On Wednesday I drove a little over 200 miles down to Stuart, FL to chill, play golf, and have fun with my brother-in-law and his friend. Drove a hundred or so miles while down there as well I'd guess, and drove the 200 back yesterday.

Went out today with my wife for a drive to explore some places we'd not seen including a VERY remote spot on the gulf coast, then back to a nice town (Crystal River) for lunch, then headed toward home again - probably another 100+ miles until near home we drove through a development we'd not seen before and I heard what sounded like going over a bump but there was no jolt. I immediately said "hmm, that's not right" but kept driving for about another mile I guess when I heard the 'thwap, thwap' of an obviously FLAT rear tire.

Pulled over, and the right rear rim was HOT, and the inside tirewall was SHREDDED and the outside tirewall was cut all the way around (by the rim I assume).

I'd said to my brother-in-law while away that I needed new tires soon, but now I know I need them!

As luck would have it, I'd left my torque wrench with the 21mm thin sleeve socket I need to remove the lugs off the HREs at home so I couldn't remove the wheel/tire.

FORTUNATELY we were pretty close to home and called a neighbor who kindly drove out to pick us up and take us to our home so we could get the wrench/socket, drive back in our other vehicle, swap in the spare and drive home so all is well.

HOWEVER - to think this flat could have happened 200 miles from home or at speed on the FL turnpike or earlier today at that REMOTE SPOT on the gulf coast where I probably would have had NO cell coverage is a bit scary!

This cautionary tale brought to you to remind you to make sure your spare is good and you have all the tools you need!

 

Yeah, u are lucky. Also pack some scotch and the newest edition of EVO with the spare.

 

Well, the big question is "Is the HRE OK?". LOL.

I am glad things worked out Paul and that it did not become anything more serious.

 

Thanks! The HRE is fine I think.

Now to find a decent tire dealer that can handle and balance HREs properly and carefully here in hicksville.

 

thats real man i had a blowout in the city about 2 months ago, the tire was shredded so i put the spare on right on the side of the curb. since i dont drive that much the pastb year i didnt rplace the spare but i always think about it b/c you know about murphys law. im going to take care of that tomorrow. thanks bit for the reminder

 

haha thanks chris for asking it, i was more worried about the hre as well

tire care for wheels like ours is definitely important. you have no idea how much attention i pay to the tires, their conditions, especially air pressure

 

Glad to hear that this didn't blow out and cause some major problems when you were far away from home or at high speed. Although we butt heads some times, I still wish you the best.

Take care

 

Thanks everyone!

Ed - who you calling a butt head? j/k - appreciate your thoughts.

 

Glad things worked out well for you.

How old was this tire? Rubber can deteriorate from age as well as mileage and tread wear. Most tires should be replaced after 6-7 years regardless of mileage. Low air pressure, vehicle overloading, and excessive speed for the tire rating can also cause failure. The fact that the wheel was hot indicates that excessive heat may have caused your tire's failure....the same thing that caused the failure of the Firestone Wilderness AT tires on the Explorers and Ford trucks. What caused the excessive heat, I can't say...I assume that you were driving at sensible speeds through a development, did not have the car overloaded, have enough sense to check your tires' PSI regularly, and we're past the season in FL of blistering-hot road temperatures in summer.

 

Although i'm glad to hear the HRE is fine....i'm more glad that you and your family made it home safely. We take these metal and plastic objects (and chrome) too close to our hearts sometimes.

 

You've been around long enough to know that we were just playing with Paul as he is wife are obviously fine from his post.

 

Glad to hear that everything worked out and this didnt happen at high speeds.

 

Glad to hear that all is good.

I myself have to slap on the new tires as soon as possible. My front tires are pretty much eaten up inside.

 

Sorry to here about your tire experience..... What did you think about Stuart, FL? I live 10 min south of stuart.... We should hook up some time.... Aren't you from melborne?

Tony

 

what kind of tire? bridgestone???