"LOL - How does he change his tires ?" ( comments about wheel covers )
 

I keep seeing this comment come up when a picture is posted of a car with covered wheels.

I got to wondering. For you drivers that put a lot of miles on your cars here, in the last five years, how many times have you had a flat tire ? My parents drive a lot, and the last time that they had a flat was around 13 years ago.

To me, it seems like a non issue if it takes five minutes ( or less ) more to change a tire, if over the course of several years the mod pays for itself in gas savings.

The way they have the spare located in some vehicles skirts may be easier to remove than getting out the spare.

So true !

Are you talking about farings or hub cap covers? If its the covers mine are secured with zip ties and I just cut them with end cutters.

The thread title references the Reddit cognoscenti commenting on BamZipPow's wheel skirts. I find it amusing that they think we haven't thought things through.

In fact, the exact opposite is true, most of us here are very good at thinking things through and developing mods.

Pffft, speak for yourself, I rarely think things through. Everyone I know has heard me say, "Eh, what's the worst that could happen?" maaaaany times. :P

As for flat tires, in 10 years of driving, I have had 1 flat tire. Granted it was in winter and sucked...I actually said screw it, drove it back to my garage (200 feet maybe) and put the spare on in there.

I have never had a flat tire EVER, and i roll with crap used tires from the local $9.99 used tire place in the ghetto..... 20+PSI over the "recommended" pressures no spare no fix-a-flat no AAA no nothing....

I used to be able to change the rear tires on Black Widow with the wheel skirts on the car.

I'm considering adding moon discs to Turtle's wheels, and they come off with three screws, not a giant task. If I do put them on, I'm going to add valve extensions so I can air up the tires with the caps on.

I've designed my rear skirts to be removed (with just a few screws) in under 2min. Very VERY easy to do. No worries at all!

Most people seem to think that they are smarter than average, which is statistically impossible. When I got Bacon back from the friend who keeps breaking her Civic, it was parked in a side yard, with weeds rivaling a healthy jungle. I tried to push the car, but did not have any traction. Friend asked "Why don't you drive the car? That would be the smart thing to do!"

I do not even know how to describe how little I liked that comment. I definitely think that "normal" would have been the appropriate word and norms and intelligence are unrelated.

The first thing I do when I get a "new to me car" is check to make sure it has a spare, and that there is air in the spare. That being said, I drive a lot, and I drive a lot of different vehicles, and the last time I got a flat tire was...1992? I smacked a curb in a 1970 Chevy Nova SS, and blew the sidewall out. That one wasn't even the tires fault. I have come out in the morning and found tires that are close to flat, but I can honestly say I don't think I have ever had to change a tire on the side of the road because it blew out. I had to change all 4 tires on the side of the highway, in the snow, on my dearly departed Civic wagon when it died and I had to leave it, but as for an emergency tire change? Nope, don't think I have ever had to. Now that I've said that I will get a flat tomorrow haha :snail:

I've probably averaged 1 significant leak per year, and only a a handful of flats. Then again, I wear tires down to nothing and off-road the heck out of the vehicles. Yesterday I pulled a rivet out of 1 Camry tire and plugged it, and am trying to figure out how to seal a leak on another Camry wheel around the bead.

Access to the wheels is important to me, but as long as it's possible to remove a wheel cover with whatever tools I normally have on me, then I don't mind the extra hassle.

That fastest I have ever changed a wheel outside of a garage was 5 minutes, from the point of realizing my tire was flat, to moving along on the spare.

I laughed ( oh pardon me I'm out of fashion ...I " LOL" ) at that comment, picturing you thrashing the Camry on a dirt road, Dukes of Hazzard style :D:D

I don't have many pictures of my adventures (misadventures), but this gives you a small idea of how I spent my youthful driving years. These photos kinda make me sad that I could see myself buying a minivan, or the fact that I own a Prius.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...9899ot1lsi.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...nt/Work018.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...9663ot1lsi.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y268/redpoint/surf.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...t/wreck006.jpg

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...r06/4x4005.jpg

I envy your life dude. I have extreme agoraphobia and social anxiety, and rarely venture out of my safe zone.
You live the life i wish i had at your age !

Find the leak using a container of water that you can dip the tire-wheel assembly in, about 1/3rd at a time, mark it.

Break the bead from the rim, coat the tire bead with some rtv silicone, use your finger and spread it very thin. Then inflate and get the bead reseated.

Check your work.

regards
mech

I, for one, appreciate your participation on the forum.

Racing Cars: Get Out and Get It:
http://therisingstorm.net/audio/08-G...and-Get-It.mp3

You slide across the hood, too, right? :)

I had a lot of social anxiety for most of my childhood, until about age 21. At church every Sunday the pastor would have everyone greet the people around them, and my face would turn red and I'd get very anxious. In fact, my first girlfriend (she's in the snow picture) didn't come along until I was 22, and she had to pursue me.

I still have anxiety, but forcing myself outside my comfort zone has moved where my comfort zone is. Meeting new strangers is no longer stressful. What's stressful now is being dragged to the country dance bar by my wife. No dance ability whatsoever + performing in front of strangers = mucho anxiety. I've told myself I'll do it again and see if my stress level improves (because my dance ability sure isn't going to).

You could use some of Vekke's fasteners

Eco tuning --> Tuneko Ltd | Aerodynamic parts that lower fuel consumption

shameless plug that is ;)

PS- My post isn't intended to make light of agoraphobia. I have no idea what it is like. Only trying to relate my experience with social anxiety.

I just joined a Meetup group for social anxiety. They meet tomorrow, and I'm pretty nervous.

I've been medication free ( zoloft / paxil etc etc ) for about around 7 years now, and my agoraphobia has become increasingly worse.
I moved to Austin, euphorically thinking life would fall into place. Instead, I crawled back into my shell and spent my days and nights on this forum as a distraction from real life.

I'm going to this Meetup tomorrow though. Medications be damned !

What might strike you all as odd is that my social anxiety even goes so far as being online with people that directly know me or work with me.
( All of you on EM will never meet me, so I'm comfortable with all of you )

I have a FaceBook, but haven't logged in, in around a year. I honestly could care less about what Jamie So-and -So cooked for supper or other such useless nonesense, but I find that it is becoming almost essential to survive if I want to do something like sell my art.
The world is so fake. No one really cares, but to survive, you must play along and pretend that you care about someone else and their BS.

I live directly across the street from my job and get my food around a mile away. The guys at work know I am too chicken to look for a better job and take full advantage of that. I have worked there 13 years and make what new hires make just coming in.

Hopefully I can crawl my way out of the pit I created for myself.

Wow ... how did we ever get off on this topic ?

So, yeah, wheel covers are super easy to get off if you ever have a flat.
I zip tied some coroplast onto my wheels and created a little flap that I can raise to air the tire. It actually takes me less time to air the tires than when I had store bought hub caps !

I've been paranoid and reclusive since I got back from The 'Nam in 1969 and started self-medicating. With the end of Prohibition [here] in July, I think maybe I'll find a group, maybe through the VA, maybe even get a girl-friend.