DaveL

I was cruising home during rush hour the other day down 128 outside Boston, when I came upon one of those huge pieces of rubber from a blown tractor trailer tire. It was bouncing around the road and due to the heavy traffic and high speed (60mph) I couldn't avoid it and ran right over it. I immediately heard scraping sounds from the R/F wheel well but only when accelerating.<p>Took it to Rietzl the next morning and boy did it do some damage! They fixed it so the scraping is gone and it is safe to drive, but here is what needs to be replaced:<p>Drive Shaft AFT Transmission (expensive carbon fiber part!)<br>Drive shaft bolts<br>Drive shaft gasket<br>L/F lower body heat shield<br>Center lower outer drive heat shield<br>Front subframe<br>Subframe bolts<br>Left back subframe cap<br>Right back subframe cap<br>Front belly pan<br>Front spoiler<br>Front bumber - body shop for painting<br>Sway bar<br>4 wheel alignement<p>Waiting for the Claims Adjuster to examine it, but it should total over $3000. I just hope they don't give me a hrad time because it's lowered with Eibach/Konis.<p>The amazing thing is that it drives prefectly...like new!<p>On the bright side:<br>No more stone chips and bug stains on the front bumper<br>And, maybe I can get them to put in the sway bar from the sport suspension! ;-)<p>Dave<br>'97 1.8TQMS wett<p>

Cris

Now that everything is fixed,.. you should take it out to the track, say Watkins Glen... and see if everything will hold up! I hear MichaelB is going... Speaking of whom,.. he is suppose to send out my memo about the track event. <p>Anyway, I hope everything will go smoothly from now on!<p>Cris<br>

DaveL

Nope, not fixed yet. Safe to drive. But waiting for Claims Adj to OK the work. Yep, I'm still thinking about the Glen.

DaveW

WOW! A piece of rubber did all that?? Man, I hate 128 during rush hour! My sympathies...

Dave M

That sucks! There is not much you can due to avoid a situation like that in rush hour traffic. I hope everything comes out as good as new. I avoided a similar situation returning from my 2 year service last Saturday.<p>I was driving north on the Dallas Tollway, and next thing you know there is a 12' or so aluminum ladder laying across the entire left lane! Thank godness it was not rush hour with tons of traffic as I was able to see the ladder way ahead of time. I began to slow down immediatley and move into the center lane, but the morons driving around and in front of me had no clue what was in the road ahead and just kept speeding along. I let off the throttle and slowed slightly to see what these folks were going to do, and to leave plenty of room for an emergency manuver. Next thing you know the taxi van that was in front of me runs right over the ladder! The ladder goes flying into the air and luckily lands mostly in the left lane. I begin pumping my brakes to alert the drivers behind me with my brake lights. I slow even more and have to go slightly into the right lane to go safely around the mangled ladder. Then what do I hear? Someone cruzing up full speed in the right lane behind me is laying on the horn cause I had to get into their lane slightly (to avoid hitting the ladder) and cause them to slow down! When I pass the ladder the morons behind me finally see the ladder in the road and they slow way down (which was worthless as it was way to late of a reaction, but maybe they were able to alert the drivers behind them). Meanwhile, the taxi continues speeding along (with its load of passengers with soiled pants, I'm sure) without even stopping to check for tire/car damage. Amazing - what the heck are these idiots on the road thinking about when they are driving? An ugly accident scene could have easily evolved from this, and even my alert driving probably would have not kept me out of it due to the unalert drivers around me.

Loreon

... I'd almost be willing to undergo periodic retesting if that turned out to be an effective way of weeding/retraining some of the more dangerous drivers on the roads.

Loreon

Just read my own posting (doh!). I didn't mean you, DaveL, it's clear you had nowhere to go.

pdw

As a motorcyclist, I believe leaving debris behind on the road should be a capital offense. On Rt. 3 yesterday there was a landscaping truck dropping pea stone all over the road.

al

I agree about retesting. I think most enthusiasts would agree, because, IMO, enthusiasts are better drivers than the average driver. Every 3-5 years would be good. It would even create a few new jobs. ;-).<p>al<br>future 1.8tqm+

costasz

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