Well I'm pissed!
 

:mad0260:

This will probably seem insignificant to many but I'm pretty pissed after my drive to work today...

I was driving on the freeway going to work this morning and traffic was atrocious as usual...

Coming off one of the exit ramps I ran over something and heard it loudly smack my passenger side wheel well/under carriage. I immediately got nervous hoping I didn't scratch or dent anything since my car is brand new and I baby the shit out of it...

I pull over at the closest gas station and as I'm going up the small ramped entrance I heard a scrrraaaappppeeee loudly on my undercarriage. My car is stock height and the ramp was not that steep so it couldn't have been my actual car. I immidiately feared that part of my front bumper was scraped or something...

As I get out to inspect the damage I notice a 2 foot chunk of wood speared through the little rubber thing by the rear tire (the thing I guess where the mud-guards attach) I know that you don't normally see this part at all and it's a pretty unimportant piece of the vehicle but I'm pissed that the piece of wood shot itself through that little rubber piece.

It was actually lodged halfway into that and into my tire, but did no damage to the tire at all, thankfully.

That's my rant for the day, don't flame me for overracting lol

dude I have seen too many pictures of random sticks and wood piercing that little rubber flap. I would have thought it was like a one in a million thing lol..I guess I will be on the lookout for random debris puncturing that.

I think there may have even been a thread on it, actually.

LOLZ...where are the pics?

We need to start a thread dedicated to pics of this happening.

I'm in search mode now, I know I saw this thread within the last few months. C'mon Google, don't let me down

I win

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45684

Well now, Trmx2, you have just witnessed the purpose of that little rubber piece. Yep, it was placed there to intercept sharp objects heading for the tire. The classic had to be what looked to be a push rod that it trapped.

Yep, one of those little known safety features of our fine cars.

Actually, it's your lucky day ..... that projectile could have speared your tire causing you to crash ..... or worse yet, to puncture the gas tank, causing you to crash and burn..... :bonk:

humfrz - :D

Really?!? I thought it was like a one in a million thing too. As pissed as I was I was like "Well, at least it didn't puncture my tire, or worse my my front end."

Yeah, as insignificant of a piece as it is, I'm still pissed getting a hole in there when the car is barely a month old. :mad0260:

I'm also pretty anal retentive, I might just go to Toyota and say "Hey man, I just noticed there is a hole in here, can you give me a new rubber piece." lol

Will be posting pics later today, it's a pretty small hole, but it bothers me! :mad0260: I was already running late for work when this happened so no time to take pics of it.

I figured it had to be something like that, the rubber is pretty soft and seems to mold easily around whatever punctures it. That's good to know that they thought of these things, do things really end up puncturing that area that often? I'd assume so if they invested the time to design and place it there...

Well, now, Trmx2 ...... sometimes ol humfrz jest makes things up .... in between brain farts ..... :D

humfrz

It makes sense though so perhaps they did do that?

You are fortunate it wasn't worse. If your tire was punctured you would probably be posting from the hospital instead.

Imagine being the guys that ran over metal objects on the highway then watched their Tesla burn to the ground. One of them was in Washington, not sure about the other one.

I try to avoid freeway driving when possible and when I have to I stay a lane clear of the big trucks.

I destroyed this in Jackson WY a few months ago. Just got home, ordered a new one, installed it.

Guess it didn't bother me as much.

-alex

Yeah, I am thankful that it wasn't worse. I couldn't imagine watching my car burn to pieces...:(

Unfortunately, my daily commute forces me to use the highway. I do too, I typically stay in the left lane and I try to stick 5-6 car lengths of distance if I can...lol I know it annoys some people but idgaf!

Where'd you order it from? I want a new one just because...there is a hole in this one now.

You better be safe than sorry, and get that tire replaced. Any type of puncture to the tire will have the potential to bring disaster. Imagine you going down the Highway, ran over a bumb or a rock, your Tire goes KABOOM....you lose control, and...imagine next.

Spend couple hundred bucks and swap it.


It is always safe measures to keep distance, every 10 mph increment over 20 mph is 1 car length. If you are driving 65 mph, that is at least 4 cars length for Safety. Other people drive stupid, but as a driver, you have the option to drive at the best safety measure as possible.

Another thing to keep in mind also is to never follow too closely to a big Truck, SUV, as they block your view.

Never drive beside a Truck or 18 wheeler. Those may trip and fall over on your car. Never cut them either, or any other cars for the matter.

Always pay attention to the Road condition. Some roads are Flatter, Smoother, you easily lose friction when Wet, or Cold. Winter day may look Sunny, but if it is Freezing Cold, expect "Black Ice" Those are Melted Snow, but Froze over by the Cold. You will lose control of the vehicle. The best possible way in this condition is to follow other cars Trails, as it got run over, the ice wont be as bad, or may be gone.

I can't say enough, but always be safe.

A Subaru dealer. But I'm sure you can also find it at a Scion dealer...

-alex

If there's no visible damage to the tire, it's likely fine, and this would be a waste of money. Most of the energy in the impact went into the tire guard, not the tire, and the tread area of a modern tire is extremely strong.

4 car lengths is awfully close at 65mph, and I'd really want to be farther away than that. You sometimes don't have much choice, if traffic is heavy, but if possible, I'd stay back about 2 seconds from the car in front of me (about 200 ft at 60mph).

More importantly, if you're following too close to a semi, they can't see you. If you can't see their mirrors, they can't see you.

Trip? :iono:

(It's a good idea not to cut people off though)

This is true. More than once, I've been surprised by how slippery a road can be if its cold. I've driven on roads which looked only very slightly damp, but where I had next to zero traction (it was around 15F at the time though, so they were actually covered in ice).

Another thing to be aware of if you're running snow tires: dedicated snow/ice tires (such as the Blizzak WS70 that I use) have much, much better traction on ice than pretty much any all-season tires out there. As a result, if you have snow tires on your car, pay attention to the car behind you when stopping on slippery surfaces - it is very easy to get rear-ended when you're running snow tires because you have much better traction than most people on the road. Yes, it would still be their fault if they hit you, since they were following too close, but it's still better to avoid this situation if possible.

What I mean "Trip" = They may fall on to your car. You never heard of such cases have you ? The curves, or a blown tire, or gust of wind, all make it become reality.

At least 4 car length is the least you want to keep. You will be surprised to see how close people tail gate you at HW speed

Tip*

As in, "just the tip, I promise"

Actually, it didn't impact the tire at all, the stick got lodged into the small rubber flap and just wedged itself into the tread not the actual tire, there is no puncture or even mark on the tire.

You seem like a very safe driver, thank you for all the tips. I try to avoid being even close to semi-trucks at all costs. :thumbsup: