New speed bumps have been added to i495N. I thought my airbags would deploy.

 

Damn, dude! Those must be some hellacious bumps! I've seen it happen when you hit a big, sharp-edged pot-hole (big enough for the tire to sink into). I can't tell what tires those are, but if they're run-flats, did the tire stay 'up' long enough to get off the freeway?


But I'd definitely get the wheel and alignment checked - that kind of hit can put cracks in a cast wheel and really mess up the alignment.

'03 MCS

 

Sucks on the mid-Interstate speedbump, know how those go. Be glad you didn't dent the wheel, and mark that section of road down on the "unMotorable" listing of roads.

 

Man now you me scared.

 

It's in Massachusetts, where road construction projects are merely Irish mafia jobs programs. They've been tearing up 495 for a couple of years now, just to keep money going into mafioso construction companies. It's absurd. but there's lots of money to launder.

Steel expansion joints stick up through most of the overpasses on both sides. The road is full of potholes that have been there since winter. Construction crews inflict more damage on the road, but nothing actually gets fixed.

On the southbound side they dug a depression in the road a couple of miles from Route 3. There's a ramp going in and a ramp going out. On Thursday I discovered it as my car vaulted out of the chasm like the General Lee.

 

Hey,
I've looked stupid before but, where is I495N and why would anyone put speed bumps there? Think you should consider a lawsuit.
Charles

 

The tire is one of the OEM Pirelli Eufori@ runflats; the logo is just visible at the lower left sidewall, and the stock 205/45-17 size is also readable, just to the right of the damage point on the sidewall.

 

Sorry to hear about this and your damage.
Please also check the top of your strut tower since others have noted that after a collision with a bad pothole they sustained a humped out top to the strut tower plate at the top of the shock tower.

Were there sufficient warning signs for the speed bumps? Seems like a bad design or one that could cause panic stops and accidents.

 

Ouch! And I am running 215/40/17's. Thanks for the heads up. I will really be keeping my eyes open looking for pot holes, broken pavement and damn speed bumps.

 

dohhh! sorry to see that.

 

Because they can. Massachusetts is not California. If you want your knees crushed with sledge hammers by municipal workers, then suing the state is for you.

As I posted before, the expansion joints (pairs of iron plates placed lke this -> || in the road) are exposed on a lot of the overpasses. The speed bumps are probably what the duly elected mobsters of the unions call patches. They appear to be attempts to cover the plates.

As much as I hate the runflats, that heavy, thick-sidewall tire protected the rim, and never lost pressure. I drove the car to MINIPeabody this morning, and they replaced the tire.

 

You are looking at this issue incorrectly... if you motion to get rid of the speed bumps they have to pay more people in Irish organizations to take them out hence more revenue!

So really it would be a win-win you get less bumps they get more money.

Patrick

 

Signs--lmao. Of course not.

People around here do not require speed bumps, potholes, or iron plates as excuses for panic stopping. Since I've have had my MINI (10/2003), I've encountered a few panic stops ahead of me on interstate highways, none of which appeared to be for any other reason than probable dropped crack vials.

Some moron panic stopped right in front of me in the middle lane of i495 earlier this year. I swerved, not wanting to be killed for someone else's stupidity. Darwinism has a way of working those things out.

 

FWIW - I bent a 17" rim and bent the lower control arm on my Porsche this past March here in RI on a state highway. I took photos of the pothole, the damage and filed a police report in the municipality. I got receipts for the repairs and then sent the works to the state. Mind you it cost me over $1,000 to get the car right and the state has a $300 cap on claims. I just got the state refund check for $274 - the difference was given as "use depreciation". Ain't fair...

cheers,

Cheers

 

LOL ,:-)
Thanks, you made my day, sorry to hear how tuff the roads are up there. By the way, UA is Upper Alabama, not Cal.
Charles

 

I think my alignment is off as a result of this impact.

 

I'm sure it is. I am surprised that the dealer didn't check it for you. That will cause some uneaven wear on that new tire if it is not corrected. I speak from experience. Except I have the 16" wheels, and the rim bent instead of the tire bulging. (With Goodyear Runflats)

 

Happened to me 3 times, on two different MINIs. After the second time I replaced with 16" V-spokes with Dunlop run-flats. Though still vulnerable, I myself have had no problems with them. When the time came, I replaced my run-flats on the other MINI with Yokohama AVS ES100s, 215/45/17.

I drive the 95 corridor btw. PA and CT almost every week.