We have all talked about everything from sports cars to everything that can be carried on a motoconcho but no one has seemed to talk about the one thing that moves this country, tires (or tyres, if you are English). Yes, lets talk about tires, which seems to need changing, once, every year in this country.
First of all, I was told that you don?t get a warranty on tires in this country. The reason being: bad roads in DR. when I bought my first set of new tires in DR (Puerto Plata) I was promised 3 years warranty on my tires. I paid the premium price, but I was stupid enough not to get the warranty papers. Later when I realized that my tires had been worn out so fast in such a short time, I went back to the dealer. First he refused to accept that I was told of anything regarding the warranty, and then he assured me that there is no such animal as tire warranty in DR.
Now let me tell you about my experiences with tires in DR. It seems that if you drive a normal car (not SUV) you would have to buy new tires almost every year (if you drive everyday). I am not only talking about road wear but I am also referring to tire damage from potholes and objects that can cause damage to tires.
First of all, the roads are bad in many parts of this country. If you hit a pothole at a high speed, not only you will damage the tire but you can also bend your rim. I have seen tires explode from hitting a pothole at high speeds. Car can go out of control (if it?s the front tire) and can cause a serious accident.
Here is what you need to watch for:
If you hit a pothole very hard or a rock which was left on the road to be run over by you then here is what you check for. First of all, check to see if you have developed a bubble like damage to the side of the tire. In most cases you will see a bubble like damage to the tire wall. Notice, not only the bubble can show up on the outside wall of the tire but it can also develop on the inside wall (facing the car) of the tire. This is a very dangerous situation as this damage can cause the tire to explode at a very inconvenient time of driving. Here is what has actually happened: the tire is made of strong rubber but inside the rubber you have steel net-like radial wiring structure to support the structure of the tire. It?s the steel radial wire mesh structure that holds the tire together. Of course you don?t have to have only steel radial but I am talking about the most common tire, which are steel radials. When you hit a hole in the street, the radial can break and the portion of the wall loses lateral support; thus a bubble forms on the side of the tire. This bubble signifies that the wall is weak in that area of the tire and will burst at any moment. It usually bursts when you turn hard towards that side (the weight of the car shifts that way) and the tire blows. This sudden loss of air can throw the car out of control. I will bet that this burst of tire will happen at a worst moment of driving ex: when you are at high speed and hit another pothole or when you are going through the curvy mountain roads (ex: loma, Santiago-puerto plata).
So the best course of action is to change the damn thing before you get yourself killed on the road. This type of damaged tire is not worth taking the risk.
When you hit a car, hard enough, on a pothole to damage a tire, I can also bet you that you have also damaged the rim of the wheel. RIM is the metal part of the wheel where the tires is mounted. If you see the wheel of the car being wobbly, this would almost always mean a bent RIM. Of course it can also mean other things but I am talking about bent rims here. If you live in the north coast, you are out of luck. There is no shop that straightens out a bent rim; you would have to come to Santiago to see Mr. Comeseta (27 de febrero street) to have it perfectly straightened out. To my knowledge, he is the only man who has the machine and the technique to straighten out bent rims (even aluminum alloys) in the Santiago area. Prices are 300 pesos for a regular rim and average alloy but if you roll in to his shop with a BMW or Mercedes, be prepared to pay more. If you are misfortunate enough to require his services, make sure you let the guy with the Buddha type beer belly to touch your car. He is the main expert in aligning the rims. Oh, to have the tire taken off and remounted on the rim is extra and the work is performed by a gomero next door.
Having said that, now we move on to another point.
I have noticed that it doesn?t matter if you buy an expensive brand of tire or a cheaper brand. Chances are that the tire will be damaged on the road before you can get full mileage out of it. I have never been lucky enough to use my tires till its full life (like in USA). I was always unfortunate enough to damage my tires. I used to get a lot of nails punctured into my tires in Puerto plata area but in Santiago, its not a big problem. Streets are more cleaner now than 2 years ago.
So buy cheaper brand tires if you own a regular used car. I buy used tires for about less than half the price of the new tire and get the same use out of them as the new ones. I wouldn?t recommend people to buy used tires unless they know what they are getting. I mean, you would have to know what a good used tire looks like (unlike a patched up low quality tire which looks almost new). I basically check my used tires out thoroughly and select myself the ones I want from the selection. In my experiences, used tires have been more cost effective as compared to the new ones.
If you own a jeepita (SUV) the tires will cost you a fortune. Those tires last much longer than a normal mid sized car tires because they are made for off road driving conditions and also to support the weight of the heavier vehicle.
Use seat belts and have safe driving.
First of all, I was told that you don?t get a warranty on tires in this country. The reason being: bad roads in DR. when I bought my first set of new tires in DR (Puerto Plata) I was promised 3 years warranty on my tires. I paid the premium price, but I was stupid enough not to get the warranty papers. Later when I realized that my tires had been worn out so fast in such a short time, I went back to the dealer. First he refused to accept that I was told of anything regarding the warranty, and then he assured me that there is no such animal as tire warranty in DR.
Now let me tell you about my experiences with tires in DR. It seems that if you drive a normal car (not SUV) you would have to buy new tires almost every year (if you drive everyday). I am not only talking about road wear but I am also referring to tire damage from potholes and objects that can cause damage to tires.
First of all, the roads are bad in many parts of this country. If you hit a pothole at a high speed, not only you will damage the tire but you can also bend your rim. I have seen tires explode from hitting a pothole at high speeds. Car can go out of control (if it?s the front tire) and can cause a serious accident.
Here is what you need to watch for:
If you hit a pothole very hard or a rock which was left on the road to be run over by you then here is what you check for. First of all, check to see if you have developed a bubble like damage to the side of the tire. In most cases you will see a bubble like damage to the tire wall. Notice, not only the bubble can show up on the outside wall of the tire but it can also develop on the inside wall (facing the car) of the tire. This is a very dangerous situation as this damage can cause the tire to explode at a very inconvenient time of driving. Here is what has actually happened: the tire is made of strong rubber but inside the rubber you have steel net-like radial wiring structure to support the structure of the tire. It?s the steel radial wire mesh structure that holds the tire together. Of course you don?t have to have only steel radial but I am talking about the most common tire, which are steel radials. When you hit a hole in the street, the radial can break and the portion of the wall loses lateral support; thus a bubble forms on the side of the tire. This bubble signifies that the wall is weak in that area of the tire and will burst at any moment. It usually bursts when you turn hard towards that side (the weight of the car shifts that way) and the tire blows. This sudden loss of air can throw the car out of control. I will bet that this burst of tire will happen at a worst moment of driving ex: when you are at high speed and hit another pothole or when you are going through the curvy mountain roads (ex: loma, Santiago-puerto plata).
So the best course of action is to change the damn thing before you get yourself killed on the road. This type of damaged tire is not worth taking the risk.
When you hit a car, hard enough, on a pothole to damage a tire, I can also bet you that you have also damaged the rim of the wheel. RIM is the metal part of the wheel where the tires is mounted. If you see the wheel of the car being wobbly, this would almost always mean a bent RIM. Of course it can also mean other things but I am talking about bent rims here. If you live in the north coast, you are out of luck. There is no shop that straightens out a bent rim; you would have to come to Santiago to see Mr. Comeseta (27 de febrero street) to have it perfectly straightened out. To my knowledge, he is the only man who has the machine and the technique to straighten out bent rims (even aluminum alloys) in the Santiago area. Prices are 300 pesos for a regular rim and average alloy but if you roll in to his shop with a BMW or Mercedes, be prepared to pay more. If you are misfortunate enough to require his services, make sure you let the guy with the Buddha type beer belly to touch your car. He is the main expert in aligning the rims. Oh, to have the tire taken off and remounted on the rim is extra and the work is performed by a gomero next door.
Having said that, now we move on to another point.
I have noticed that it doesn?t matter if you buy an expensive brand of tire or a cheaper brand. Chances are that the tire will be damaged on the road before you can get full mileage out of it. I have never been lucky enough to use my tires till its full life (like in USA). I was always unfortunate enough to damage my tires. I used to get a lot of nails punctured into my tires in Puerto plata area but in Santiago, its not a big problem. Streets are more cleaner now than 2 years ago.
So buy cheaper brand tires if you own a regular used car. I buy used tires for about less than half the price of the new tire and get the same use out of them as the new ones. I wouldn?t recommend people to buy used tires unless they know what they are getting. I mean, you would have to know what a good used tire looks like (unlike a patched up low quality tire which looks almost new). I basically check my used tires out thoroughly and select myself the ones I want from the selection. In my experiences, used tires have been more cost effective as compared to the new ones.
If you own a jeepita (SUV) the tires will cost you a fortune. Those tires last much longer than a normal mid sized car tires because they are made for off road driving conditions and also to support the weight of the heavier vehicle.
Use seat belts and have safe driving.
