This holiday weekend, I started off in our '84 Ferrari 308 and ended up in our '08 Mitsubishi Lancer. I had to swap the Ferrari with Editor Ed Hellwig because he wanted to take it to a car show. Thing is, the Lancer he handed me was suffering from low tire pressure in the rear passenger tire. Ed had filled it with air and said the "Low Pressure" light on the dash went off so it seemed to be fine.
But after I left Santa Monica for Culver City (a mere 7 miles away), the light came back on. I pulled over and got out to check the tire. It looked fine but since it was nighttime at this point I wasn't able to scrutinize it. However, back home, a tire change revealed that there was in fact a screw deeply embedded in the tire.I emailed one of the keeper of cars, Vehicle Testing Assistant Mike Magrath, to find out if I should just get the tire patched up or wait til I came back in the office on Tuesday so he could do it. He replied that I could get it patched up if I had the time, saying it would cost about $20. But since I ended up not having the time, I drove on the donut for the rest of the weekend. I know, I know.
And it wouldn't have been too much of an issue if I didn't have to go on the freeway. I like to heed warning labels on donuts that say you shouldn't drive on them at speeds over 50 mph. But I had to get down to Long Beach. Fortunately the 405 South is usually congested with traffic so this ended up not being a problem at all. I also stayed in the far right lane. Some people told me that I shouldn't have worried as much as I did, saying that the 50-mph limit is actually a considerable allowance and that you really could drive up to 65 mph. But I didn't want to test that theory out.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 11,726 miles
daveflores says:
12:27 PM, 02/19/08
That sux. On the plus side, that's probably the ideal place to get a puncture. Nowhere near the sidewall. Tire should patch right up.
How'd the car drive, BTW, with those huge 18"s and a donut?
estreka says:
12:34 PM, 02/19/08
For fear of karma, I will just say you guys have a lot of tire problems.
caroscuro says:
02:32 PM, 02/19/08
daveflores,
It drove fine. But it's not like I drove it crazy. I couldn't tell the donut was there save for the warning light on the dash reminding me.
estreka,
Yeah, I don't know what's up with that. Maybe all the construction sites we drive through?
cruiserhead1 says:
04:41 PM, 02/19/08
the space saver spares are a bit ridiculous. Can I get a life saver full size spare instead?? If it were my wife's car, this would not be acceptable at all.
whatever happend to that Michelin Tweel? That would make a great spare.
Good thing the bolt hit you in the tread. If you had the tire plug, it would have been a 3 minute job to fix.
anyway, looks like the tire can be saved
benson2175 says:
05:16 PM, 02/19/08
What a difference compared to the run flat story. Clearly demonstrates that run flats suck.
dougtheeng says:
06:29 PM, 02/19/08
if it makes you feel any better, i crashed my 08 Lancer on the weekend and possibly totaled it. You'll be happy to know the side curtain airbags, and the side impact beams work quite well.
carfreak8394 says:
06:57 PM, 02/19/08
dougtheeng,
are you serious ?
what happened ?
and it is good that the nail hit the middle of the tire.
but do you guys keep fix-a-flat in the car ?
my dad keeps it in his car, and he considers it a life-saver, especially because he delivers newspapers.
tshoe says:
10:05 PM, 02/19/08
Driving on a donut tire and keeping below 50 is the pits. If possible I would have gotten the tire fixed. My A4 has a full size spare with the matching 17" alloy wheel and everything, no space saving job. Luckily I have never had to use it. What other cars out there have full size spares?
sddoc07 says:
03:55 AM, 02/20/08
I'm glad things worked out but after going thru the hell that is known as the LA freeway system over the weekend, I'd like take this opportunity to say something to those who like to drive in the fast lane at 65-67 mph.
GET OUT OF THE FAST LANE YOU GOD-FORSAKEN, CLUELESS, NO GOOD FOR NOTHING (censored for both of our sakes)
altimadude00 says:
10:57 AM, 02/20/08
Mmmmm....Donuts....AAAggghgggegeg
dougtheeng says:
11:53 AM, 02/20/08
Oh I'm serious, carfreak. I was driving in freezing rain conditions, and the back end of the car lost grip and threw me into a skid into the ditch. The unfortunate thing is that I hit a large, large traffic sign. I was pretty happy with how the Lancer performed though, considering the size of the impact.
SubyTrojan says:
12:37 PM, 02/20/08
It'll buff right out. j/k
Cars can be replaced, but people can't.
Glad you're alright, Doug.
<shameless plug> It's time for you to replace your Lancer with a Subaru Impreza 2.5i or WRX with Subaru's symmetrical all-wheel drive which would've kept that from happening! </shameless plug> :o)
The Impreza's Bridgestone Potenza RE92A all-season tires probably wouldn't have been any better. AWD < laws of physics. If you can wait for it, perhaps the Mitsubishi Lancer Ralliart would be a perfect fit for you.
dougtheeng says:
01:07 PM, 02/20/08
Suby,
I'm investigating some Subaru options, but tho get the same options as on my Lancer, they get costly. I guess you're paying for the AWD. I'm hoping to see an appealing older WRX model, but they seem to be hard to come by.
As for the Ralliart, I would love it......but I'm guessing my wallet might not.
tcolberg85 says:
02:45 PM, 02/21/08
Los Angeles, CA
@ Sddoc07 You do realize that just because it's the left lane doesn't mean that you're allowed to go faster than the speed limit? The freeway system in Southern California is not designed like the two lane highway system where the left most lane is the "passing" lane. The left lane is not the "fast lane" and just because I get over for others when I'm not going significantly over the speed limit doesn't mean that anyone not going your speed has to get over.
estreka says:
03:59 PM, 02/21/08
I'm not 100% sure of California's specific driving laws, but in TX the left lane IS the fast lane and you ARE required to go the speed of traffic. In fact, there are signs that specify "Slower Traffic Keep Right." You technically can't be ticketed for speeding if you're going to same speed as everyone else.