Deflated/Flat-ish Tire and the Driving On Thereof [Solv'd]

TychoCelchuuu

I noticed last night that my tire was sort of flat. BRUTAL PICTURE IN SPOILER NOT SAFE FOR WORK*

*if you work at a tire factory

Spoiler:

I drove home on it fine, and had been driving around for a while on it before without noticing anything, although if I let go of the steering wheel the car sort of drifts a little to the right when I'm going forward (it's the right front wheel).

Anyways I've got a spare that I can swap in temporarily (assuming my puny arms can conquer the lug nuts) but I'm wondering if this will possibly hold out for the couple miles it would take to get to a mechanic or if I'm being a stupid idiot for even imagining starting the car when this could explode into a thousand rubber fragments and ruin the axle and kill me and my family and a dog at any given second.

Metalbourne

You can drive on it as long as the rim isn't sitting on the inside wall of the tire.

And, yeah, it's not going to handle all that great. Ever play basketball with a partially deflated ball? Kinda like that. Fill it up and drive it (slowly) to the tire shop.

big l

If you top it off with air it will make it to the tire place just fine. You can use a bike tire pump if there isn't a gas station with an air pump nearby. Using the bike tire pump, you will have to pump hard, but you should be able to fill it back up to the point where it looks normal. You will know if it is getting dangerously low because it will feel like you are driving over pot holes.

dlinfiniti

btw if you're using the tire iron, don't be using your arms, loosen the lug nuts when the tire is still on the ground and fit the iron so it has a slightly upward angle and step/jump on the arm, then jack the car up and spin the nuts freely
same in reverse for putting them back on, otherwise you'll never get them off yourself

Metalbourne

dlinfiniti wrote:

btw if you're using the tire iron, don't be using your arms, loosen the lug nuts when the tire is still on the ground and fit the iron so it has a slightly upward angle and step/jump on the arm, then jack the car up and spin the nuts freely
same in reverse for putting them back on, otherwise you'll never get them off yourself

Just be careful when you do that or you'll end up on youtube.

zilo

Metalbourne wrote:

dlinfiniti wrote:

btw if you're using the tire iron, don't be using your arms, loosen the lug nuts when the tire is still on the ground and fit the iron so it has a slightly upward angle and step/jump on the arm, then jack the car up and spin the nuts freely
same in reverse for putting them back on, otherwise you'll never get them off yourself

Just be careful when you do that or you'll end up on youtube.

No joke. A mechanic who used to work for my dad broke his jaw when a tire iron slipped off the lugnut while he was stepping on it, kicking it up into his face.

Use one hand to hold the tire iron in, one to keep your balance, and one leg to break the lugnut loose.

BlindZenDriver

dlinfiniti wrote:

btw if you're using the tire iron, don't be using your arms, loosen the lug nuts when the tire is still on the ground and fit the iron so it has a slightly upward angle and step/jump on the arm, then jack the car up and spin the nuts freely
same in reverse for putting them back on, otherwise you'll never get them off yourself

Seriously. It's a wheel on a car not a 18-wheeler so putting a little muscle into it should be sufficient unless it was put on with excessive force (which would be wrong given it's unneeded and can damage the rim).

Casually Hardcore

A smarter way to do it is to use your legs and sort of 'squat' the tire iron up. But then, why the hell are your lugs nuts on so tight? Most of the time they should only be on at 80 ft/lb.

But, if you really want a tire iron to the scrotum then go right on ahead and improperly use a tire iron.

MichaelLC

If the lat shop used a pneumatic driver and didn't ease off/loosen, that will happen.

TychoCelchuuu

MichaelLC wrote:

If the lat shop used a pneumatic driver and didn't ease off/loosen, that will happen.

Correct, although the comment about my ability to loosen the lug nuts was speculative because at that point I hadn't tried. In any case I drove to the tire place just fine, they found and fixed the leak, everything is gumdrops and candy canes and unicorn giggles. Thanks everyone!