Weird Tire Experience

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Last night I was coming down a main street near my house. It was dark and a motorcycle was in front of me. I saw a black form moving across the road up ahead. The bike slowed down, the form went to the shoulder and the bike passed, then the form came back out to the middle of the road. I was thinking a dog and slowed down. Got closer and it came back in front of me to the shoulder then I was stopping and it came back right at me (all this was rather surreal and the form seemed to be moving in slow motion). By then I could see it was a wheel and tire spun off a moving car. It dissappeared in front of me and I was stopped so waited to hear the smack into the bumper but it went to the side and I saw cars stopped behind me and it was going for the front of one of those cars. Then I saw an Aerostar on the other side of the road, leaning over hard--the culprit.
 
I have seen this happen once too!!! It was going down the interstate in IA and there was this car with two old ladies in it and they were going at just the right speed that their car was balanced on just three wheels, good thing since the 4th wheel had just came off and was going down the road ahead of them!!!
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We pulled them over after we got their attention and luckly they were able to stop on the side of the road without rolling the car they were shaken up but otherwise OK. We helped "find" their wheel and waited for the hiway patrol to come and help them further.

Apparently they had just had the tire fixed and the guy at the tire shop had only finger tightened the lug nuts and forgot to use a wrench to really tighten them, so when they were going down the road they had lost the lug nuts one by one until the wheel spun off the car!
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To this day when ever a "shop" removes a wheel on my vehicles I make sure that the lugs are tight my self before leaving!
 
I've seen it happen before too. I was going down I-85 when a Ranger going the opposite direction lost a front wheel. The wheel went down the interstate for a bit before going into the median. The driver of the truck pulled over without much more damage.

I saw the aftermath of some sort of wheel/brake/suspension carnage on a Tundra the other day. Something broke and the truck was leaning on the driver's side front wheel and tire, but the wheel hadn't completely detached from the truck.
 
A few years back the front drivers side tire came off a Grand Prix in front of me on the freeway at 75 mph. The driver didn't even deviate from the lane and came to a safe stop. I was impressed.

The tire must have rolled half a mile down the median, though. And judging by the sparks I'm sure the car needed quite a bit of work.

I'm always impressed watching high-speed chases how far people can go on 2 or 3 tires.
 
A couple of years ago I ran over a tire/wheel on the interstate, in heavy traffic. The back of my minvan almost jumped clear off the ground, a huge catapult effect. The tire and rim bounced along side of me, then it took the interstate off ramp, bounced passed a couple of cars and stopped in a hotel parking lot.

I was disgusted with myself for not having seen it on the road, but then got to thinking............
Could it have been my spare tire????

I had never had it off the vehicle, but knew where it was located, as I checked the pressure occasionally. Pulled over and checked, NO SPARE!!! The pellets that are crushed onto the cable that holds the tire on had apparently decided to end their careers. I returned to the off ramp, and picked up my spare - it seemed fine, returned home, installed new ubolt clamps on the cable and put it back in place!!!
With a compresser in the car for the leveling airbags (this minvan is a severe duty tow vehicle) I have always been able to blow up a flat tire and have never used the spare yet, even after 250 K miles, no idea if it is really round now or not!
 
Originally Posted By: fsskier
A couple of years ago I ran over a tire/wheel on the interstate, in heavy traffic. The back of my minvan almost jumped clear off the ground, a huge catapult effect. The tire and rim bounced along side of me, then it took the interstate off ramp, bounced passed a couple of cars and stopped in a hotel parking lot.

I was disgusted with myself for not having seen it on the road, but then got to thinking............
Could it have been my spare tire????

I had never had it off the vehicle, but knew where it was located, as I checked the pressure occasionally. Pulled over and checked, NO SPARE!!! The pellets that are crushed onto the cable that holds the tire on had apparently decided to end their careers. I returned to the off ramp, and picked up my spare - it seemed fine, returned home, installed new ubolt clamps on the cable and put it back in place!!!
With a compresser in the car for the leveling airbags (this minvan is a severe duty tow vehicle) I have always been able to blow up a flat tire and have never used the spare yet, even after 250 K miles, no idea if it is really round now or not!


Pellets crushed into the cable that holds the tire on???? I don't get it.
 
Pellets, I think he means a metal bead crimped or welded around the cable to form a stop. I cut the spare off my aerostar long ago as the cable was rotted and ready to let go. Someone on the Fordtrucks bulletin boards said a spare came off in front of them and bounced through the right side of their windshield. Fortunately he did not have a passenger at the time.

Imagine a tire coming off an 18 wheeler.
 
Middle of the night on a lonely interstate there was one of those round wheel trim rings just rolling along at about 10 MPH... probably had been rolling quite a while. Didn't see it until right on top of it as I was looking at its narrow dimension. Hit the spoiler under my bumper, made a "zing" noise, and flew forwards. Saw it in my headlight, then it caught the wind and went off to the shoulder.

Followed a fiero where the rear tire started wobbling. Took a couple minutes until the lug studs sheared off. Tire stopped about where the car did! Stopped to help the lady, she just had mechanical work done. AAA thought she had a flat tire (computer was probably prompting the operator to "check what applies") and she had to yell at them to send a tow truck. She got towed to the Sears car care center as they were closest.
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The lug nut surfaces on her alloy rim were totally chewed up. Told her to make sure they found another new used one. I bet with a new brake rotor and some studs the car could have been put back on the road though!!

Saw a skid mark that ended in a front tire of a 1st gen dodge caravan cocked completely sideways. Driver was able to get it sort of into off the road into the ditch. Blown tie rod end?
 
"pellets on the cable that holds the tire on"
Yes, they crush/crimp a ball of metal onto a cable, the cable retracts and pulls the tire up under the van.
Sorry, I cannot describe it better, remember this part departing from the cable is what caused the tire to fall off. I no longer had it for evidence!! But, looking under other cars, etc... Yes I put 3 cable clamps in a row on to prevent it from happening again.
 
This happened to my roommate. He called me and said his wheel fell off, I am thinking the ball joint broke. I get there and this is what I see. Apparently he had just picked his car up from a state mandated safety inspection, and the shop left the nuts loose. (Ironic I know)

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Originally Posted By: dishdude
This happened to my roommate. He called me and said his wheel fell off, I am thinking the ball joint broke. I get there and this is what I see. Apparently he had just picked his car up from a state mandated safety inspection, and the shop left the nuts loose. (Ironic I know)


That's not ironic, it's asinine...
 
Originally Posted By: moribundman
I must know!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NO! You will never be privy to this information! If necessary, I will ensure the poster takes the knowledge to his grave!

You will just have to suffer...
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I want to fit into BITOG by asking the same questions everybody else keeps asking!

PS: This post was typed on a Macintosh keyboard.
 
Originally Posted By: moribundman
What camera did you use?


The camera on my phone. Why do you ask?
 
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Why do you ask?


That's what I always wanted to know. Then I found out: because not asking would be rude.
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(You are an innocent victim of my strange sense of funny. Ignore it and move on.)
 
Originally Posted By: moribundman
I want to fit into BITOG by asking the same questions everybody else keeps asking!

PS: This post was typed on a Macintosh keyboard.


If you don't "fit in" after nearly six years, it's time to face the facts. You're just the square peg in a round hole. Or, should I say round peg???
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I've got you beat... I managed to type this on a Gateway! Har, har, har!!!
 
Originally Posted By: moribundman
(You are an innocent victim of my strange sense of funny. Ignore it and move on.)


This really explains a lot, don't you think?
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