R-class Mercs (or their tyres) don't like the cold

[Parrot of Doom]

http://www.landxml.org/R320/

Not very nice. Highly unusual in fact.

 

[Flying Scot]

OUCH sounds very strange and rather unlikely BUT it happened

 

[Hibbo]

WTF?

That tyre must've been MAHOOSIVELY over pressurised to explode like that. Is there anything else in that area that could explode?

 

[jberks]

Thats the point - there is nothing in that area that CAN explode. Sadly, Americans seem to think that cars just explode. In truth, petrol ones almost never do and diesels certainly never do. She obviously thinks that by pouring diesel everywhere, this explains (or she had a really bad day!) it but I doubt the ins co will agree. Throw a match into a diesel tank and all you get is a oily match!

A better explanation may have been that she sat with her foot hard down and the wheel spinning until the tyre shredded and disintergrated, throwing chunks of tyre rubber in all directions. The damage is bad, even for that but explosion - Sorry - bull. Admittedly, she'd have had to turn off the esp too so I don't have all the answers.
The crap about the wheel going round whilst it was in P too?
I'm afraid, its normally a good idea when making up a complex story like this to have sufficient understanding of the chemistry and physics of the incident to not make yours;ef look stupid. Sadly hers is based on a rather weak edition of Quincy!
Nah - dont believe a word of it.

Oh and another thing. Shes basically saying it was the car, not the tyre that exploded. Having seen cars that have been torched, rear wheels don't survive. Hers is mint. And looking again at the damage, looks pretty consistent with a large chunk or steel re-inforced continental flailing around at high speed! Note the range of the damage to the car. SHe's done a burn out.

 

[Hibbo]

All I can think of is that she floored the bosom off of it, and with the RH wheel stuck solid, the LH wheel would be spinning at twice the speed (I think I may be wrong here as it's probably got some fancy diff) and thus exceeded the tyre's speed rating and it shredded.

Even that seems a bit far fetched though?

 

[Apial]

Elementary my dear Watson.
The tyre had been filled with a mixture of air and acetyline! Once the tyre burst due to rubbing, the sparks created the ignition, and there you have it,BOOM!

 

[television]

I have to agree with JBerks here, there will be score marks all around the arch, well whats left of it, looking at the shot of the tyreless rim, the car is burried up to the under side and could not move, the pictures in the top row show this, and it old snow at that.

Malcolm

 

[Rory]

What's the tube hanging across the wheel in the second picture - something to do with the air suspension? And she mentioned that wouldn't work (she thought because the car was in park) but then went out and tried to move the car.
So I wonder is some air suspension component exploded?

I'm pretty amazed that a piece of tyre went through the side of the house. OK, I know it's only plywood, but a piece of tyre isn't bullet shaped.

Sounds like an horrendous place to live, and hard luck if you need the Police in an emergency.

 

[jberks]

mentioned that wouldn't work (she thought because the car was in park) but then went out and tried to move the car.
So I wonder is some air suspension component exploded?

I'm pretty amazed that a piece of tyre went through the side of the house. OK, I know it's only plywood, but a piece of tyre isn't bullet shaped.

I suspect that whilst high pressure, air suspension is low volume, so it would basically go pop with very little damage. More likely that the flailing rubber demolished the suspension components.
Alloys aren't very resistant to high impact damage so for it to survive and the tyre to be destroyed to that extent can only happen one way IMO. 35psi rubber rotating at 40mph will go a long way - as anyone whose followed a truck with a disintegrating remold will tell you!!

 

[television]

When we were young, we made up guns that would fire a candle through a wooden door.

Tyres can melt whén spinning in mud or snow, the air pressure increases with heat, the jolt at the rear end set off the rear bags.

Malcolm

 

[maldon]

That statement nearly wiped me out. I had to go and lie down for ten minutes.

Small wonder the old man was in Florida

 

[entropymatters]

I had a similar occurrance once.

I suffered similar damage driving a Peugeot 405. Three quarters of the rear nearside tyre tread detached and sythed through the wheel arch and rear bumper. When I got it onto the hard shoulder the remaining tyre was extremely hot and had massively pressurised. I couldn't touch it to change it for about half an hour, but I did release the pressure through the valve.
The tyre replacement people suggested that the tyre had been bruised, probably by kerbing. You could see the buised area on the inside of the tyre when it was changed.

 

[entropymatters]

When we were young, we made up guns that would fire a candle through a wooden door.

Malcolm

Come on Malcolm! Tell us how to!

 

[television]

Come on Malcolm! Tell us how to!

I was only 7-8 years old, my dad was in the fire service during the war,and would bring home bits of bombs and shells that were used for training. My dad was a clever type of could do anything brigade and we had the most crazy things for toys.

The candle through a door was shown on TV in the 50's, I have never thought about it all until seeing the hole in the house, Was not Velosity one of Einstiens theories, I know that relotivity is, excuse the spelling.

Malcolm

 

[Parrot of Doom]

This has all the hallmarks of the spurious litigation against Audi in the 80's.

http://thecarnut.typepad.com/steve_parker_the_car_nut_/2007/01/consumer_report.html

 

[pscars]

Dont laugh but i used to a Renault 21 Turbo and i had a rear tyre delaminate at around 120 mph, the damage i had was pretty consistant with the damage you see on her car. The parts of my tyre flew over 100ft belive it or not.

 

[Iain the gadget]

CRIKEY!!!