.
Slow controled release of pressures is the standard procedure for any pressure vessel. Be it a tire at 90psi, a radiator at 15psi, hydraulic excavator at 5000psi, or a fuel injection pump at 30,000psi.
This is good advice.
I didn’t figure 90PSI to be all that dangerous, we use a cheetah tank at my job sometimes for seating tires and that fires at 120PSI, but it’s through a much larger orifice - so it wouldn’t be as loud as through the valve stem. Losing the valve core is also a real possibility.
I, a professional dumbass and mechanic, would probably pull the cores at any pressure up to but definitely not exceeding 100, and may very well regret my decision to do so. Any normal people who value their safety and don’t deal with tires on a daily basis, and don’t have a stash of a thousand spare valve stems 20 feet away, should exercise more caution.
Thanks for calling me out on that, I probably don’t respect lowish high pressures as much as I should. I’ll try to keep an eye on that (from behind my safety glasses).
^ great response too
Yeah, I learned the hard way about pressures and what they can do. Not as hard as others mind you.
I started as a mechanic. Used to have a blast with the cheetah. Hell, I used one to clear out a blocked storm drain one time. That was hella fun. I do a lot of hydraulics now. Around the 90-100psi, you start to run the risk of injection injury, too. Not likely but possible. That’s why they have the safety tips on the blow guns. If the back pressure builds up over 25psi or something, the rubber let’s off and let’s the air by pass. Had a co worker loose a thumb with a paint sprayer. Got to close with the hand he had thick ass leather gloves too. Unlucky I wasn’t there when it happened. probably could have saved it if I rushed him off the e.r sooner but he didn’t know then what hydraulic injection is about and brushed it off. He showed me the next day and told me about it. Boy I near threw him over my shoulder and dragged him to get there faster.
You may also want to push on the valve-stem push valve with a “jesus stick”. This is literally “I wouldn’t touch that with a ten-foot-pole” territory, so go find an eleven foot one with a sharp point at the end.
Who da heck is downvoting this? This is the correct way to do it.
Somebody doesn’t like wearing their PPE and hasn’t lost any eyes or fingers yet about it
90-100psi is actually around the max rating for a lot of tires, and those ratings are usually made with a margin of error.
While it’s definitely not good, I don’t think it’s necessarily the dire threat you’re portraying.
Not sure which type you might be talking about, but all the tires I’ve ever seen for passenger cars have 50psi for their max
My old work van ran 80 psi tires. They looked very much like passenger car tires but I assume they were different. I was surprised when I first looked it up.
I’d be fucking nervous approaching 40.
It also massively reduces contact with the road.
My car lists it as a possible pressure for racing, Only suggested if planned use is over 100 mph all the time.
Aside from being massive explosive risk on rupture that would badly damage your car body, it also reduces traction for braking and acceleration. Not a good idea for regular driving unless you are an actual professional.
Even if you are a professional driver, “regular driving” and track driving need to be compartmentalized
If it blows itself off the car during travel because you hit a pothole the wrong way, it is definitely a dire risk to life and limb. It’s less about the impact of the tire itself at that point and more about the fact that you’re basically guaranteed to suddenly swerve off the road.
On my 3/4 ton work truck, my tires max at 80psi and I fill them to 60psi. BFG A/TS.
Different tires have different specs. For instance my spare is supposed to be inflated to 90psi.
Is that on the door or side of tire?
80 on the tire side wall, 60 on the door
Tires will have max pressure rating.
Door will have recommended pressures for the vehicle.
Yeah but they would be hot rating.
Cold ratings are usually lower.
Then they hear up on the road
But you may want to encourage your enemies to do this.