TWO flat tires in the family this morning!

Racer88

Racer88

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My daughter left to work about the time I got up. Shortly thereafter, I got a text... She has a low tire and is coming home. Tire was down to 10 psi by the time she got home. She said she could hear hissing. I didn't hear it, so I filled the tire to spec. And THEN I could hear the hissing. She said she told her boss she wasn't coming in today. And it was time for me to go to work, so no time to fix her tire or change to the spare (and she was staying home anyway).

So, off to work I go. On the turnpike, my low tire light comes on! I clicked my dash to display the four tire pressures, and sure enough the left rear tire was down to 27 psi. I pulled off at the plaza that was a short distance ahead. I filled the tire a little over spec (35 psi) with my portable inflator. Got back on the road and monitored the pressures on the display. Uh-oh... that left rear tire is losing pressure... and pretty fast. My exit was only a few miles ahead. I pulled off and into the nearest gas station. Pressure was down to 24 psi. Parked and NOW I could hear hissing from the tire. Crap.

No problem! I have everything I need including a full size spare in my Outback. I've even got a battery-powered impact wrench. This dude is READY!

I get the flat tire off and put it on the ground a few feet behind the car.... Looking at it, I found the culprit. It's either a staple or a folded over nail.

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Next I go to pull the spare out of the well in the rear cargo space. Of course a full size spare is a bit bulky and heavy. But I got it, no problem. And then I stepped backwards as I pull it out. You might have guessed what happened next! See that flat tire behind the car? Yep! I fell ON MY ASS over the flat tire with the spare on top of me!

I'm really lucky I didn't get seriously hurt. I did bang my left elbow on the ground. That's the extent of my injuries as far as I know. My pride had me looking around to see if anyone saw me. Either nobody noticed or nobody cared! I got up and dusted myself off and finished the job. At work now.

What are the chances BOTH my daughter and I had flats? Maybe someone dumped a bunch of construction crap on the road in our neighborhood.
 
The headline could have been:

Monday March 16, 2026: Founder of online gun forum found unconscious on roadside
 
I thought I saw Hillary lurking in the shadows. Should I be worried?
 
You're not going to believe what was in my tire (to make it go flat). I've seen a lot of nails, screws, etc in tires. But this is a first. At first, it looked like a nail that went in partially and then got bent over horizontally. I didn't take a picture of it at first. But it was flush with the tread. I started to dig it out, as I was curious.

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As it lifted, it became apparent that it was not a nail, but a flat piece of metal. And it was not coming up easily. I dug at it with a small flat screwdriver, wedging and easing it up and out. The metal piece had a hole through it, which made it easier to engage with the screwdriver to leverage it out while simultaneously pulling with a pair of pliers

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It's a KEY! How the hell does THAT get embedded ON EDGE into a tire??

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I don't know if it can be patched from the inside. I need new tires anyway, but now is just not a good time for that. I've been hit with a bunch of unexpected BIG ticket expenses recently. Ay, ay, ay!
 
Racer88 said:
My pride had me looking around to see if anyone saw me. Either nobody noticed or nobody cared!
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You'll see a video of your "fail" on X soon... :D
Racer88 said:
What are the chances BOTH my daughter and I had flats? Maybe someone dumped a bunch of construction crap on the road in our neighborhood.
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Maybe buy a lottery ticket? It's happened to me before but on the same car...

That is another skill to teach the youngun's--plugging a tire... :)
 
Bobster said:
You'll see a video of your "fail" on X soon... :D
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LOL! I said that to my wife and daughter. If the gas station people look at the surveillance footage... it would no doubt be "viral" if posted on TikTok or the likes.

I'm tellin' ya... my fall was spectacular! On my ASS! With the spare tire on top of me!

It really was stupid... and I was very lucky to not get seriously hurt.
 
I took my flat tire to my tire shop. As I expected they took one look, shook their heads and said, "esta jodido" (it's fucked in Spanish). He'll order the new tires. I'll probably have them installed Thursday. Tomorrow both he and I are busy.

I just got done plugging my daughter's tire. Another amazing foreign object. It was a screw and it was LONG. I couldn't just pull it straight out. I had to unscrew it! This thing was ALL the way in... buried!

The plugging part went pretty easy. Reamed it. Put some adhesive on the plug and shoved it in. Trim off the excess plug. And test with soapy water. Done!

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Damn the bad luck.

I have for many decades kept a plugging kit in my vehicles. Unfortunately, they sit so long the damn glue gets hard and makes the kit almost totally useless, except I try to find the plugs that are sticky as hell and they tend to hold in long enough to get me to a tire shop and get it patched from the inside.
 
GuitarmanNick said:
That tire has no tread and needs to be replaced, anyway. The key did you a favor.
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Oh, I knew and know! Given the other recent sudden large expenses, I hoped to milk them just a little longer before I replaced them. Ah, but they say shit comes in "threes," eh? It sure did! Oh well... I'll manage somehow! LOL!
 
Way back in December of 2016 I was working for Best Buy and I had a 1.5 hour commute to work. I was pushing my tires on my Miata to get just a little more time, even though I new they needed to be replaced. One morning around 5am, I was on the the SH130 tollway doing the normal 80mph, despite it being very rainy and my tires being way too bald. As I took a sweeping left hander, my tires decided to keep gong straight. I went off the highway at 80 and spun multiple times before coming to rest in a field. Luckily, I went off where there were no ditches, embankments or road signs to hit. I had to get towed back home, get cleaned up from tromping though a muddy field, then get in my truck and drive the 1.5 hours to work. In truth, I was driving too fast for the conditions and my tires were way past time to replace. That experience made me a believer in keeping my tires in good shape. Squeezing "one more month" out of a set of tires just isn't worth the risk.

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GuitarmanNick said:
That tire has no tread and needs to be replaced, anyway. The key did you a favor.
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@Racer88 should change his alias to Baldy.

Those tires are used up.

I have the same issue. My ’21 Gladiator has 35’s on it. They are just about done. I want to replace them with Toyo or Nitto 35’s. I need five because I prefer to have a full sized spare. $2500. Ouch.
 
Warhammer said:
Way back in December of 2016 I was working for Best Buy and I had a 1.5 hour commute to work. I was pushing my tires on my Miata to get just a little more time, even though I new they needed to be replaced. One morning around 5am, I was on the the SH130 tollway doing the normal 80mph, despite it being very rainy and my tires being way too bald. As I took a sweeping left hander, my tires decided to keep gong straight. I went off the highway at 80 and spun multiple times before coming to rest in a field. Luckily, I went off where there were no ditches, embankments or road signs to hit. I had to get towed back home, get cleaned up from tromping though a muddy field, then get in my truck and drive the 1.5 hours to work. In truth, I was driving too fast for the conditions and my tires were way past time to replace. That experience made me a believer in keeping my tires in good shape. Squeezing "one more month" out of a set of tires just isn't worth the risk.

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Lucky. A similar thing happened to a college buddy of mine. A good friend. He had the bad luck of slamming into a utility pole when he lost control in wet weather. Killed him instantly. He was sliding sideways and the car wrapped around the pole right at the drivers door. he was driving a piece of junk Starfire with tires as bald as they can be. He didn't have the money to replace them.

Starting with high school I drove small roadsters (MGB and Austin) and in college a Nova. I drove like a jackass who was immortal. Always driving too fast, occasionally reckless. Same jackassery with motorcycles. My buddy’s death was a true wake up call for me. I carried him with five other friends out of the funeral home. 20 years old. Forty years later it still saddens me.

The lesson was dont be reckless and one oversight or procrastination can get you snuffed. It stuck with me ever since.
 
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Bongo Lewi said:
Lucky. A similar thing happened to a college buddy of mine. A good friend. He had the bad luck of slamming into a utility pole when he lost control in wet weather. Killed him instantly. He was sliding sideways and the car wrapped around the pole right at the drivers door. he was driving a piece of junk Starfire with tires as bald as they can be. He didn't have the money to replace them.

Starting with high school I drove small roadsters (MGB and Austin) and in college a Nova. I drove like a jackass who was immortal. Always driving too fast, occasionally reckless. Same jackassery with motorcycles. My buddy’s death was a true wake up call for me. I carried him with five other friends out of the funeral home. 20 years old. Forty years later it still saddens me.

The lesson was one oversight or procrastination can get you snuffed. It stuck with me ever since.
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Yeah, my guardian angel was working overtime that morning. It could easily has been way worse. As it turned out, I just had to pay for a tow and get my wheels realigned. I'm really serious about tires now. Also, wet weather handling is the number one factor I look at when buying tires. It shook me more than I realized at the time. That morning, I just got home, got my truck and drove 1.5 hours down the same road so I could work all day. A lot of people at work said they wouldn't have come in if that had happened to them. It was only awhile later that I realized I had developed an anxiety about driving in rain. To this day, I am much more cautious when driving in wet weather.
 
Warhammer said:
In truth, I was driving too fast for the conditions and my tires were way past time to replace. That experience made me a believer in keeping my tires in good shape. Squeezing "one more month" out of a set of tires just isn't worth the risk.
Click to expand...

As a former track junkie and graduate of 2 racing schools, I'm VERY familiar with how tires and traction work in various conditions. In my track days, rainy days were considered an OPPORTUNITY! They did not cancel on rainy days. A lot of those skills transfer to safer public road driving. They have served me well.

I can actually feel the grip of the tires on the road and when they're on the edge. On the track, we were CONSTANTLY on the edge. So feeling it becomes instinctive. I also can feel a difference of even a couple of PSI in the tire pressures. Accordingly, I adjust my driving in the wet depending on the tread depth.
 
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