Exploding tires

[Dave Koehler]

Through my nitrous studies over the years I learned that rubber is a hell of a fuel. Many rocket designs use nitrous and crumbled rubber as the propellant.
What does this have to do with racing? It's connected.

My son works with tires everyday and he got to talking about the ether trick to seat a tire which I have also done in the past. This and the knowledge of rocket fuel got me to thinking/reviewing fire, heat and rubber. Turns out that with heat and/or pressure rubber can take off on it's own and multiply that heat/pressure to the point of explosion.

After some internet study I went to Youtube and found all kinds of stupid redneck tricks with fire and tires. Some pretty scary stupid stuff going on there.

I also found the following video from Bridgestone that speaks volumes about fooling with heat around tires. Makes one wonder about the TF tire explosions and their real base cause.

Be safe. Just sayin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBUVzgCHHuA

[Kevin Johnson]

Thanks for posting this, Dave. I was watching some of the ether tire seating videos not long ago. It is scary to think that even guys who pulled the valve core and unseated the tire have been injured.

[Keith Morganstein]

I change my share of heavy truck tires in the past. Also used the either trick before I knew better.

I've seen a split rim blow off during inflation and blow a light fixture off the ceiling 30 ft up.

Another guy was greasing dump trucks after their daily runs. A 11X24 tire just blew up with him under there. He wasn't hearing well for a while.

Locally, A father and son, both killed when a split rim on a loader blew off while inflating a tire.

Also locally, a welder went to fix a leak in a loader rim. He didn't know they had tried sealant first. He was killed the moment he struck the arc. Blew his face right off.

I used to know a tire guy that would sit right on the sidewall and have a cigarette while filling split rim truck tires. No cage, tire on the ground and him sitting on it. He would say "when your time is up" I stayed clear of that guy in case it was his time.