First flat tyre for years

eye30 · **September 15, 2008, 19:05:54**

Got my first flat tyre yesterday for ??? years.

Ok nothing strange in that you'll say as people get flats each and every day.

BUT if you have locking Hy wheel nuts check them now before YOU get a flat.

I couldn't get the locking nut off at the side of the road so took a chance and managed to drive to a local tyre repair lockup .

Well, the mechanic couldn't get the "key" to turn with hand held brace and resorted to using an air gun set VERY VERY high. The key kept splipping off the nut but eventually he got it off. Key insert is not in the best of health. I believe the technical term is f***ed.

I never knew he could speak every european language known!

When I take car in for service next week I'll be asking for new locking nuts under warranty!!

Bets on my chances of a new set are be taken.

SO CHECK YOURS NOW AND MAKE SURE YOU CAN GET THEM OFF BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE

Shambles · **Reply #1: September 15, 2008, 19:11:02**

Again, more worrying stuff.

So did the supplied key not actually fit the bezel, or was the bolt overtightened?

Will check mine tomorrow now, thanks for the info eye30

eye30 · **Reply #2: September 15, 2008, 19:19:32**

Quote from: "Shambles"

.So did the supplied key not actually fit the bezel, or was the bolt overtightened?

Key fitted OK. Not overtight.
The chap just kept muttering "slipping out" due to the very short depth of the pattern.

Shambles · **Reply #3: September 15, 2008, 19:24:04**

Well that sounds aweful. Just had a look at mine (I keep the spare bolts + key in the boot) and you're right. It looks very narrow. Very little grip I would imagine.

How's the tyre? Did you manage to get a good repair on the Kumho?

eye30 · **Reply #4: September 15, 2008, 20:08:12**

Quote from: "Shambles"

How's the tyre? Did you manage to get a good repair on the Kumho?

Yes.
There was a very small slither of metal which had got wedged in the middle tread.
Just put patch inside and rebalanced wheel.

Put loads of "Sealer" around rim to make sure of good air seal.

I've just set pressure to 32psi so will check tomorrow to make sure no other puncture.

Lakes · **Reply #5: September 15, 2008, 20:24:09**

Eye, sorry to hear that m8!
Did you find out what caused the flat? i do a lot of miles and can't remember the last time i had a flat tyre, but had one that had lost airpressure and it showed up when i put a load on the car. that was about 8 years back. i check my tyre pressure regularly and if i notice a tyre is loosing pressure every few days i do a close check on it looking for nails or other objects that it could have picked up. thats the beauty of tubeless tyres. if the tyre has a nail in it i always make sure they repair it the correct way that is remove thetyre from the wheel, do a case check from the inside, remove the object that is in the tyre, check that it has not caused case damage then plug, then patch over the plug from the inside. if you don't watch the barstards they will tell you they will do that but they just pull the object out and plug it from the outside ( this is not very safe!)
As for the lock nut, they all seem like that m8, i used one about 15 years back and after the first time i had to take the wheel off, i got rid of the lock nuts and have never used them again, also i have never had a car or wheel stolen in all the years i've been driving.
I have had my wheels off my i30, i rotated them @ 6,000k ( 4,000mile ) i put the fron tyre's on the rear and the rear on the front keeping all tyres rotating same dirrection. i coat the stud threads with anti seize, i used the hi-temp copper anti seize. there was no sign of wear so i'll do it again when the 15,000k service comes up in a few weeks.
sorry again mate.

Dazzler · **Reply #6: September 16, 2008, 02:39:08**

Sorry to hear about the Tyre Eye.. I'm sick with the flu. Actually doing this post on my new toy (Acer One - mini laptop) bit hard on the eyes after the 24"screen

donc · **Reply #7: September 16, 2008, 02:44:03**

My wife had a flat the first week we owned the car - her first in 30 years of driving

Lakes · **Reply #8: September 16, 2008, 20:42:48**

Quote from: "dazzling_darryl"

Sorry to hear about the Tyre Eye.. I'm sick with the flu. Actually doing this post on my new toy (Acer One - mini laptop) bit hard on the eyes after the 24"screen ( sounds like a foxy babe with a short skirt on ya lap )
So they have good home care service for old guys in Taz m8?

Lakes · **Reply #9: September 16, 2008, 20:46:31**

Quote from: "donc"

My wife had a flat the first week we owned the car - her first in 30 years of driving

Sorry to hear that Don! Now i understand your meaning about wanting better Tyres. how did it go flat, and are the cases on the light side? also what way do you think you will go if you change to New Tyres?

donc · **Reply #10: September 16, 2008, 21:10:53**

Quote from: "Lakes"

Sorry to hear that Don! Now i understand your meaning about wanting better Tyres. how did it go flat, and are the cases on the light side? also what way do you think you will go if you change to New Tyres?

Hi Lakes,

Better puncture protection and the point at which a tyre breaks traction are only two aspects of a good tyre IMO - It was more a reflection on handling (esp wet weather), wall stength and ride characteristics. Looked at Bridgestone yesterday but haven't made a final choice yet. I've had Michelin on most of my cars and very happy with them... although have Bridgy's on my Xtrail and have done 70,000 km. They look good for plenty more yet (not at all bad for a 4x4!) ... undecided at this stage....

Lakes · **Reply #11: September 16, 2008, 21:25:04**

Quote from: "donc"

Quote from: "Lakes"
Sorry to hear that Don! Now i understand your meaning about wanting better Tyres. how did it go flat, and are the cases on the light side? also what way do you think you will go if you change to New Tyres?
Hi Lakes,

Better puncture protection and the point at which a tyre breaks traction are only two aspects of a good tyre IMO - It was more a reflection on handling (esp wet weather), wall stength and ride characteristics. Looked at Bridgestone yesterday but haven't made a final choice yet. I've had Michelin on most of my cars and very happy with them... although have Bridgy's on my Xtrail and have done 70,000 km. They look good for plenty more yet (not at all bad for a 4x4!) ... undecided at this stage....

Don, the Kumho 15" i have feels ok in the wet, i have driven a few 400k one way trip's in wet never had them loose traction they roll smooth enough, i think if i changed i would look at the Michelin Energy Tyres, a friend of mine has a set on his Mazda and loves them, they are supposed to
help economy too. so far i'm happy enough with what on mine. i been keeping 42psi front 40psi rear, i use a digital tyre gauge that checked out right last time i had it checked.

Dazzler · **Reply #12: September 17, 2008, 06:14:39**

Quote from: "Lakes"

Quote from: "dazzling_darryl"
Sorry to hear about the Tyre Eye.. I'm sick with the flu. Actually doing this post on my new toy (Acer One - mini laptop) bit hard on the eyes after the 24"screen ( sounds like a foxy babe with a short skirt on ya lap )
So they have good home care service for old guys in Taz m8?

"Sounds like a foxy babe with a short skirt on ya lap ..." I wish....

It's a miniature laptop with an 8.9 inch screen... 120GB hard drive, 1 gig of ram, Windows XP (I got the Navy one as per this pix)

Lakes · **Reply #13: September 17, 2008, 08:14:15**

Hey Dazz sounds great to me and looks compact, how does it perform? also what you u useing as a server? do they take one of those mobile cards?
i've been useing a Sony lap top for over two years now no problems. before when i used a PC i always seemed to have problems every six months.
Are those expecive?
Cheers
PS do you take vitamin C m8?

donc · **Reply #14: September 17, 2008, 09:38:42**

That's a very nice looking little notebook - how good is the screen? (I wear glasses so not sure how well I would go with an 8.9" screen)

Dazzler · **Reply #15: September 17, 2008, 10:50:28**

The Screen is 1024x600 resolution, Very clear & performance is good uses new Atom low voltage processor to save the battery (lasts about 2 hours on a charge)

Got it from Tandy for $646 with $99 cashback so will only cost me $547 in the end. Had problems with a previous Acer cashback (which got sorted) so was a bit hesitant to start with but seemed the best value model around.

My Stepdaughter still has my 15.4" Dell Laptop

Dazzler · **Reply #16: September 17, 2008, 10:58:55**

Sorry John forgot your question about the Wireless bit... It has wireless built in so I just connect wirelessly anywhere in our house through the speedtouch wireless modem I got from AAPT.

Ironically I got a knock on the door yesterday and received a parcel from Belkin. I won a wizz bang N1Vision Modem in a subscription competition with Geare magazine (They look great but get a fairly average review on the net...)

donc · **Reply #17: September 17, 2008, 12:25:13**

Quote from: "Lakes"

Don, the Kumho 15" i have feels ok in the wet, i have driven a few 400k one way trip's in wet never had them loose traction they roll smooth enough, i think if i changed i would look at the Michelin Energy Tyres, a friend of mine has a set on his Mazda and loves them, they are supposed to help economy too. so far i'm happy enough with what on mine. i been keeping 42psi front 40psi rear, i use a digital tyre gauge that checked out right last time i had it checked.

Hi Lakes,

Mate it's geat your happy with them - The SLX has 16" (205x55) Hankook shoes fitted and I'm not happy with the ride and the side-flex is excessive when cornering. I'm sure they are good enough for city and hobby/occassional country driving, but they really aren't good enough for everyday use on the roads out here.

I had another little day trip today - drove 760 km to Newcastle and back (took some more pics of the SLX and will post them up tomorrow). About 50 km of it on dirt roads. The more I drive this little car the more impressed I become (my wife just might lose it if she isn't careful!)... The suspension and 'flat-footedness' of the car seems to offer enormous potential - I would love to do a full geometric analysis of an i30 because I think the road sensibilities could really be tricked and made into something special with not too much effort. Unfortunatley I don't have access to the gear to do this nowadays and probably won't do any more than replace the shoes... still it would be nice to play with the geometry a bit... maybe one day

Lakes · **Reply #18: September 18, 2008, 12:11:50**

Great price Dazz, i saw one in Sydney today look great too, they told me about the $99 cash back, i said why don't they just take $99 off m8? got a blank look

Hey don, do you think it might be tyre squirm? like sometimes if they have a deep tread it can Squirm in the steering. Hankook do make some top performance Tyres i have had a set in the past that was Z or X rated and were good tyres steered great the name they use starts with a V??? i could not see Hankook written on them but knew thats who make them.

davet · **Reply #19: September 18, 2008, 12:36:33**

were you tempted to get the linux version?

donc · **Reply #20: September 18, 2008, 13:43:36**

Quote from: "Lakes"

Hey don, do you think it might be tyre squirm? like sometimes if they have a deep tread it can Squirm in the steering (snip)

Hi Lakes - Maybe a combination... mate there's a lot of factors that makes one tyre good, and a lot that makes another tyre less than good - mostly IMO it's just the old addage, you get what you pay for

Dazzler · **Reply #21: September 18, 2008, 18:29:28**

Quote from: "Lakes"

Great price Dazz, i saw one in Sydney today look great too, they told me about the $99 cash back, i said why don't they just take $99 off m8? got a blank look

eye30 · **Reply #22: September 26, 2008, 18:37:14**

Quote from: "eye30"

When I take car in for service next week I'll be asking for new locking nuts under warranty!! Bets on my chances of a new set are be taken.

No winners.

Dealer found only 1 was a problem. And yes. It was the 1 that needed to be removed.

kinesiologykid · **Reply #23: September 26, 2008, 23:43:07**

Quote from:
so far i'm happy enough with what on mine. i been keeping 42psi front 40psi rear, i use a digital tyre gauge that checked out right last time i had it checked.[/quote

I can understand that tyres at that high a pressure would help economy, but surely it would increase the braking distance?

Lakes · **Reply #24: September 27, 2008, 07:52:31**

do the ABS work?
if it does would not effect braking distance, but i have not noticed my car activate the ABS yet but it has not skided and i have had to stop fast a few times no problem 42psi front 40psi rear with the 15" tyres.

LuciferDarklord · **Reply #25: September 27, 2008, 11:21:32**

From my experience, the grip of the tyre (stopping distance etc) is only affected when the pressure is quite a way off normal. Ie never experienced less grip from having my tyres at 40psi, but if one is low and i havent noticed (from a leak) it affects grip - but more so the tyre rolling around on the rim feels worse.

ABS however can only work with the grip available. If the road is covered in oil or your tyres are bald in the wet, ABS will only stop the wheels locking but stopping distance will still be increased a lot.

Quote

do the ABS work?
if it does would not effect braking distance

ABS doesnt increase grip???