The Coconino sun., 1919-11-14
AUTOMOBILE NEWS
TIRE BLOWOUT OFTEN OCCURS WHEN THE CAR
 IS STANDING STILL

IS STANDING STILL
 Have you ever had a blowout when your car was standing still, after com ing from a drive on smooth, level road?
 Or have you have the experience of going out to your garage and finding a perfectly flat tire? It was all right when you drove in the evening before. Something had happened to it over night.
 You removed the tire and tube, and found the tube torn and clean break on the inside fabric of the tire.
 What caused the fabric break?
 It is very probable that it was started a week pr even month be- fore, when you ran over a brick, a rut, or hole in the street while run ming at high speed.
 Then, again, it may have been caused when, in turning around in the street, you allowed the front or rear wheel of the car to bank into the curb stone. Of course, this is more likely to happen if the brakes are not in good working order.
 At first the break may be small, but the broken threads of the fabric at the injury chafe each other while the tire is in use, getting up an inter- nal friction that quickly causes the break to enlarge.
 The other plies soon break, the tube is pinched and a blowout results. Generally this occurs some time after the original break and when circum- stances point to an apparent cause.
 It is unfortunate that the brllise or fabric break is seldom manifested by any indication on the outside of the tire, fer the tough tread rubber mere ly stretches when the tire strikes the stone or curb; but the fabric can stretch only certain limit and when taxed beyond that point will break. Often only the innermost ply is in- jured.
 Consequently it is good practice to carefully examine the inside of your tires for fabric breaks every time they are removed from the rim, or have your service station dealer do it for you whenever he removes your tires.
 Sometimes small fabric break that can not be found by ordinary exami- nation causes tube puncture. These small breaks may be located in this manner: Mark the position of the the tube around the tire. Thus the puncture in the tube locates the break in the fabric.
 The best way to avoid stone bruises is to avoid hitting the stones, the bumps and the ruts in the road as much as possible.
 But there is always the probability that you may be placed in circum- stances that practically compel you to repair the tire yourself. For instance, you may be running without spare tires and far from service station, therefore, when the bruise or blow out comes, a repair is necessary.
 After a blowout comes, do not run the tire a foot farther than is neces- sary, but immediately put in a tenn porary repair or change tires, and as soon as possible take the injured tire to the vulcanizer for permanent re- pair.
 For an emergency repair on the road, use a rimcut patch. It should be applied without cement so that it can be removed later. under less stressful conditions, and a permanent vulcanized repair made.
 If the tire is too old to be worth vulcanizing, a permanent repair can be made that will allow the tire to be used many more miles Dy using the rimcut patch and cementing it in with patching cement.
 To do this, follow these directions: First, be sure the fabric at the break is dry; then clean the inside of the tire thoroughly at the break with gas- oline for space slightly larger than the patch; after it is dry apply two coats of patching cement, allowing time for each coat to dry and become tacky. Give the outside of the patch the same number of coats, and after this cement is dried, insert the patch by sealing the toe of the tire bead in the crease in the patch wing. Now work the patch down all the way across the tire, pressing it down firm ly and smoothly, and then adjust the other bead.
 A repair of this nature is often the means of enabling you to use the tire immediately, of securing many hun- dreds of additional miles, or the tire may be carried as a spare.
 If in repairing the side of the cas- ing in the above way it is noticed that the tread also has been injured, this, too, should be repaired by using tire putting and patching cement Of course, if the tread injury is large, it should be repaired by an expert tire repair man.