So I went to the track a few weeks back and approximately 1/4 mile from the track one of my rear tires starts leaking (27x11.5/15 Hoosier QTP.) Before I could get the car to the air pump much less stop the car the tire had already gone flat and upon the last revolution had popped off the rim. No damage to the rim thank God. Got the wheel off and put the tire back on but it won't hold air at all. With the air compressor on it the pressure will maintain at approx. 20 psi (losing as much air as I'm putting in it.) The source of the leak was from around the outside bead of the tire right at the rim. There appears to be no major damage to the tire or the rim. Can I trust this tire if I take it to a shop and they can get the bead to seal again? Should I go ahead and put a tube in it regardless or should I play the safe route and just order a new tire? I don't really want to replace it if I don't have to. They're fairly new. One things for sure. No more track tires on the street.

 

If the rim rode on the sidewall of the tire, I'd be very hesitant to use the tire. Hard to see how the tire could have come off the rim without the edge of the rim cutting across the sidewall. The slick sidewalls are so flexible that there's probably not much there to keep the rim from cutting right through the sidewall, or at least damaging the structural integrity. I buddy of mine was running top of the line Pirelli radials on the front of his 97 SS, with narrowed 17" SS wheels for the "factory" appearance, the car came down from a wheelstand too hard, the rim cut through the sidewall of the tire and the car went into the side wall.

If you were to add a tube, you would have to add a tube to both tires. The tube changes the apparent sidewall stiffness so dramatically, that running a tube on one side and not tube on the other will have the car pulling strongly to one side or the other.

 

Good info. Wasn't aware of the tubes needing to be on both sides. I don't think I'm going to take any chances and just go ahead and order a new tire. New question however. Will having one tire with less than 10 passes on it and another tire that's new cause any problems in handling on the track?