Road debris and blowout

[Ross]

While traveling last night on one of the interstate highways near my home I was surprised by a very, I mean very loud bang and the instant deflation of the left rear tire.
There are some monster potholes around here and my first thought was that I had not seen one but I never felt a hit from the front front.
While manuevering to the right and the shoulder I noticed two other motorists on the shoulder looking over their cars. I stopped for a moment, opened the door, looked back and confirmed the tire was junk so, as Charlie Daniels said "limped on down the shoulder on the rim". The highway was snowy between lanes and tire tracks so I decided to do my tire change off the highway where it was safer lest I be in the path of the next victim who may loose control.
Oddly the wheel didn't look bent. I noticed a piece of the car hanging down and broken so figured a piece of debris was what I had hit. After changing the tire and driving off I noticed a bad vibration with application of the brakes, so used surface roads for the rest my trip home.
This morning I investigated and found this;

[Ross]

and

[Ross]

and this;

the drum is punctured and cracked, the backing plate took a hit too.
all this several inches from the fuel tank.

[Tiger]

So what was it that puncture that hole and ruined your brake rotor?

[Ross]

Don't know. The hole is somewhat triangular, maybe a piece of angle iron? No piece was in the tire.
I didn't stay on the scene feeling it was unsafe so had no opportunity to speak with the other drivers. I suspect I wasn't the last person to run over whatever it was.

[xspeedy]

That had to be something protruding from the tarmac. I can't imagine something loose on the ground doing that kind of damage.

[BMWDriver]

Maybe it was a ricochet from a .50 cal ??

[repenttokyo]

I had a break disc explode once - could it be brake failure?

[Bill R.]

be pretty long and at just the right angle to reach all the through the tire,rim and brake drum.. Angle iron maybe, I don't think rebar would punch its way through all that.

[bsell]

Was the road surface made of concrete? I am wondering if you won the game called, "Find the bent rebar sticking out of the road that the last snow plow bent up just to destroy tires and rims."

I can't imagine the forces involved to do that kind of damage. Gas tank hell, to stick a hole through the drum like that, this 'road debris' could have easily found its way into the cabin (and maybe YOU!).

I would count yourself lucky that you are only out a couple hundred dollars vs. something much more serious...

Thanks for sharing,

Brian

[Ross]

I went back to the general area and didn't see any evidence or road repairs or giant pot holes. It was 8 lane interstate hwy., rebar is buried pretty well in this type of road, a hole large enough to expose it would swallow a car. I'm convinced it was something on the road that got kicked up at just the right angle.
This just demonstrates the amount of inertia a moving vehicle has.
Yes, I believe we were fortunate.
The incedent reminds me a bit of an accident a number of years ago where a piece of a truck fell off and was run over by the same sort of minivan we have. The fuel tank was punctured, the vehicle was an infurno that killed six. That incedent brought to light the fact that Illinois' last governor(the one already in prison) had been corrupt in the issueing of driver's licenses(the driver of the faulty truck had a bought driver's license) while he ran that department.

[attack eagle]

That had to be something protruding from the tarmac. I can't imagine something loose on the ground doing that kind of damage.

I can and have.

a 12-24" piece of rebar that has fallen off a truck or something being moved down the highway will do that no problem.

Dad had a little piece of rebar laying on the freeway shatter a wheel once when he was driving my DSM.

[Kibokojoe]

Wow now that's a puncture. I have seen similar with a 50 cal round through a steel plate. That pothole must have been a doozie. My money goes on rebar in the pot hole

[Kibokojoe]

Several people are killed every year from crap falling off of unserviced trucks. Saw an article a while back on this very subject. Here is an article about rebar through a drivers skull. http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/reba03.shtml This guy lived =-0

[ryan roopnarine]

rebar isn't necessarily bent on site. i just saw some angle bent rebar of pathetic lengths (maybe slightly longer than can be fitted onto a 1 ton flatbed truck or expediter) being moved around campus on the back of a freightliner and trailer combo. have one of those fall off, maybe have the lengths contorted by previous cars/trucks running over them, and you have the recipe for a short length of rebar, bent at an angle, that could do what you observed.

[e345spd]

that looks like the noise alone must of been crazy. good thing you know how to drive and handled the situation properly!

[gale]

steer clear of mattresses:

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat1.jpg

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat2.jpg

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat3.jpg

[Dave M]

steer clear of mattresses:


$hit, even my wife thought that was 'interesting'.

Maybe they had the music at 11.

Dave

[ryan roopnarine]

is that a ford ranger?


steer clear of mattresses:

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat1.jpg

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat2.jpg

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat3.jpg

[632 Regal]

wow Ross you find it all, perhaps the front tire simply lifted it off the pavement at an angle to create that damage. Speed can do amazing things where rubber tires wont even feel the item. I am glad it was not as bad as it could have been.

[bmwrp8]

steer clear of mattresses:

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat1.jpg

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat2.jpg

http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/ds_mat3.jpg

whoa! thats gonna be a b@#$h to remove

[Ross]

Where did this happen and is there a law against stupid people in that state?

[632 Regal]

What a mess!!!!


steer clear of mattresses:

http://www.nmia.com/%7Edgnrg/ds_mat1.jpg

http://www.nmia.com/%7Edgnrg/ds_mat2.jpg

http://www.nmia.com/%7Edgnrg/ds_mat3.jpg

[tim eh?]

giant WOW all round

glad u r ok ross




Maybe they had the music at 11.



they make those? :D i want one! just so i can listen to "lick my love pump".

[Triton540i]

Hope nobody looses any sleep over that mess. :D