Cupra Tyres - Issue

[Rowan83]

I have a Leon Cupra which I leased since new in Sept 2019. With the current Covid situation and working from home the car hasn't been used that much in the past 10 months. Current mileage is 3500.

Last week when I was cleaning the car I spotted cracking in the shoulder/sidewall of the front tyres. Tyres are Continental ContiSport Contact 5P. Not really sure how this has happened, I check the pressures every 2-3 weeks and I don't use any harsh wheel/tyre cleaners.

I contacted Continental, they asked for photos which I provided and they came back and said that it's just 'cosmetic' cracking/crazing and doesn't affect the performance or safety of the tyre. They gave the below reason in part of their response...

"Areas which can be included are rising ozone levels, poor tyre inflation pressure maintenance or frequent overloading. Tyres that are used infrequently or in applications that result in only very short, low speed journeys do appear to be more susceptible to this condition".

They did state if I was not happy that I could send them to Continental for investigation through a tyre dealer. The only problm with this is I have to buy 2 temporary tyres, if they find no manufacturing fault not only will I lose money on the temporary tyres but have to pay to have the original tyres returned to me.

Do I just leave it?

 

[black_sheep]

If you have written evidence from the manufacturer, then I would suggest that they are more qualified than most on here.

You might want to investigate what appears to be a nail in your tyre though. If this has penetrated the tyre to cause a puncture, it will take one of the tyres out of the equation as you will not be able to repair due to the position.

The tyre wall is really thick and it’s on the highest part of the tread block so you may be lucky...

 

[motty225]

I agree, I wouldn't be worrying about that

 

[Rowan83]

If you have written evidence from the manufacturer, then I would suggest that they are more qualified than most on here.

You might want to investigate what appears to be a nail in your tyre though. If this has penetrated the tyre to cause a puncture, it will take one of the tyres out of the equation as you will not be able to repair due to the position.

The tyre wall is really thick and it’s on the highest part of the tread block so you may be lucky...

I spotted that, it was a tiny rock embedded into the tyre. We have some new houses being built on our estate and it's a right mess.

 

[Cuprabenwytm]

Take it for a blast that wil go, been stood too long, i wouldnt bother arguing with tyre guy for sake of a cuple tyres

 

[R4CK5]

I certainly wouldn't be concerned over the cracking at all, think they all go like that with age. Think of all the flexing and shape changing they go through. Bound to create imperfections.

Sent from my VOG-L09 using Tapatalk

 

[queen]

You shouldn't worry too much, it seems like age related cracking.

 

[martin j.]

As above, seen this a lot, if it had been the sidewall I’d have been more concerned.

 

[Rowan83]

Thanks for the responses everyone, think I will leave it for now. It is slightly annoying on fairly new tyres though.

 

[Level]

Thanks for the responses everyone, think I will leave it for now. It is slightly annoying on fairly new tyres though.

Launch it a couple of times and it will be gone

 

[BillyCool]

Quite normal. You don't see it on most car tyres as they are being used a lot more than the current situation allows.

My other half has a horse box that gets used once a month and although the tyres are more or less brand new (c.200 miles on them) they do crack a bit due to UV light and just standing around.

Give the car some right foot TLC and I'm sure you'll scrub it off soon enough.

 

[Polly]

Deffo looks like they were run under inflated. But I take your woed for it. The Manaufactures would obviously not.

Did you check how old /date of manufacture they were from the reference on the side wall?


Tyre Age - How Old Are My Tyres?
To help identify the age of your tyres, each one is imprinted with a coded date which tells you when that tyre was manufactured.
The four-digit tyre age code is usually located in a window on the tyre sidewall. The first two digits of the code represent the week of production during the year (from 1 to 52) while the second two digits represent the year of manufacture.

In this example, the manufacture date code is 4718 - where 47 denotes the week of manufacture and 18 represents the year, meaning the tyre manufacture date was the 47th week of 2018.
If your tyres are printed with only a 3-digit number, it means your tyres were manufactured before 2000 and should be replaced asap. There is no definitive tyre age limit as to when you should replace your tyres but once your tyres reach 7- 10 years old, you should keep a close eye on their condition and consider replacing them.
Tyre ageing is commonly identified by small cracks, known as crazing, which appear in the tyre sidewall. This is brought about when UV light oxidises the rubber causing it to dry out.
While tyres contain anti-oxidising chemicals which significantly slow down the rate of ageing, this wax-like substance is only released when the tyre is in motion. Therefore, if the tyre is not used frequently or is stored away ineffectively, they will age more quickly rendering them unroadworthy when returned to use. Low mileage, older cars tend to be most at risk from premature ageing - as drivers assume the tyres are still in good condition if they have plenty of tread.
Premature tyre ageing can affect safety and increase the risk of tyre failure. For this reason, Kwik Fit recommends drivers with tyres that are in use for six years old or more to have them checked professionally to ensure they are still safe for use. Remember to check additional tyres such as spare wheels or those fitted to caravans and trailers as these tyres typically see less use and will be more susceptible to tyre ageing.

 

[Dannnnn]

Very normal, especially for those continentals

 

[Rowan83]

Deffo looks like they were run under inflated. But I take your woed for it. The Manaufactures would obviously not.

Did you check how old /date of manufacture they were from the reference on the side wall?


Tyre Age - How Old Are My Tyres?
To help identify the age of your tyres, each one is imprinted with a coded date which tells you when that tyre was manufactured.
The four-digit tyre age code is usually located in a window on the tyre sidewall. The first two digits of the code represent the week of production during the year (from 1 to 52) while the second two digits represent the year of manufacture.

In this example, the manufacture date code is 4718 - where 47 denotes the week of manufacture and 18 represents the year, meaning the tyre manufacture date was the 47th week of 2018.
If your tyres are printed with only a 3-digit number, it means your tyres were manufactured before 2000 and should be replaced asap. There is no definitive tyre age limit as to when you should replace your tyres but once your tyres reach 7- 10 years old, you should keep a close eye on their condition and consider replacing them.
Tyre ageing is commonly identified by small cracks, known as crazing, which appear in the tyre sidewall. This is brought about when UV light oxidises the rubber causing it to dry out.
While tyres contain anti-oxidising chemicals which significantly slow down the rate of ageing, this wax-like substance is only released when the tyre is in motion. Therefore, if the tyre is not used frequently or is stored away ineffectively, they will age more quickly rendering them unroadworthy when returned to use. Low mileage, older cars tend to be most at risk from premature ageing - as drivers assume the tyres are still in good condition if they have plenty of tread.
Premature tyre ageing can affect safety and increase the risk of tyre failure. For this reason, Kwik Fit recommends drivers with tyres that are in use for six years old or more to have them checked professionally to ensure they are still safe for use. Remember to check additional tyres such as spare wheels or those fitted to caravans and trailers as these tyres typically see less use and will be more susceptible to tyre ageing.

Not sure how they could have been under inflated, I always make sure the pressures are 39 front/35 rear (95% of the time it's just me in the car). The only time I can think of was a day in December when I had my wife and young daughter in the car and a wall picture in the boot, it wasn't that heavy though.

The four digit code on the tyres is 1119 so that's week 11 of 2019.

 

[Polly]

No I garee not at all Rowan. It just what they say to avoid a new set.

I was running Goodyear F1s at the time and mine had little cuts in the sidewall and edge. Same result. In those days they had engineers in the field. Then stopped |I had to send reports to them on special scans they sent me.] Eventually they did come and look.
CUTS I say. I ask you. BONKERS 20 to 25mm long 1mm deep like a very sharp blade had been used. Not open they were closed. so not under load or high pressure.
In the end I superglued them together and forgot all about it.
[My last expercipiences was some Pirellis on a new Nissan Sports car.
The car was made in Japan on the line in say 2019 according to the vin and imported.
The Pirellis were dated 2 years NEWER.
Never quite got to the bottom of that except it may have been sat in a field somewhere? and had to have new tyres.]
[ I saw a new Mitsubishi sports car Bristol dockside stored NEW. All the tyres were flat and cracked.]

 

[70 Plate- Cupra 290]

Pop it in Cupra and go drive!! Dont worry about the tyres at all, they dont look at that when you even give it back. They look at the actual treads..

 

[Polly]

Pop it in Cupra and go drive!! Dont worry about the tyres at all, they dont look at that when you even give it back. They look at the actual treads..

BEST ADVICE !!

 

[2Stevo2]

Pop it in Cupra and go drive!! Dont worry about the tyres at all, they dont look at that when you even give it back. They look at the actual treads..

What he said!
Not even an issue.

 

[KXL]

I had Bridgestone Potenzas RE050As on 215/40 R17 Mk5 Ibiza, and they showed minor cracks like yours on the outside also around the 4k mileage mark. Nothing to worry about...Maybe low profile tyre are like that? Current Michelin Primacy 4 205/55 R16, haven't got any cracks and it's older plus on a heavier car...

 

[Rowan83]

If you have written evidence from the manufacturer, then I would suggest that they are more qualified than most on here.

You might want to investigate what appears to be a nail in your tyre though. If this has penetrated the tyre to cause a puncture, it will take one of the tyres out of the equation as you will not be able to repair due to the position.

The tyre wall is really thick and it’s on the highest part of the tread block so you may be lucky...

I know I said I thought this was a tiny stone but now I am not sure, struggling to remove it as it's embedded into the rubber. After scraping it looks like a piece of metal but looks to small to be a nail or anything? Just leave it?