Well, my first real incident with my car finally happened last night, unfortunately... Tire blew out on me while driving in the fast lane... I had to brake and slow with a vehicle right behind me and pull over in the left hazard lane immediately after it blew out. I should have just gone to the right hazard lane since there were these really deep, harsh warning grooves on the left side and also it's just a lot safer on the right...but I had to stop immediately after it blew out. It made a loud noise at blowout and started hearing something hitting my car (from the the tire pieces flying off). I knew from the noise it was a tire blowout but didn't quite know which tire it was, how much damage there was and what exactly happened... Tire completely separated from the wheel but was still attached to both sides of the wheel rim/lip, which is new to me........... Parts of the disintegrated tire kicked up and hit my quarter panel and left some black tire scuffs and maybe a few small dents (not sure if they were there before yet)...

Two cop cars had to block off the entire side of the interstate for a minute for me to get on the right side hazard lane. I noticed a few minutes before it happened that my car felt a bit unstable, pulling slightly to one side and heard a slightly abnormal sound (I now know it was from right-rear tire). Before I left for work, I noticed the tire looked a little lower than normal but just figured I was seeing things or maybe just needed a little air...

My questions are: Should I go through insurance (Full coverage, $500 deductible) or just have it fixed myself? I guess I'm leaning toward just seeing what I can do myself or from a body shop. Other than the dents, is there anything I can do about the tire scuffs/marks, etc. myself? The cop mentioned rubbing compound could take it out... Not too up on body work... Any recommendations appreciated.

Pics:
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/IMG_0665.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/IMG_0666.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/IMG_0667.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/a...0/IMG_0668.jpg

 

Laquer thinner would probably take the tire marks off. Or yeah rubbing compoud, something like that.

Don't see any dents in the pics, so I don't know exactly what you're talking about, must be pretty minor, if you're that worried about it, I'd take it to a paintless dent removal guy or something and see what they say.

You can probably get it fixed for 500 dollars or less, rather than bothering with your insurance and making rates go up, etc.

 

Looks like run flat damage. If your tire looks like, check it. If you drive on it with low air pressure the tire begins to over heat and the sidewalls start to break down internally until you eventually experience a blowout. That's why half the sidewalls are still on the wheel. I'm glad to hear no one was hurt. The car doesn't look too bad. I'd try buffing it with several compounds. If that doesn't work then color sand. Good luck.

 

Laquer thinner? Yea use Laquer thinner if you wanna get the scuff marks off and take the paint off with it.

Just wash the car and hit the area with any number of paint cleaner & car wax products out there. I bet you can buff l most of that right out.

 

Dude, thanks for that info. I bet it was due to low tire pressure, because I just happened to notice that tire looked possibly slightly lower than normal earlier in the day but couldn't tell for sure since they're low profile and just brushed it off. Really should have paid more attention to it...

 

wow man sorry to hear. good to know your alright... werent you trying to sell your wheels at one point on craigslist?

 

Glad to see that you're okay!

 

Same thing happened to me once. I used rubbing compound to get most of it off.

 

Use buffing compound by hand or even better a buffer(if you have one handy) or you could try bug and tar remover, it should work and will not damage the paint at all, it should get the tire marks off but will not remove the small scratches. I would not take it to a body shop or insurance it is easily fixable your self and will cost way more than 500 at a shop(tire, dents and paint) i do body and paint for a living, and have done this a couple of times before.

 

Laquer thinner ...yeah right.....that's nuts. Try 3M EASY CUT polishing compound on a cotton rag on those tire marks. Will take you all of 15 minutes max to getting it to look like new again. Fantastic product. I got my bottle from Napa. You will love this product. In fact ANYTHING made from 3M is really good stuff. Forget filing insurance on this issue, it's a waste of time and money.

 

Dont file to the insurance cuz ur premiums will go up, so it will cost more in the long run, so just go get it fix or get some hook up through someone.

 

go to an O Rielys with an auto paint section and ask for a "Rubber Eraser Wheel". Its a rubber attachment for a drill that will probably erase most of that off. I used one to get my pinstripe off and glue from my badges.

 

those can burn your paint if you are not very careful

 

just to let you know, if a tire "blows out" vs runs flat and "separates" due to someone driving on it after being flat, its a automatic "no fault" to the driver and the responsibility lies on the tire company, most insurance companies will automatically payout with no penalty to the insurer....it must be a blow out, and THEY WILL COME to VERIFY!!!

this is according to AAA insurance...

best bet is to call your insurance company and ask them how they would handle such situations....WITHOUT TELLING THEM YOUR INFO......

 

what brand tires are these?