The Zed Rouge resting in its garden, a couple of days after a major rear tyre failure, and having to drive the 500 miles home from Boulogne on the emergency spare.
At Rest in the garden
- Thread starter Mike Fishwick
- Start date
What happened Mike?
After checking my tyre pressures at the hotel in Calais one morning, I did not notice anything as I drove at normal autoroute speeds to the petrol station near Boulogne. The roof was still up, and as I got out I smelt hot rubber - like a truck had just passed by. It was then that I saw the RH rear tyre was totally flat, and the rims were running on the insides of the tyre, which was almost on fire!
It was a Sunday morning, when French tyre depots are closed until Monday afternoon, so I fitted the spare wheel, turned off the ASR, and drove home 500 miles to the Dordogne, initially at 50 mph, inceasing speed a little as I gained confidence in the skinny spare. The only thing I noticed was that the car yawed a little on power on/power off, so I ended the journey at a 65/70 mph autoroute cruise, slowing down to 40/50 mph on the country roads after exit. I guess that if the roads had been wet I would have driven slower. Tyre temperature was normal.
When I got home I checked the spare carefully, but found no signs of wear. A new 245/40 X 17 Falken FK-452 arrived a couple of days later, as such sizes are not common in France.
The cause of the puncture was a small nail, worn down to about 10 mm long, probably collected in the ferryport at Dunkerque, which was like a rubbish tip - my first and last use of that port!
My experience certainly showed that the skinny spare is well worth having, as the alternative would have been a couple of nights in a hotel while waiting for a new tyre. It certainly shows that the emergency spare in well worth having, and is certainly better than the combination of a mobile phone and credit card which so many people now think can solve all problems! It is a pity that the only manufacturer, Continental, stopped making tyres for them ages ago.
It also makes one wonder about the owners who ditch the spare wheel in favour of another pair of exhaust outlets, which are simply an example of fashion without function.
It was a Sunday morning, when French tyre depots are closed until Monday afternoon, so I fitted the spare wheel, turned off the ASR, and drove home 500 miles to the Dordogne, initially at 50 mph, inceasing speed a little as I gained confidence in the skinny spare. The only thing I noticed was that the car yawed a little on power on/power off, so I ended the journey at a 65/70 mph autoroute cruise, slowing down to 40/50 mph on the country roads after exit. I guess that if the roads had been wet I would have driven slower. Tyre temperature was normal.
When I got home I checked the spare carefully, but found no signs of wear. A new 245/40 X 17 Falken FK-452 arrived a couple of days later, as such sizes are not common in France.
The cause of the puncture was a small nail, worn down to about 10 mm long, probably collected in the ferryport at Dunkerque, which was like a rubbish tip - my first and last use of that port!
My experience certainly showed that the skinny spare is well worth having, as the alternative would have been a couple of nights in a hotel while waiting for a new tyre. It certainly shows that the emergency spare in well worth having, and is certainly better than the combination of a mobile phone and credit card which so many people now think can solve all problems! It is a pity that the only manufacturer, Continental, stopped making tyres for them ages ago.
It also makes one wonder about the owners who ditch the spare wheel in favour of another pair of exhaust outlets, which are simply an example of fashion without function.
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