So I tore apart my dash today to find out why my radio wasn't working. Even called in sick from work because I found a new headunit about 50 miles away. I got to the place, bought my head unit and put my car back together in the parking lot. I was so excited to finally have a working radio!

Driving back home to Maryland, I hear a BANG! and my TPS warning bongs at me. Just got sound back, and that's what I have to hear. Great.

Pulled over to see my right rear tire had gone flat. Awesome. Just bought the tire 2 weeks ago. No, I didn't buy road hazard. Also, the trim along the bottom of the rear bumper now has a slight bulge in it behind the wheel and it was just hanging off when I went to check. Reattached the trim while burning my hand on the exhaust. 2 cops and a highway safety truck stop while I await AAA and all make fun of me for having no spare. Thanks guys.

AAA guy puts my car on the truck and points out a nail in my left front tire. Great. Then he wastes an hour with me in the truck getting gas before we finally head up to Sears by my house. They have my tire in stock.

Got the estimate to mount the new tire and I just happened to have a spare I saved from replacing my rears two weeks ago so they will replace the front one with that.

One hour estimate. Great. I went to get some food across the parking lot. Downing my noodles, I get a phone call. It's Sears. "Hey I found out why your tire is flat." Other than the big hole in the tire? Ok, what? "Yeah, you got a hole in your rim." Huh, what? Ok, I'll be right there. Sure enough...



Yeah, that's how my day went. Couldn't find a new s-winder 16" anywhere cause it was after 5pm. Apparently all the salvage yards around here hold banker's hours. And most aren't open Saturdays so I may be out of luck tomorrow too!

*sigh* Well, I felt I needed to rant a bit. Maybe this was all karma for calling in sick.

 

Maybe it committed suicide from all the brakedust

 

Thanks for that. I regularly take off my wheels to clean the inside...

 

Rough day indeed! Did you hit something in the road? That is not a design fault, something went through that for sure.

 

How in the world does that happen?

 

C45....Did you not read the 4th paragraph of the 39th article of this forum's Terms of Service? You can't kick a guy while he's down until you are a Second Gear poster.

Now... let's see the back side of your rims, Mister!

 

There are re-manufactured wheels available if you do a search for them, about $125 or so if it's an OEM part. Bummer, wonder what that was, something in the road?

 

Yeah I'm pretty sure I hit something that punched through them hit my bumper

 

Looks like a bullet hole.

 

Funny, captain, that's what my roommate said. I was in northern Virginia so that isn't completely out of the question!

 

Dog, where do I find these?

 

http://www.originalwheels.com/minicooper-wheels/

http://www.hubcaphaven.com/mini_wheels.htm

are 2 that i know

scott

 

Great thanks. If I can't find one in a nearby yard, I'll check that out.

 

That hole frightens me. How could something (gun) with that much force not destroy something else? I don't mean to get you twisted up, Bugler, but I'd be taking a good look at everything in the vicinity.

Tomorrow will be a better day. It can't be much worse, that's for sure.

 

I'll have the guys changing the tire check then I will. I decided it couldn't be a gun cause it was in the center of the tread. The car is too low. It would have had to come in straight at ground level.

More likely a big bolt or something. I didn't see any other damage or anything leading after the fact. The tow guy thought I hit a Jack handle.

 

Yep... a bolt or something similar. There was a similar incident posted on this board years ago and, IIRC, turned out to be a bolt.

 

Yeah, given that damage it had to be something real solid. On the plus side, it would have really been bad for a window, door, headlight, tail light, etc.

Good luck with the wheel search tomorrow.

 

I'm glad it didn't hit anything glass or metal besides the wheel. The car behind me pulled over too and checked over his car so I bet whatever it was bounced away from me and hit him.

 

Dang. That is scary. So sorry you had such a bad day, let's hope that it leads to a really good day soon.

And I'm going to have nightmares about that hole in your rim.

 

Bugler, sorry to hear about the troubles. I'll try to help you via a little perspective. At least yours is a part you can find (albeit at a frustratingly slow pace) and just put back on your MINI. Mine got hit by someone while parked at work and I'm looking at having to get my rear bumper cover painted. And it was a hit and run and I'm not holding out hope I'll find the person who did it.

Now I need to start a thread - "Show us the inside of your rims the next time you rotate" - so we can compare dust buildup.

 

Yeah it can always be worse I know. I like to think I'm building up the bad so the universe owes me something really good soon.

 

My son looked at it and said that it must have been a long piece of metal, that the tire rolled over, it punctured the tire and then pushed through the rim and created the hole. So maybe the tow truck driver had the right idea...

Wonder why he said jack handle though? Did he see one on the ground?

 

I'm not on runflats. And no a bullet can only fire if a small point strikes the percussion cap on the back just right. You could run over a hundred bullets a hundred times and never will one go off.

 

Sorry, I edited and changed my comment, removing the runflat and bullet questions. My son said the same thing, that a bullet wouldn't explode from compression. He said that the hole had to have been make by a long piece of metal, that pierced the tire and then was pushed through the rim, ejecting as it did.

 

Well I found one at a yard nearby and picked it up for $100. Not as bad as it could have been.

Kept the other rim. Why? I don't know! Forensics haha.