Million to one odds

[7Andrei7]

I was visiting another city this weekend and left my car in a public parking spot, on the side of the road. It was the last spot on that side of the road, just before a slight curve.
When I got back, my front left tire was completely deflated. At first I thought I had a flat, no big deal, but then I realized the tire valve had been severed. And that there was a very visible mark on the wheel and the front bumper.

What I think happened is that some passing car just barely touched my front wheel and bumper and probably didn't even realize. There was no note and there are no cameras in the area.

I am lost for words. I don't think it is possible to reproduce this event in a thousand tries. And as a friend said, no insurance company is going to believe this story )

Thankfully, I had a compact spare. First time I use it after 218k km. The valve + labour was 30 EUR. I'm left with the scratched bumber and I'm really not sure I should notify insurance for such a minor thing.

 

[Snicklefritz]

"Mmm, what a lucky man, he was."

Yes, crap happened at all, which is unlucky. But holy moly, your car could have been destroyed easily. A brush, that's all it was. A valve. A slightly marked up wheel, which can be sanded and polished to virtual invisibility from a few feet away and not attract any attention. Try how much rubbing compound attacks those scratches. Can't tell from the pictures how many of them might be only into the clear coat. Deploy touchup paint after you have knocked them back as much as you can. A body shop might be able to complete the healing without charging the proverbial arm and a leg.

 

[Volfy]

Wow! I'm just glad your car wasn't hit harder, which it quite possibly could've been. If that hit-n-run veered closer by just a cm more, the contact could very well have ripped off your front bumper car and possibly a whole lot more.

 

[Ah GetFd]

$5 for a tyre valve. Bit of polish

 

[Chark]

PSA: Do not put the donut spare on the front wheels! Always put it on the back wheel. Glad it wasn't worse!

 

[Snicklefritz]

PSA: Do not put the donut spare on the front wheels! Always put it on the back wheel. Glad it wasn't worse!

That isn't always an option. On staggered setups, the rear wheel cannot be shifted to the front, in order to put the donut on the back.

 

[7Andrei7]

PSA: Do not put the donut spare on the front wheels! Always put it on the back wheel. Glad it wasn't worse!

Can I ask why?
Only because of steering and brakes? Or something else?

 

[Snicklefritz]

Can I ask why?
Only because of steering and brakes? Or something else?

It has to do with wear. People tend to drive too long on the donut. It will fail much sooner if used on the front.

 

[BIG-D]

PSA: Do not put the donut spare on the front wheels! Always put it on the back wheel. Glad it wasn't worse!

Yeh... DONT' DO THAT !!

 

[BIG-D]

Looks sexy but ...

 

[Ah GetFd]

The Space saver spare is designed to be fitted to front or rear.

 

[LordKOTL]

It has to do with wear. People tend to drive too long on the donut. It will fail much sooner if used on the front.

Some people are @#$%&*^ stupid.

 

[Volfy]

Actually, the real reason has to do with braking effectiveness and stability.

The main concern with that donut on the front is if you ever have to execute a hard emergency stop. All that forward weight transfer means the front axle will bear some 70-80% of the braking load. Potentially even higher if it's a threshold stop. Not only are your taking out a big chunk of the braking power, the grossly mismatched front tires means the car will have a tendency to yaw towards the full-size tire side. That directional instability could potentially be very dangerous.

If the donut is on the rear axle, the reduction in braking power/stability is considerably less.

On a RWD platform with almost 50/50 weight distribution, spare tire wear isn't that big a deal. Besides, with the donut spare on, you're supposed to drive like grandma anyway. As mentioned, if you drive long enough on the spare for tire wear to be a concern, instead of fixing your full-size tire ASAP, you need to get your head checked.

 

[ht_addict]

Did anyone else notice the marks in the road? Looks liker something got real close to your car. I would show it to your insurance and see.

 

[7Andrei7]

Did anyone else notice the marks in the road? Looks liker something got real close to your car. I would show it to your insurance and see.

That is actually the marking that is determining where the parking area finishes. It is very old and barely visible )

 

[LordKOTL]

Actually, the real reason has to do with braking effectiveness and stability.

The main concern with that donut on the front is if you ever have to execute a hard emergency stop. All that forward weight transfer means the front axle will bear some 70-80% of the braking load. Potentially even higher if it's a threshold stop. Not only are your taking out a big chunk of the braking power, the grossly mismatched front tires means the car will have a tendency to yaw towards the full-size tire side. That directional instability could potentially be very dangerous.

If the donut is on the rear axle, the reduction in braking power/stability is considerably less.

On a RWD platform with almost 50/50 weight distribution, spare tire wear isn't that big a deal. Besides, with the donut spare on, you're supposed to drive like grandma anyway. As mentioned, if you drive long enough on the spare for tire wear to be a concern, instead of fixing your full-size tire ASAP, you need to get your head checked.

My exact point; the donut is supposed to get you to a place that can fix/replace your main tire ASAFP. If you (royal you) decides to drive on it for weeks instead of fixing your tire, you should be forced to take the bus.