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Thread: Ride Home in Shame - Ruined Tire

  1. #1
    Senior Member CDXXVII's Avatar
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    Cool Ride Home in Shame - Ruined Tire

    I have been reading a few threads out there about the dreaded flatbed ride home and how to hook up and ramp clearances and all the other things you will never figure out until you have to.

    Well today I finally got my education in the intricacies of towing a Cobra home with a ruined rear passenger side tire.

    The number 1 most important thing above all else is getting a great tow truck driver. Danny really took the time and never got impatient about anything. Note to self: contact towing company tomorrow and let the owner know what a great guy he's got working for him.

    We ended up using two 4 x 4 x 48 pieces of lumber he had on the truck to extend the bed on the Low Boy. He also let me drive the front of the roadster partway up the flatbed to get a good angle for hooking up his cable and not damage the body. Even still we barely made it on to the truck without dragging the rear quick jacks on the ground. I was able to pull up the rear of the car up just enough as he pulled it up on the bed. I just looked at the photo again - I will be cutting down the rear quick jack stand offs to tuck them in closer to the body. Might help.

    My tire failure is a complete mystery to me. We were on the 405 freeway and had just transitioned onto the 101 freeway when my car started tracking funny. Brand new asphalt so I though for a second it was due to the new asphalt but it quickly got worse so we limped it to the first off ramp. No shoulder on this section of freeway. By the time we came to a stop the tire was ruined. Fortunately no visible wheel damage but what became instantly obvious was that my wheel stem is missing. I just finished cleaning everything and I checked the tire for any nails or screws and there is none. The only way the tire could have gone flat this quickly is from the missing valve stem. The tires are barely 2 year old Nitto NT555 with 1100 miles on the roadster.

    Has anyone ever seen a wheel throw a valve stem? The tow driver says he has never seen this. Even on tires that come completely apart where it was driven on the rim he says the stem stays in place.




  2. #2

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    I wonder if you will find the bottom half of the valve stem in the tire area. I think I remember there being a recall on valve stems a few years back that would separate.
    mike

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    Administrator David Hodgkins's Avatar
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    Wow Marcel, glad you were able to get it safely stopped!

    I've never seen of or heard about valve stem failure. Glad it didn't happen during a canyon run!

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    Senior Member BEAR-AvHistory's Avatar
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    Welcome to the Infamous "Ride of Shame" Club. Was interesting when mine went down on I-540 how many people pulled offer to offer help & water. This country ain't dead yet.

    NOTE: Was a dead fuel pump.
    Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; 07-10-2017 at 01:03 PM.
    Kevin
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  5. #5
    Senior Member CDXXVII's Avatar
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    I just got back from Americas Tire. They are claiming that the failed stud is not that uncommon and will not share responsibility for the failure. I'm a bit surprised given they installed their stud on my wheel and the failure is not road hazard related. They were willing to give me a "pro rated" credit for the one tire.

    To add insult to injury they no longer have the Nitto NT555 available and the new NT555G2 has a different tread design/performance spec. I get to now purchase a new set of rear tires to replace the set that only had 1100 easy break in miles.

    I guess I should count my blessings and give thanks that I am safe and the roadster is undamaged. Not sure that there is a lesson in this.

  6. #6

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    Twice.....first time was an overheat while still in gel-coat and the second was a shock that came apart due to an assembly error (mine). It all comes under the general heading of "crap happens." At least nobody was hurt and the car is fine as well.

    Ray
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    Senior Member Avalanche325's Avatar
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    I had a stem let go on my just mounted tires. It was split about halfway through. Luckily it was in the garage when I was checking the air. Sometimes they rip just from being installed. It's hard to say who is to blame. Either the installer being too aggressive or ......maybe someone in China.

  8. #8
    Master Builder
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    Try the bolt together stems. Billet specialties and Cal custom both make them and sold at Summit.

    Kenny

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    Well Used Member boat737's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by first time builder View Post
    Try the bolt together stems. Billet specialties and Cal custom both make them and sold at Summit.

    Kenny
    I never had good luck with the screw and nut valve stems. Granted, they were always on boat trailers, which had some extreme conditions, but either the rubber gasket rotted, or a small bump, or whatever, they would fail eventually. They look good though.
    If Brute Force doesn't work, you're not using enough of it.
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  10. #10
    Master Builder
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    Replace them when you replace tires same as a rubber stem. Used them for years never had a problem. Yes the rubber can dry rot but so can a rubber stem.
    Kenny

  11. #11
    Senior Member CDXXVII's Avatar
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    What lead to my being towed home?

    So far both of my rear tire stems failed. We will find out about the fronts tomorrow.

    The cause is a combination of issues.

    The stem that caused my flat broke in two. Only the mushroom head remained in the tire but from there the Manager at Americas Tire was able to confirm that it was a Chinese stem which apparently should not be used.

    The second stem upon inspection was going to fail soon as well. This was due to incorrect installation. Installation in the Factory Five wheels require extra attention. I am not the first to experience this and the response I received from my call to Factory Five is the same I found from another tech on a different thread.

    The problem with the Factory Five wheels is that due to the lip thickness a recess is designed into the wheel to allow the stem to sit deeper in the lip so that the remaining thickness allows for a proper seat. The problem is that the recess in the rim is not wide enough. When the installer tries to install the stem in their normal fashion the mushroom portion tends to not seat properly. In fact, in my case part of the mushroom was pulled into the smaller opening creating a stress point.

    For our wheels the installer needs to used the correct stem but also use plenty of lube during installation. It is also important for him to massage the mushroom head into the recess and make sure that it is properly seated. He may have to twist/rotate the stem to make sure that it is not partially pulled through the smaller opening.

    At home I highly recommend that you gently pull the stem back and forth and inspect for any cracks and to see that it is actually seated properly. It is a really cheap fix compared to replacing tires and a tow.

    This is the correct stem and also a picture of my wheel recess. I am also a bit concerned by how rough the opening is but I was told by Factory Five that this is normal.

    The metal studs that were available at Americas Tire will not work. As is the problem with the rubber stems, the recess is not wide enough and will not let the metal stud seat properly.






  12. #12
    Master Builder
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    Good to know, never used the metal ones on FFR wheels.

    Kenny

  13. #13
    Senior Member CDXXVII's Avatar
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    Example of a Bad Stem

    I just looked through my pictures on my phone and found this one of the rear tire.

    Things to look out for. Had I paid attention I would have easily identified these deficiencies.

    Notice that it is not fully seated.

    Also, Notice that there is a crack in the rubber.

    The manager almost sheared this one while gently inspecting it after the picture was taken.


  14. #14
    Senior Member AC Bill's Avatar
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    I thought that batch of bad Chinese stems would have disappeared by now? The problem was discovered over ten years ago.. I know that at .03 each wholesale, some places bought them by the thousands, so perhaps there are still a few kicking around.

  15. #15
    Master Builder
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    So after the manager at the tire store saw that the blown tire was either a valve stem that he supplied or installed incorrectly did he pay for the tire?

    Kenny

  16. #16
    Senior Member CDXXVII's Avatar
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    Yes, they are replacing both rear tires. The manager really stepped up.

    Quote Originally Posted by first time builder View Post
    So after the manager at the tire store saw that the blown tire was either a valve stem that he supplied or installed incorrectly did he pay for the tire?

    Kenny
    Last edited by CDXXVII; 07-13-2017 at 02:01 PM.

  17. #17
    Member marlin's Avatar
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    Thanks for the education. Will be checking my tire valves tomorrow.
    Marlin
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  18. #18
    Senior Member CDXXVII's Avatar
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    A quick update.

    So everything is back to normal.

    The manager at the local store accepted responsibility for the rear tire failure and due to the fact that they could not get a Nitto NT 555 they replaced the pair. I opted to go ahead and purchase a set of fronts to match at a fair price.

    Just as an FYI and to reiterate what I stated earlier - I had one stem that failed completely and the remaining three were improperly installed. I can't emphasize enough that direction needs to be shared with your tire shop concerning our wheels.

    I took the Nitto NT555 G2's out today for a 60 mile cruise and they do drive better than my older set. One thing to note is that the tires are definitely a bit narrower than my previous set of same size tires.

  19. #19
    Well Used Member boat737's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CDXXVII View Post
    A quick update.

    ...One thing to note is that the tires are definitely a bit narrower than my previous set of same size tires.
    What size G2's did you get? Would you have gone with a different size had you known before hand?
    If Brute Force doesn't work, you're not using enough of it.
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  20. #20
    Senior Member CDXXVII's Avatar
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    315/35-17 Nitto NT555 G2's for the rear
    255/40-17 Nitto NT555 G2's for the front

    I'm happy with these sizes. I wouldn't change it if I could. The old fronts were a bit more past the fender lip than I liked but the side profile of the sidewall looked nicer. The new tires seem to fit better. I do think the 245/45-17 may end up looking a bit too narrow compared to the width of the rim. As is my new tires are about the same width of the rim.

    Quote Originally Posted by boat737 View Post
    What size G2's did you get? Would you have gone with a different size had you known before hand?

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