Sal Collaziano
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Filed under: Safety, Pontiac
There aren't too many cars out there that can shred all four tires at once, but that's exactly what certain Pontiac GTO models are being accused of. Cleveland's Newsnet5 looked into GTO owners' complaints of shredded front tires with all the drama and hidden pinhole cameras (see the video here) you'd expect from a such a story.
What they found was actually somewhat startling. Early GTOs are eating their front tires. It seems the Holden Monaro, on which the GTO is based, is sold in Australia with 233 mm-wide tires. In the U.S., the GTO gets 245 mm-wide tires. According to the Center for Auto Safety, that extra rubber puts the tire snug up against the GTO's strut, causing the front tires to eventually fail. The TV station says 65 GTO owners have filed reports with the NHTSA about the problem, which has mailed letters alerting owners to an investigation.
Owners of 2006 GTOs need not worry about the tire-shredding problem. GM fitted the newer cars with updated struts which give sufficient tire clearance. Instead, that group of GTO fans gets to worry about strut failure, of which there have been numerous NHTSA complaints.
You can read a statement the CAS after the jump.
[Source: Newsnet5 via Wired]Continue reading GTO a real tire shredder?
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There aren't too many cars out there that can shred all four tires at once, but that's exactly what certain Pontiac GTO models are being accused of. Cleveland's Newsnet5 looked into GTO owners' complaints of shredded front tires with all the drama and hidden pinhole cameras (see the video here) you'd expect from a such a story.
What they found was actually somewhat startling. Early GTOs are eating their front tires. It seems the Holden Monaro, on which the GTO is based, is sold in Australia with 233 mm-wide tires. In the U.S., the GTO gets 245 mm-wide tires. According to the Center for Auto Safety, that extra rubber puts the tire snug up against the GTO's strut, causing the front tires to eventually fail. The TV station says 65 GTO owners have filed reports with the NHTSA about the problem, which has mailed letters alerting owners to an investigation.
Owners of 2006 GTOs need not worry about the tire-shredding problem. GM fitted the newer cars with updated struts which give sufficient tire clearance. Instead, that group of GTO fans gets to worry about strut failure, of which there have been numerous NHTSA complaints.
You can read a statement the CAS after the jump.
[Source: Newsnet5 via Wired]Continue reading GTO a real tire shredder?
Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
More...