Well that was a butt pucker! Blown tire on highway in the 944 with kids...

Last night I took the mini Javs to dinner.  We took the 944 S2 and had a great time, then got gas, then headed home. A mile from home on the interstate at 70 the right rear tire blew out with no warning. The car pulled a little to the right but nothing unmanageable. I was able to limp off of the highway using the shoulder. The kids are fine and I'm fine but man that sucked.

Yes the tires were properly inflated and the car is garaged. They are 2013 date codes but have always been garage and have 0 signs of dry rot or other failure. These are the tires we drove cross county on last summer. 

I was already going to replace these for more period correct tires this spring. Hopefully there's no permanent damage to the car itself. 

Oof. Glad that was a rear!

Laquer thinner and a paper towel should get the rubber off. Then you can see what you're working with on the body

Ouch. Had a similar situation about 15 years ago on I-70 in Ohio with the wife driving my XR4Ti. No warning, sudden rear blowout. Still the only time I've ever experienced a tire failure. Luckily she was able to drift over to the shoulder without further incident. 
It looks like that'll probably buff out though.

I bet there is little if any damage.  These things are built like brick ship houses

Really glad you guys are okay! That would definitely be scary with kids in the car.

Casual drop that most tires rubber changes/ages out 6-7 years after manufacture, even with no visible issues.

Be careful out there!

Was that the corner something weird happened with on your cross county-bringing it home-trip?

In reply to MrJoshua :

It was! The odd thing was the lower shock bolt fell out. It is still there! We inspected everything after that and there was nothing on the tire, and it's probably done over 1,000 miles since.

classicJackets (FS) said:

Really glad you guys are okay! That would definitely be scary with kids in the car.

Casual drop that most tires rubber changes/ages out 6-7 years after manufacture, even with no visible issues.

Be careful out there!

You're right. The tires were garaged their whole life and I debated changing them before the cross-country trip. I ultimately didn't and they were perfect, including tons of grip on the Tail of the Dragon and then at the Maryhill Tour event once we got home, so I probably had an artifically inflated sense of acceptance of them.

I replaced the tires on my 996 TT immediately after purchase because they were 7 years old.  I didn't care that they had full tread and looked ok, they were still 7 years old.   I routinely fail Porsches at the track tech inspections for having tires that are well over 7 years old.

Glad you and the kids are OK!

To remove the rubber residue try Mothers Race Rubber Remover.   Spray on, wait a little, wipe off.  The stuff is magic, way better than anything else I've tried.  

This just happened to me as well. Doing probably 80 in the middle of the desert in a Silverado, cheap tires from the PO. Front left didn't blow, but the tread delaminated or something. Made a hell of a racket as it beat the hell out of the wheel well, and was deep enough that the steel belt was visible (and extremely sharp as I found out). Was on a 16 hr long trip with a new to me motorcycle in the bed, was not a fun experience.

Good job getting home safely, looks like minimal to no damage after you clean it up.

Just pulled the wheel off. No visible damage to the car (other than rubber everywhere) and no visible damage to the tire tread itself. I do wonder if I got a cut on the sidewall. Never really had any passengers in the back for more than around the block and coupled with a full tank of gas might have been enough to make the RR rub the fender.

Happy all is well.  I've been to Maryhill too.  Love the gorge.  
 

The rubber will buff off.  I'd try goo fine first since it's a bit milder than lacquer thinner.  If you do need thinner get it off fast as that red has no clear coat from the factory.  

Here's the tiny little piece of metal that kissed the tire.

Luckily it's all coming off so far.

I'd wager that something cut or punctured the tire, it lost air, and then came apart. 
 

similar thing happened to me with the rear tire on my 96 mustang.  It has made me decide that tpms aren't completely frustrating 

1. You are lucky that did not happen on the Dragon.

2. You are having bad luck with tires recently.

Glad everyone is OK.

Damn, I'll echo everyone with a glad that didn't end badly. I had an old tire explode on the front of my old Toyota 4x4 on the freeway years ago. Tore off part of the bumper and made me very annoyed. 

So the car is mostly fixed except for the stone guard.

I replaced the tires with the new Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 thanks to GRM. They are vintage looking for 89 and they really look great. 

I just put tires on the van. They were $1000, I once pushed them near 7 years and had one come apart...........I don't push that anymore.

I've had this (rear blowout) happen twice. Once I lost the front wheel entirely while on the interstate, watched it pass me. Surprisingly anticlimactic.

Glad you all are ok, and the car.

All tires replaced now. I really like how the Michelin Pilot Exalto PE2 tires look. I only have 3 miles on them so I can't comment as to how they drive yet. 

They look the part. Thumbs up.

In reply to Javelin :

On my way to be your first like and comment.