Torque Shop: When a tyre explodes
Is it possible for tyres to explode because of over-inflation or even when the vehicle is on the move?
Tyre blowouts are actually very rare. The structure of a tyre can be destroyed when it hits a pothole or the kerb forcefully. Most commonly, tyre carcasses are damaged when the car is driven with a flat tyre.
This is why any punctured tyre that has endured a few kilometres with little or zero air pressure should never be reused, even if the puncture can be repaired. A blowout is possible if a tyre has sustained damage to its sidewalls or general structure.
Besides impact damage, an old tyre that has been sitting on the shelf for a few years before being fitted to a car also has a higher blowout risk. This is because the rubber loses flexibility and this leads to cracks, especially on the sidewalls, once the tyre is in use.
In rare instances, tyres have manufacturing defects that may not be immediately noticeable.
The only way to prevent a tyre blowout from a manufacturing defect is to visually inspect the tyre carefully before setting off on any long and sustained high-speed drives. Watch out for bulges, cracks, chipped-off tread blocks and uneven wear patterns.
Perhaps an online search of your tyre make and model could reveal the general service life, reliability and if there have been any manufacturer recalls.
As for over-inflating a tyre, in theory, any rubber 'vessel' can of course explode if inflated beyond its maximum design pressure.
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore Up to 30% of aviation jobs would have to be redesigned because of AI, automation: CAAS
Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences
Business Global fintech firms expanding in Singapore with larger offices, APAC hubs
Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs
Life F1 Singapore Grand Prix: Music acts Lewis Capaldi, Clean Bandit, Spice Girls' Melanie C added
World Trump threatens to sue WSJ over story on alleged 2003 letter to Epstein
Asia Appointment of Malaysia's new chief justice eases controversy over vacant top judge seats for now
Singapore SPCA appoints Walter Leong as new executive director
However, most tyre pumps at petrol stations will struggle to achieve even 600 kilopascals (kPa), which is about six times the atmospheric pressure, because the air-compressors cannot deliver much more.
A pressure regulator and relief valve at the outlet of the compressor are mandatory for any air-compressor installation.
In Singapore, air-compressors must be inspected by a professional engineer and certified by the Ministry of Manpower annually.
Depending on the tyre size, the maximum allowable pressures commonly vary between 300 kPa and 400 kPa – and it will take at least three to four times the pressure to cause the tyre to burst. In short, it is practically impossible to inflate a tyre until it explodes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Norris takes Spa pole on all-McLaren front row
Formula One F1 - Belgian Grand Prix - Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium - July 26, 2025 Red Bull's Max Verstappen poses with a trophy after winning the sprint race alongside second place McLaren's Oscar Piastri and third place McLaren's Lando Norris REUTERS/Yves Herman SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - McLaren's Lando Norris edged out his championship-leading teammate and title rival Oscar Piastri for pole position at the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday. The Briton blasted around the long and flowing Spa-Francorchamps circuit in a best time of one minute 40.562 seconds, with Piastri a mere 0.085 slower, to secure his fourth pole in 13 races and 13th of his career. Norris will be chasing his third win in a row, in what looks like being a wet race on Sunday despite Saturday's sunshine, to cut the Australian's nine-point lead. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start third and Red Bull's reigning champion Max Verstappen, winner of the 100 km sprint, qualified fourth for his team's first grand prix under the leadership of Laurent Mekies after Christian Horner was sacked. "The car has been flying all weekend, Oscar's been doing a good job all weekend so we're pushing each other a lot," said Norris, who was third in the sprint with Piastri second. "It's tough because you kind of see where your strengths and weaknesses are. And you learn from each other quickly. It's a good but tough battle that we have at the minute." Norris had been fastest in the opening phase of qualifying, with Piastri a close second, and the positions were reversed in the second segment before the top-10 shootout and the Briton coming out on top. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Woman taken to hospital after car falls into sinkhole on Tanjong Katong Road Singapore Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge Singapore 'I've tried everything': Mum helpless as son's Kpod addiction spirals out of control Singapore NDP 2025: How Benjamin Kheng is whisked from Marina Bay to Padang in 10 minutes by boat, buggy Singapore Almost half of planned 30,000 HDB flats in Tengah to be completed by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat Singapore From libraries to living rooms: How reading habits take root in underserved S'pore children Asia Thai-Cambodia clashes spread along frontier as death toll rises Asia Thousands rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur for resignation of PM Anwar "I felt like the car was very good again, but it's fine margins out there. It's obviously not a bad place to be starting but there was more in it, which is always disappointing," Piastri said. "After the sprint, I was aiming for P2," he said, referring to Verstappen winning from that position. Behind the top four, Alex Albon qualified fifth for Williams with George Russell sixth for Mercedes and ahead of Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda. Racing Bulls had Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson eighth and ninth with Sauber's Brazilian rookie Gabriel Bortoleto completing the top 10. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton, last year's winner with Mercedes, failed to get through the first phase after his best lap was deleted for exceeding track limits. The seven-times world champion, who has yet to stand on the podium since his move to Ferrari at the end of last season, will start 16th. REUTERS
Straits Times
8 hours ago
- Straits Times
Verstappen assures Red Bull he will always deliver
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - Max Verstappen said Red Bull could always count on him, as the four-times Formula One champion gave new team boss Laurent Mekies a winning start in a Saturday sprint at the Belgian Grand Prix. The race was the first since Christian Horner, who led Red Bull into Formula One in 2005, was dismissed by the team's owners. Verstappen seized the lead on the opening lap from second at the start and kept McLaren's Oscar Piastri behind him to secure his and the team's first win of any sort since Imola in May. While worth only eight points, the victory was a significant statement after the recent restructure at the Milton Keynes factory. "The team can always count on me. They will always get my very best, whoever is in charge. They know that. I'm never holding back or anything," Verstappen told reporters. "I'm always trying to give them the best possible result, and that's also what they pay me for. For sure, it's positive. We need, of course, positive energy, and that's a great start for us." Verstappen said it was too early to talk about further changes to be made at Red Bull and Mekies needed to build relationships and see how the team operated. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Woman taken to hospital after car falls into sinkhole on Tanjong Katong Road Singapore Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge Singapore 'I've tried everything': Mum helpless as son's Kpod addiction spirals out of control Singapore NDP 2025: How Benjamin Kheng is whisked from Marina Bay to Padang in 10 minutes by boat, buggy Singapore Almost half of planned 30,000 HDB flats in Tengah to be completed by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat Singapore From libraries to living rooms: How reading habits take root in underserved S'pore children Asia Thai-Cambodia clashes spread along frontier as death toll rises Asia Thousands rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur for resignation of PM Anwar "Then at one point, you come to conclusions and maybe you want to change something, and this is something that will happen over the coming weeks, months," he said. "So, it's really early days, but so far, he's very keen and very motivated, and that's exactly what you want also. I got on very well with him. So, yeah, it's been a very good start." REUTERS
Straits Times
10 hours ago
- Straits Times
Verstappen starts new Red Bull era with Spa sprint win
SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - Formula One champion Max Verstappen won a "cat and mouse" Belgian Grand Prix sprint on Saturday in Red Bull's first race under the leadership of Laurent Mekies following Christian Horner's dismissal. McLaren's championship leader Oscar Piastri finished second, after taking a dominant pole position for the 100km race, with the Australian increasing his advantage over teammate Lando Norris to nine points. Norris ended up where he started, in third place on a bright afternoon at the longest and second fastest track on the calendar. Charles Leclerc was fourth for Ferrari with Haas's Esteban Ocon fifth and Carlos Sainz sixth for Williams. Haas's Oliver Bearman and Racing Bulls' Isack Hadjar completed the scoring positions. Qualifying for what could be a soggy main grand prix at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday followed later. "Well done Max. Very, very impressive defence, very well controlled. You didn't leave anything on the table there," Mekies told Verstappen over the team radio after the Dutch driver took the chequered flag. Verstappen, starting second, used straightline speed to slipstream into the lead at les Combes on lap one and held off Piastri for the remaining 14, with the Australian 0.753 seconds behind at the flag. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Students hide vapes in underwear, toilet roll holders: S'pore schools grapple with vaping scourge Singapore 'I've tried everything': Mum helpless as son's Kpod addiction spirals out of control Singapore Almost half of planned 30,000 HDB flats in Tengah to be completed by end-2025: Chee Hong Tat Singapore From libraries to living rooms: How reading habits take root in underserved S'pore children Asia Johor faces healthcare worker shortage amid population boom, pull of higher Singapore salaries Asia Death toll climbs as Thai-Cambodia clashes continue despite calls for ceasefire Asia Thousands rally in downtown Kuala Lumpur for resignation of PM Anwar Asia Shunsaku Tamiya, who brought perfection to plastic race car models, dies at 90 The win was Verstappen's first, in either a sprint or grand prix, since Imola in May and it was knife-edge all the way. "I knew of course it was going to be very tough to keep them behind. So it's just playing like cat and mouse, DRS, battery usage," he said as the large contingent of Dutch fans celebrated. "The whole race was within seven tenths, so I couldn't afford to make big mistakes. I had one tiny lockup in the last corner, but apart from that it was, for us, a great result to keep them behind. "You have to drive over the limit of what's possible. Tyre management goes out of the window. I did 15 qualifying laps to keep them behind on a track where tyre management is important." PIASTRI FRUSTRATED Piastri had few real chances -- close enough to hope but too far to make a move stick. "I tried my best to snake my way through the straights and not give too much of a tow but didn't have enough straight-line speed and then obviously didn't have enough speed for the next 15 laps either," he said. "It is only a sprint, the main points are tomorrow, so pretty happy with it but a bit frustrated I couldn't get past." Norris was a further 0.661 adrift after losing third place to Leclerc on lap one and taking it back a few laps later. "I wasn't going to get past anyone unless Oscar got past Max. They drove good races," said the Briton. "I was hoping for a bit of battling but the Red Bull was too quick in the straight for us to catch up." The sprint was a disappointment for Mercedes, with George Russell 12th and Kimi Antonelli 17th. Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton also had a tough time, last year's grand prix winner with Mercedes finishing a distant 15th after starting 18th. Neither of the Alpines were on the grid, with Franco Colapinto starting from the pit lane and Pierre Gasly entering the race two laps late after a water leak had to be fixed. REUTERS
