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Old 02-19-2018, 12:16 PM   #1 (permalink)
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You know it's time to turn in your EcoModder membership when...



This weekend (after driving ~200 km), I noticed the lip of this wheel disc looked like it was curling a bit, presumably because of the sidewall bulge at the contact patch. (The disc diameter is wider than the rim diameter.)

Thought process:

"But why is it just the one disc? Mysterious."

"Better check the air pressure..."

"Rats! My pressure gauge is broken! The slider bit with the numbers on it won't pop out."

Checks another tire...

"Oops!"

Looks like I'd been driving around on a completely flat tire for who knows how long. (Admits the guy who poo-poos the necessity, cost & complexity of TPMS.)

CRAP! I will see myself out and turn in my membership at the door.

(In my defense: the car still seemed to roll OK. Also, the tire didn't look obviously flat. Maybe these tires have stiffer than usual sidewalls.)

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Old 02-19-2018, 01:13 PM   #2 (permalink)
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Resignation denied!

If your "structural" moon disc holds your tire together enough where you can't even tell it's flat I think you're on to something man, that's a very Ecomodder-worthy mod right there
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Old 02-19-2018, 01:27 PM   #3 (permalink)
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But.....did it help your mileage?
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Old 02-19-2018, 02:54 PM   #4 (permalink)
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At some point he was rolling solely on the edges of the discs.
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[Old] Piwoslaw's Peugeot 307sw modding thread
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Old 02-19-2018, 03:25 PM   #5 (permalink)
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^HA!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Angel And The Wolf View Post
But.....did it help your mileage?
Apparently it got worse until the discs made contact with the road, and then rebounded to best-ever numbers.

Time to cut the valve stems off all four!
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:02 PM   #6 (permalink)
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One tire on my Accord has a slow leak. Whenever I had checked before they had not lost any air, so I became complacent. When I checked I was down to 15 PSI!

That was some good exercise with the bike pump...

I keep thinking that I need to have a tire place repair it for free, but I would rather keep pumping it manually than ask them to leave the other tires alone, have them let air out anyway, and pump them up in the parking lot.

Oh wait. I am supposed to drive 250 miles each way to a Costco to have them check the nitrogen in my tires.

Then pump them up in the parking lot.
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Old 02-19-2018, 10:55 PM   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
^HA!



Apparently it got worse until the discs made contact with the road, and then rebounded to best-ever numbers.

Time to cut the valve stems off all four!
I needed a chuckle this morning!
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Old 02-19-2018, 11:38 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Get a "tire slime" brand dial gauge.
I have bought 2 of them and both were within 1 psi of a calibrated DoD master gauge.
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Old 02-19-2018, 11:53 PM   #9 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MetroMPG View Post
^HA!



Apparently it got worse until the discs made contact with the road, and then rebounded to best-ever numbers.

Time to cut the valve stems off all four!
YEAH! and those discs are cheaper than tires!
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Old 02-20-2018, 06:30 AM   #10 (permalink)
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Airless tire = DIY vehicle weight gague.
Wheel disc = Overspeed indicator

You've lightened the car enough that you pass- the airless tire on its own was enough to support the car. The overspeed indicator, however, shows you're letting your speeds get up a bit high- you were driving fast enough that the bumps were enough to deform the disc.

Good work on weight reduction, but stop driving like such a maniac.

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