blew a tire on the freeway at 70mph, questions. . .
 

my back left tire (falken azenis 215-45-r16) blew out on the freeway at about 70mph. i have never seen this before: the sidewalls were still on the rim but the rubber that touches the road was completely gone. looked like somebody peeled off the tire leaving only the sidewalls. i drove about 1/4 mile to the first exit and changed to the spare tire. i was wondering . . .

1. what's the probability that my rim is damaged? i was kind of on the rim but also on parts of the sidewall. . .how do i find out if it really is damaged? i asked one mechanic and he just sort of glanced at it and said it looked okay.

2. what could have caused this? i was low on tread but i don't think it was at the bursting point. . .and the way it blew out (as described above) seemed strange. any ideas?

thanks for the help!

forgot to mention. . .
 

3. my brakes now makes a strange creeking, crunching kind of sound the first few times i apply them after starting the car. but then after, feels fine and normal. could it have been damaged during the blow out? or does it have something to do with the fact that my spare tire is taller than the rest of the three tires and makes for an awkward angle (my spare is 205-65-r15). . .thanks again!

Sounds like an underinflated tire that overheated
 

Check all of your tire pressures - they should be around 35psi.

I had the same thing happen to one of my 17's.
 

The tire must have been low on pressure like mirror said. The sidewall that was left on the rim did not come off because it was still stuck in the bead, which will also keep your rim from being damaged.