My mission to destroy all the radial tires in the world progressed one victim further on Friday night when I ran over some road debris while driving through a night construction zone on the 60 freeway in our long-term 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI.
For 2 seconds, I thought everything was OK. Then, the tire pressure warning light came on, and 2 seconds after that, I felt the telltale lumpiness of a blowout brewing at the right rear. Unfortunately, I was coming up on the East LA interchange (a delightful Zen place where the 60 meets I-10, U.S. 101 and I-5), so exiting onto a surface street wasn't an option. When the STI began to lose directional stability, I pulled over really quickly onto the shoulder.
As side-of-an-LA-freeway tire changes go, this one was pretty relaxed, as the shoulder was wide and traffic was light. However, as far as I know, the rear tires have never been removed on this car (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong) and the lugnuts were on tight. Also, the lugnut wrench that comes with the car has a crazy short handle so getting leverage is darn near impossible. I kicked it and stood on it, but none of the lugnuts would budge. Several colorful words came out of my mouth but were lost in the din of passing trucks.
I'd like to say that I persevered and completed the task without help, but it was 3 AM so my pride had to give a little. I called the friend I'd been hanging out with and he drove over with his much more deluxe lugnut wrench (he's a very good friend).
After that, things went smoothly. I got the lugnuts off, found the jacking point behind the side skirt and hoisted up the right rear side of the car. The flat 245/40R18 93W Dunlop SP Sport 600 tire came off and an eyeball inspection turned up no visible gashes, but I think there's a soft spot somewhere in the tread. Putting on the donut spare was no sweat, and by the time I had the lugnuts finger-tight, my friend had his torque wrench ready to go, so we set them all to the usual 80 lb-ft.
The 15-mile drive back to Santa Monica was uneventful, as I permitted myself to go 65 mph -- faster than you're supposed to go with a donut, I realize, but safer at the nighttime pace of LA freeways. We've parked the STI until we're able to source a new tire.
I actually like the way the car looks with the temporary spare's painted black steel wheel. Now I like the idea of putting black alloys on an STI.
Erin Riches, Senior Editor @ 19,292 miles
kurtamaxxxguy says:
10:45 PM, 02/23/09
uh...was there any center tread on that blown tire? Perhaps the light in the spare well's hiding the grooves?
Some Subarus like Foresters are not happy with the spare on the front wheels. Subaru recommends swapping front with rear, then putting spare on rear.
...and I remember well that scary East LA interchange. Glad you got through it OK.
louiswei says:
10:45 PM, 02/23/09
I bet that your "very good friend" drives a Suby too. Only a Suby driver would get up 3 in the morning to rescue another Suby driver!
; )
dragonflight says:
11:12 PM, 02/23/09
subytrojan, were you playing Subaru Roadside Assistance again?
I can just see this happening, in the vain of the recent Subie commercials...
joefrompa says:
04:02 AM, 02/24/09
Love - It's what makes Subaru, a Subaru :)
Erin - I don't know if this 3am guy is romantically involved with you, but if so, I think he's a keeper. 3 am side of the road tire changes with deluxe tire irons have got to be on the "husband material" check list.
:)
Joe
ampim says:
04:20 AM, 02/24/09
The tire iron in my RX-8 might actually be shorter than the STi's. After an incident similar to yours, I bought a $2 piece of 3/4" pipe to carry in the trunk. It makes a great lever arm.
dougtheeng says:
06:12 AM, 02/24/09
Those short tire irons are brutal. I recently changed the front left on a Kia Rio in -15ish (Celsius) temperatures and I could barely get the thing off. A longer tire iron is definitely on the list of things that I want to have in the back of my MC.
norsairius says:
06:29 AM, 02/24/09
I hope you weren't driving on that flat for too long.
If I'm not mistaken, the nature of Subaru's AWD system causes it to suffer damage if any of the wheels are of a different circumference from the rest.
At least that seemed to be the case with my parents' 2005 Subaru Forester. My dad got a flat on the highway but before long, we noticed a shuddering whenever slow, tight turns were taken or when reversing and turning. Some research I found indicated that the different circumferences damaged the differentials and was causing them to bind or something.
My parents had to get basically the entire driveline replaced. Thankfully it was under warranty. And I believe that is why the Forester came with a full-size spare.
joefrompa says:
06:56 AM, 02/24/09
Norsairius - This is correct, and also applies to normal cars with some limited slip differentials (i.e. I'm not supposed to run a donut on the front axle of my 2006 Honda Civic SI due to the LSD).
The spare tire matches the diameter of the original equipment. But once you get into differences greater than, IIRC, 1/4", you can start to burn the diffs because the car is sensing slip.
Joe
rsholland says:
08:24 AM, 02/24/09
I hate temp spares. Always have. Always will.
I love "steelies" though. Always have. Always will. It's a shame that North America shuns them like the plague.
subytrojan says:
08:26 AM, 02/24/09
The owner's manual for the 2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI says nothing about placing a spare on the rear and subsequent damage to the diff(s). The manual for my 2004 WRX does, however.
rsholland says:
08:26 AM, 02/24/09
Erin, did you try to fit the full-size spare into the "donut hole" under the truck? I'm curious to know if a 245/40x18 tire will fit in there?
My guess is no, it won't, at least not with the floor lid in place.
joefrompa says:
08:29 AM, 02/24/09
Suby - IIRC, it's the type of diff that dictates whether damage will occur. I know the new WRXs got rid of their rear LSDs (BOO!)....I don't know what rear diff the STI is running.
Franchitti27 says:
08:32 AM, 02/24/09
Imagine the fun you would have with donuts all around, well, until they all pop.
kurtamaxxxguy says:
10:51 AM, 02/24/09
The '09 Foresters ditched LSD's as well.
m_thrizzle says:
11:40 AM, 02/24/09
Don't almost all cars come with roadside assistance programs from the manufacturer? Seems like nobody actually uses the service.
tsy says:
11:40 AM, 02/24/09
When I flatted my Legacy GT they recommended not driving more than 100 miles on the spare. I'll have to check my owners manual about the STi.
Hey, maybe it's time to swap the tires and put on some max performance summer rubber! It should make a world of difference!
kissel1 says:
12:35 PM, 02/24/09
Hey Erin, great post! Nice to know everything turned out well for you.
It looks as though one of those tires is a mini-spare, am I right?
cx7lover says:
12:37 PM, 02/24/09
If they placed the spare in that car and the diff messed up when you put it on it's Subaru's fault.
eriches says:
02:51 PM, 02/24/09
Bob: I did not try putting the full-size tire/wheel into the donut well, so I got to listen everything jiggling around on the ride home. Nothing slid around, though, thanks to the cargo tray.
subytrojan says:
03:38 PM, 02/24/09
This is for you, m_thrizzle. :o)
The Subaru Roadside Assistance Program
This comprehensive package covers all 2009 Subaru vehicles during the first 3 years or 36,000 miles, whichever comes first. By calling the toll-free number in the Owner’s Information Kit, Subaru owners can take advantage of any of the following benefits:
• 24-Hour Roadside Assistance, seven days a week, 365 days a year, throughout the United States.
• Emergency Towing Service to the nearest authorized Subaru dealer.
• Emergency Roadside Assistance for jump starts, gasoline (up to two gallons), flat tire change, emergency lockout service (lost key or key is
locked in the vehicle), and emergency fluid replacement.
07mx5 says:
10:03 PM, 02/24/09
i thought the sti used a rear torsen diff?
rsholland says:
06:48 AM, 02/25/09
Erin, if you get a chance, I'd try to fit that full-size spare in the spare tire well.
Here's the thing: If that flat had happened to you and you had a full compliment of passengers and luggage, where would you have put that spare if it didn't fit in the designated spare tire well?
As I mentioned earlier, I doubt that tire would fit—but I'd like to know for sure. Also, I doubt Subaru is not the only car company that has this problem.
Since this is an "ownership" blog, it would be great if Inside Line editors would check this potential problem with every car they test.
sbcooke says:
09:01 AM, 02/25/09
For the winter, I put michelin pilot sport a/s plus' on the stock rims. I am looking for new ones to put the dunlops back on to use for the summer time.
I really like the black rims look. I think I might put on a set of black shoes for the summer look.
coati says:
07:03 PM, 02/27/09
any luck on finding a tire? one of ours caught 2 nails in it and Discount Tire (aka America's Tire in LA) had to order one from Memphis. Ours is a white STI with a donut on the right rear. One of our cars must be the mirror-image negative...