L's & Gmn,

Had a flat tire experience recently...heard a noise coming from the left rear trunk area on the way to work. Sounded like something loose and rattling in the back. Only a few blocks more to work so arrived and checked the left rear tire (ok) and trunk area (ok). A few hours later & the tire was flat. Jacked it up and pulled the tire. Inspected it and found a puncture hole right in the center of the water channel. Picked at it and could see the steel belts/cords. No debris/nails, etc. were found. Tires (and car) only have 4900 miles on them. Anybody else had this type of experience w/ Pirelli P6000 225/50VR-16 OEM tires? The center water channel area seems like a very weak (thin) area on this tire.

Also, had to order this tire (from TireRack) as an exact replacement is not available here in Germany. They don't repair speed-rated tires either. Price was right (<>$100) as compared to other special order outlets.

Am amazed at this tire's resiliance & side-wall strength as I drive fairly fast on the 10 mile Autobahn trip to work!

End-of-Story.

RDL (C-70 LPT Y2K)