Why did my Clio 172 tyre pull off the rim?
Discussion
Hi,
Last night I had a small incident in the Clio 172 Cup. I spun it on a country lane and managed to scrape the bumper and smash a headlight. Luckily all cheap to replace, no one hurt and no major damage done. The big PITA was the tyre pulled off the rim and the spare had a puncture!!
Now, I have just bought the car last week and I’ve not got round to checking the tyre pressures yet (or the spare in the boot - stupid I know), so I don’t know if the pressures were low or not. But one thing I did notice is that the tyres look a bit stretched. Are 195 width tyres the correct size for the Clio 172? They look a bit too narrow and stretched to me.
I’m wondering if the reason the car suddenly let go and spun was due to the tyre coming off the rim mid corner, or whether the tyre coming off was due to the spin, after traction was lost. I have plenty of experience driving my TVR and the VX220 Turbo, and whilst I’m not a professional driver, I was surprised with the ease the Clio suddenly let go and spin so quickly mid corner without warning.
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Dan
Last night I had a small incident in the Clio 172 Cup. I spun it on a country lane and managed to scrape the bumper and smash a headlight. Luckily all cheap to replace, no one hurt and no major damage done. The big PITA was the tyre pulled off the rim and the spare had a puncture!!
Now, I have just bought the car last week and I’ve not got round to checking the tyre pressures yet (or the spare in the boot - stupid I know), so I don’t know if the pressures were low or not. But one thing I did notice is that the tyres look a bit stretched. Are 195 width tyres the correct size for the Clio 172? They look a bit too narrow and stretched to me.
I’m wondering if the reason the car suddenly let go and spun was due to the tyre coming off the rim mid corner, or whether the tyre coming off was due to the spin, after traction was lost. I have plenty of experience driving my TVR and the VX220 Turbo, and whilst I’m not a professional driver, I was surprised with the ease the Clio suddenly let go and spin so quickly mid corner without warning.
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Dan
I would have thought if the tyre pressure was very low then it would be fairly simple for the tyre to break contact with the wheel - especially if you were "pressing on". I suppose rapid deflation of the tyre could then lead to you losing control and ultimately the car spinning - especially if you've steered the "wrong" way or braked. I've heard it's rear tyres blowing out that cause more cars to spin but I don't know if that's true.
Yes 195 is the correct tyre width.
It is difficult to say if the deflated tyre was cause or consequence of the accident.
Speaking from experience (ouch!) when I touched -in what to me seemed very lightly- a small kerb, the tyre went immediately off the rim.
It might also be that your tyre was also low on pressure, making such things easier to happen, but I wouldn't see it as the root cause.
It is difficult to say if the deflated tyre was cause or consequence of the accident.
Speaking from experience (ouch!) when I touched -in what to me seemed very lightly- a small kerb, the tyre went immediately off the rim.
It might also be that your tyre was also low on pressure, making such things easier to happen, but I wouldn't see it as the root cause.
I admit, I probably just ran out of talent and it’s a car I’m not too familiar with. The Clio does seem very light on the back end. I just have this wonder whether the tyre coming off the rim is the cause or the by product of the spin! I was travelling quickly, but within the speed limit. It was a very long corner, so I guess the back end (on cold tyres) just gave up gripping.
Edit: There were skid marks on the road, but it was dark so I couldn't see them very well. I wonder if they could shine some light on what exactly happened.
Edit: There were skid marks on the road, but it was dark so I couldn't see them very well. I wonder if they could shine some light on what exactly happened.
As said above with regards to low tyre pressures, a spin can quite easily cause the forces needed to remove the bead from the rim at speed.
Another lesson to learn with a front driver, short wheelbased hatch is to not lift mid corner, this, as you said makes the back rather light and has resulted in a fair old share of FWD Hot Hatches going to car Heaven backwards through a hedge.
Another lesson to learn with a front driver, short wheelbased hatch is to not lift mid corner, this, as you said makes the back rather light and has resulted in a fair old share of FWD Hot Hatches going to car Heaven backwards through a hedge.
Atterz said:
As said above with regards to low tyre pressures, a spin can quite easily cause the forces needed to remove the bead from the rim at speed.
Another lesson to learn with a front driver, short wheelbased hatch is to not lift mid corner, this, as you said makes the back rather light and has resulted in a fair old share of FWD Hot Hatches going to car Heaven backwards through a hedge.
Another lesson to learn with a front driver, short wheelbased hatch is to not lift mid corner, this, as you said makes the back rather light and has resulted in a fair old share of FWD Hot Hatches going to car Heaven backwards through a hedge.
Luckily it wasn't the tidiest 172 about, it's just a little less tidy now! I've found the parts for very little money on eBay, so should have it mostly sorted for less than £200.
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