Can this KILL me?

[calamari]

darn, I just finished writing a super long explanation and they I made the mistake of hitting Ctrl+R and lost everything 

short version: 2 days ago front right tire on my car started to do some 'flapping' noise (as loose rubber hitting something.. or the road) while I was on the HWY at 70mph, so I stopped somewhere (nightime) and tried to check the tire by hand and looking carefully with flashlight. I couldn't find anything, but to be sure I started to spin the tires a bit at a parking lot to either lose the rubber or make the tire blow (better in a safe place than HWY).

Anyway, got on freeway, and there was the noise again. stopped, re-checked all tires, found nothing.. went home driving slower and with both hands on the wheel.
I drove a couple of times after that and I hear some of the same noise, and then it was gone. I am going out again now, and will listen carefully, but my question is:

Is my tire going to BLOW?
Any tips on how to handle a front tire blowout while on HWY at 65mph?

[spc]

check the plastic/rubber wheel well skirts.  It sounds like one is loose.
As far as a blow out at highway speed:  smooth but firm braking with steering wheel control and try to get your flashers on as fast as possible.

[ben2go]

darn, I just finished writing a super long explanation and they I made the mistake of hitting Ctrl+R and lost everything 

short version: 2 days ago front right tire on my car started to do some 'flapping' noise (as loose rubber hitting something.. or the road) while I was on the HWY at 70mph, so I stopped somewhere (nightime) and tried to check the tire by hand and looking carefully with flashlight. I couldn't find anything, but to be sure I started to spin the tires a bit at a parking lot to either lose the rubber or make the tire blow (better in a safe place than HWY).

Anyway, got on freeway, and there was the noise again. stopped, re-checked all tires, found nothing.. went home driving slower and with both hands on the wheel.
I drove a couple of times after that and I hear some of the same noise, and then it was gone. I am going out again now, and will listen carefully, but my question is:

Is my tire going to BLOW?
Any tips on how to handle a front tire blowout while on HWY at 65mph?

Sounds like you have some busted steel belts and the tire is starting to become out of round.It can't always be seen but they will blow.I know!I replaced all 4 of my tires because one broke the steel belt and turned to shreaded cheese.

[calamari]

oh yeah, I should have mentioned that too... the tires are fairly old... all of them except the front right {passanger side}.

is it fun to drive on shreaded cheese?

[Gofer]

is it fun to drive on shreaded cheese?

If it's freshly shredded, no... kinda slippery.     

But if it's that dehydrated bagged stuff, shouldn't be a problem. 

Just don't jerk the wheel if/when it happens. It'll pull pretty hard to the side that's busted, just resist the temptation to jerk the wheel back in the other direction.

Of course, it could be a pair of sunglasses stuck in your tread... Fixed that for someone once. 

[makenzie71]

Lift the car up on the jack and spin the wheel.  You would be able to see deformities if there's any internal damage.  However, I doubt this is the case, because it wouldn't be 'I'm hearing something'...a tire with internal damage can be felt.  Odds are you got something wrapped around one of your half shafts or driveshaft if it's rwhp.  We used to tie heavy cable ties to people trucks drive shafts...they wouldn't start slapping the bottom of the car until about 50mph and when they stopped the things would suck back up ouot of site haha

[yamahonkawazuki]

  damn i thought i was the only one who did that. cept it was a new car dealership 

[calamari]

rotfl, more reason not to trust the stealerships... 

will try and see what's going on under there. thanks

[Unnamed]

Yes, it can kill you to write a long-ass post and lose it for stupid reasons. It will suck though.

[ledfingers]

why bother finding out? buy new tires or get under the car yourself.

[calamari]

why bother finding out? buy new tires or get under the car yourself.

cause is more fun driving knowing your tires may blow at any moment 
an adverture-less life is no fun 

ok, now I'm just losing it... I better go to bed

[yamahonkawazuki]

rotfl, more reason not to trust the stealerships... 

will try and see what's going on under there. thanks

in my wilder and ( more stupid ) days, at same dealership, took the red seats out of a ford ranger, and swapped them out with teh black seats in another ford ranger. after that incident, never has a vehicle of theirs been ever unlocked again

[Caffeine]

If it is a front tire you suspect of making the noise, go ahead and swap it with one of the back tires until you replace it completely.   I'd rather have a back tire blow out than a front (steering) tire.   Sounds like it could possibly be tread separation, and that's not a good thing.

[groff22]

Is it a wobbly flapping sounds? long shot but maybe wheel bearings?

[bettingpython]

Usually tread seperation doesn't make a flapping noise you get a goose egg that starts to form and nasty vibrations in the tires.

[liquidicem]

It really sounds like you have something wrapped up under the car.  Get under there and check it out.