Re: Tire Sidewall \"SHREADS\" - Need Advice
Russ, I had almost the exact same experience, one week
after getting my GTS. My wife and I were driving home at midnight in a light rain, after an all day touring
run with the Va/Md club in the Va Blue Ridge mountains.
On the D.C. Capitol west side beltway, left fifth of six lanes, moderate traffic, I start to hear, and feel,
a low rumble. After the proverbial "oh, sh&t..",
I try to get over to the right shoulder, through traffic. Finally, with tire literally flopping, I stop just barely on the shoulder, then roll slowly another ten feet, hoping to not ruin the rim, to get enough off the shoulder to work on the tire and not get killed. Dark as H&*L, rain, no light, I get
out the spare and jack, my wife reading where the jack point is, finally find the jack point and get the jack under it when a road service truck pulls up. Light ! He wants to put his jack under the side sill - no way ! Get the wheel up and off and the spare on. Try to put the shredded tire/wheel in the trunk ! Finally just set the whole thing in there on edge ( later get it in with friend's help ), and tie the hatch down with a
piece of towel from the road service guy. ( Thanks for the light and tie !) Did not damage the wheel well, or the rim - yes, ecstatic! nothing else !
The original 18" Sports with only 5600 miles on them, 8/32
tread, had two pea sized holes in the sidewall, shredded both sides.
Some A&% dropped a load of something, never saw it. Great driving the rest of the way around the Capitol beltway, up
95 to the Baltimore beltway, around the west side, up 795..
at 50, at one am, with the hatch part way open, in the rain,
and shredded tire hanging out.
Original factory tires, no road hazard warranty, Michelin list is $700 !. Luckily, a club member gets club members wholesale, ( Thanks, Joe !! and Ron and Andy ! ),
AND road hazard for all four at $16 per tire ! ( a week later I find a small screw in the NEW TIRE, and they fix it under the warranty, internal layered patch. YAY! ) and find out the RIGHT front wheel had a frozen lug from someone cross-threading the lug with an airwrench. Could not get it off.
Wouldn't THAT have been fun. or the tire blow up in the mountains at speed on tight curves with the other eleven Va/Md club Vipers right behind !
Check your lugs. Carry a light. Get road hazard insurance ! Check pressures OFTEN. As always, glad that you and rest of car
are fine.
