2.5 inch screw in a tire?

over the weekend, i discovered that the right rear tire of my stock '06 Gallardo was flat (uh..is this sub-forum only for ferraris?). i took the wheel off, and sure enough, found a 2.5 inch screw completely buried in it. i had to twist it out. it was perfectly straight, with just the head mangled as it was the contact to the ground.

question: is it possible for such a long screw to be jammed all the way into a tire, or do you think someone screwed the thing in? i've had nails in tires before, but it seems implausible that such a long screw would so easily find its way into a tire like that.

 

I think it's likely this happened on its own. I have found both screws and nails buried straight into my tire to the head - this during a period when there was a lot of home construction going on in the area.

 

I remember way back when I had my VW GTI. I drove over something and heard a loud BANG BANG BANG - something was hitting inside my left rear wheel well. While I was pulling over, the noise stopped. When I got home, I checked the tire and saw a shiny metal end stuck in the tread. I pulled, and pulled, and pulled - it was the entire working end of a screwdriver, about 6" long, that had embedded itself inside the tire and smashed off the handle!

 

Totally possible. I depends on where you were driving when you picked it up, and how fast you were going.

 

Entirely possible! A friend pulled a spark plug out of his tire once after hearing this loud racket on a lonely two lane highway.

A friend who worked at a gas station in high school told me of some other interesting things he found in tires:

1) What appeared to be a nail...he pulled and out came about 8 inches of metal rod, then stopped....then another extension, then another...it was a damn radio antenna!

2) The jaw bone from a racoon! Yes, the owner admitted hitting it too.

A couple things I have hit and blown out tires on:

1) One half of a open end wrench...the broken stub went through the tread!

2) Hook from a tractor trailer tie-down, the hook went right through my sidewall.

 

holy cow. what else have people found in their tires! didn't realize it can be considered an extra storage compartment!

 

I once found a car key stuck all the way through a tire tread.

 

I'll post a counter-story.

I once had a neighbor that wasn't happy about where I parked my SL500 (condo, he parked next to me and he thought my car crowded his dually work truck). Within a few days of having an arguement with him, I found a 4 inch long and about 1/4 inch thick bolt in my tire. It was NOT pointed, flat on the top, and stuck straight up into the tire.

Now, I could never "prove" it was him, and I "suppose" I could have had it stuck when I was driving, but I highly doubt it.

The neighbor finally moved out about 6 months later, I was glad.

James in Denver

 

I had a friend in High School who's father had a Jag XJS convertable. He would never let his son near it for the most part. Anyway, forpart of his graduation gift he let him hold the car for an entire weekend. So, he was crusing with some friends along a two lane highway in a wooded area. 50 yards down the road he spotted a paper bag lying in the center of the lane. He thought "oh well, it's just a paper bag" and decided to bowl it over. There was a cynder block in it!!! The impact caused him to lose control, and he went into at ditch. The car wasn't totaled, and there was only a few cuts and bruises, however, after hearing that story I avoid any object lying in the road.

 

Henrus,

It sounds like you are "screwed"!!!

 

another rear tire episode to help confirm my theory. when your front tire hits an object lying at rest it causes the object to spin or flip. so when the rear tire comes along it penetrates the tread area. happens frequently. how to stop it? install a mud flap or brush under the car behind the front tire. this will knock the object down.

 

A long time ago I owned some Firestone stores.

Found a Bic pen in a tire, a Yamaha motorcycle open end wrench and too many other things than I can remember.

The one I remember the most, was a human tooth!

 

Whatever the object was that my wife hit last week, it went through the left rear tire AND the wheel.
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Wow.... what kind of wheel/car was that on?

I always figured it had to do with spinning the rear wheels accelerating, sliding around corners, whatever.... haven't had a flat front tire but have had 5 flat rear tires w/ my Vette in the last 3 years.

 

235/45 VR17 on a 17" factory alloy on Volvo S60. $600 for wheel and tire replacement. Lease ends next month so it was money out the window!

 

OH SNAP!!!

I guess that's one draw back of low profile tires. They don't leave much room do they.

 

Obviously, it's the work of the infamous screw fairy.
(Bill Shatner is freaking out! )

I could almost open a hardware store with all the junk I've pulled out of my tires.
(I've caught several before they've penetrated the pressure cords by listening for the "metal on concrete" studded tire sound when backing out of the garage.)
(The weird ones are the nails that have fallen out of the garage ceiling -- somebody ran phone and cable wires across there and nailed them to the sheet rock.)

 

that's terrible, James. i'm sorry you had to go through that. what an ass. at least he's gone now. you have a lot of patience not escalating that somehow.

 

ha!

 

It wasn't a Ferrari either, but I hit a large BOLT with the rear tire on my M3. When I ran over the bolt it made a loud BANG and then CLICK, CLICK, CLICK.... The bolt went straight in with just the head showing. Michelin Pilot, $300....ouch. It held air while I drove to my destination where I was then thankful to have a working spare tire and jack.

 

I've had mainly screws & nails puncture my tires visiting a g/f at her apartment complex. Usually about 1 a month. I actually enjoyed going to the Firestone repair center as they kept a VERY large glass jar on the counter with everything they pulled out of tires. Pens, metal stakes, metal rods, keys, glass shards, a sprocket etc. etc. On the jar is a label that says "But I didn't run over anything"

 

man, must have been some g/f. that could get expensive after a while.