Flat spotted tyres!
Discussion
Feel like a bit of a moron but.....
Between driving a Semi Auto one day, manual the next and a whole host of loan cars recently (not to mention my motorbike) i must have become very confused!
Whilst driving on the M6 yesterday in my new Impreza, nothing fast (60 - 70 with a big gap in front), the traffic suddenly started to brake hard.... Brain engaged, i went for the brake and (don't ask me how) missed the pedal... in my panic i grabbed the handbrake for a second, before realising what i was doing and 'finding' the footbrake. I slowed down OK and didn't even come close to hitting anything (despite the smoke!).
Problem is i've slightly flat spotted the rear tyres (only 400 miles old!) and it feels like i'm driving on an uneven surface all the time. I've checked the tyres and where the majority of the tyre is new 8mm(?) the flat bit is around 6mm (the sidewalls are fine - its just the very centre bit).
My question is this.... will the flat spot smooth out in time and be OK or do i need to change the tyres now.
Yes, i feel like a nobber for doing this but i suppose its just one of those things.... any advice would be welcomed!
Between driving a Semi Auto one day, manual the next and a whole host of loan cars recently (not to mention my motorbike) i must have become very confused!
Whilst driving on the M6 yesterday in my new Impreza, nothing fast (60 - 70 with a big gap in front), the traffic suddenly started to brake hard.... Brain engaged, i went for the brake and (don't ask me how) missed the pedal... in my panic i grabbed the handbrake for a second, before realising what i was doing and 'finding' the footbrake. I slowed down OK and didn't even come close to hitting anything (despite the smoke!).
Problem is i've slightly flat spotted the rear tyres (only 400 miles old!) and it feels like i'm driving on an uneven surface all the time. I've checked the tyres and where the majority of the tyre is new 8mm(?) the flat bit is around 6mm (the sidewalls are fine - its just the very centre bit).
My question is this.... will the flat spot smooth out in time and be OK or do i need to change the tyres now.
Yes, i feel like a nobber for doing this but i suppose its just one of those things.... any advice would be welcomed!
stevieb said:
you need to find a car park and do a few donuts that will even the flat spot out.
But you never should pull the handbrake on a 4x4 its sends to much load though the gearbox.. Check that you have not knackered this in the process.
But you never should pull the handbrake on a 4x4 its sends to much load though the gearbox.. Check that you have not knackered this in the process.
Cars fine... just shaved a little rubber off the tyres!
It'll take some serious peeling out to get rid of a 2mm flat spot and you may end up buggering up the transmission bigtime as well as wearing the front tyres in the process. I wouldn't consider doing donuts in my scooby just to even out a tyre. Not to mention all the rubber your inside wheel arches and outside surrounding paintwork will suddenly accumulate + stonechips etc that will appear as if by magic...
Get 2 new tyres and be done with, much easier and in the long run probably will be cheaper.
P.S. The next time you're on the motorway....keep yer brain engaged, and if you should want to use the handbrake at speed don't forget to press down the clutch pedal
Get 2 new tyres and be done with, much easier and in the long run probably will be cheaper.
P.S. The next time you're on the motorway....keep yer brain engaged, and if you should want to use the handbrake at speed don't forget to press down the clutch pedal
scoobiewrx said:
P.S. The next time you're on the motorway....keep yer brain engaged, and if you should want to use the handbrake at speed don't forget to press down the clutch pedal
Just one of those weird things.... Funnily enough, the clutch was fully depressed the whole time - it was that i slammed not the brake. No damage in other departments i'm happy to report.... just pride and confidence!
The cars only a week old and the noise of the flat spot rotating has reduced in the last 100miles so i'll see what its like in a week before i decide to change the rear tyres completly.
scoobiewrx said:
It'll take some serious peeling out to get rid of a 2mm flat spot and you may end up buggering up the transmission bigtime as well as wearing the front tyres in the process. I wouldn't consider doing donuts in my scooby just to even out a tyre. Not to mention all the rubber your inside wheel arches and outside surrounding paintwork will suddenly accumulate + stonechips etc that will appear as if by magic...
It was only said in jest
stevieb said:
scoobiewrx said:
It'll take some serious peeling out to get rid of a 2mm flat spot and you may end up buggering up the transmission bigtime as well as wearing the front tyres in the process. I wouldn't consider doing donuts in my scooby just to even out a tyre. Not to mention all the rubber your inside wheel arches and outside surrounding paintwork will suddenly accumulate + stonechips etc that will appear as if by magic...
It was only said in jest
Never mind the jest...i love to see Scoobys doing 4WD donuts, Bigtime Smokies!! As long as it isn't my Scooby doing Donuts i don't care
mave said:
How good is the handbrake in a scooby? I doubt I could lock the back wheels in my RX at 10MPH, let alone on a motorway!
Actually...my handbrake is excellent. Scoobys don't use the rear pads to lock onto the rear disc as there is a drum brake arrangement built into the rear hubs so the whole handbrake mechanism is completely independent from the main brakes. Very ingenious and effective. I can lock my rears at 70/80mph if neccessary as they work that well (yes i have experimented for a split second out of curiosity)!!
. The way i have my handbrake adjusted you only have to pull it a bit and it's locked on, but completely frees the rear wheels when released. It works very well
mave said:
How good is the handbrake in a scooby? I doubt I could lock the back wheels in my RX at 10MPH, let alone on a motorway!
I can also confirm that it works well at these speed... not really on purpose though! Does the handbrake work on both wheels or just the one, because looking at my skid marks there only appears to be one black line and only one tyre appears badly flat spotted???
cj.ok said:
mave said:
How good is the handbrake in a scooby? I doubt I could lock the back wheels in my RX at 10MPH, let alone on a motorway!
I can also confirm that it works well at these speed... not really on purpose though! Does the handbrake work on both wheels or just the one, because looking at my skid marks there only appears to be one black line and only one tyre appears badly flat spotted???
In which case your handbrake needs adjusting at the wheel end. When pulling up the handbrake see which way the car steers or which way the rear end goes. If your rear goes to the left then the left rear wheel has locked and your right hasn't in which case the right wheel parking brake mech needs adjusting, and vice versa the other way around. If you arent sure how to adjust it...SHOUT!!
When i pull my handbrake up hard i get two black lines, in which case maybe i should slacken one off so i only flatspot one tyre. You might be onto sometheing here Gassing Station | Japanese Chat | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff