Nogaro Nitwit

On the way home from work last night I hit a HUGE pot hole. For those in the Northern VA area, lookout in the right most lane when exiting the Dulles Toll Road to go on Route 28 North. I knew I probably did some damage when I hit that thing. By the time I hit the toll plaza I hear the wheel running on the sidewall. Ugh!!! So I pull over after the toll booths and notice 3 other cars there that also had blown their tires. I talked with the others and they all had the same story of hitting that same damn pot hole.

I proceed to change the tire. The tire felt a little low, but I changed it anyways. I got it on and was hoping it had enough air in it to make it the 2 mile trek home. As I pull away I hear it running on the sidewall too. DAMN IT! This was the tire I was supposed to have replaced by the dealer, I just hadn't gotten around to getting it taken care of. This is a hard lesson to learn.

So I place a call to my father who lives a few miles from me. I sold him my old A4 with the 17" wheels so I knew that they would fit. He shows up and lends me his spare. Of course this is the spare that had 2 bubbles in the sidewalls when I sold it to him (he knew about them). At least this would get me home and hopefully stay intact to get me to the tire store tomorrow.

Well, I come out this morning to check the car out before I head to the tire shop. Low and behold that tire was dead too!!!!!!!! So now I am waiting for another friend with a 17" spare to show up.

I sure as hell have learned my lesson. To the others out there, check your spare tires. Who know when you will have to use it.

WECoyote-SuperGenius

a couple of days before Christmas while cleaning my S4 and my wife's A4, a gut feeling came over me to check the spare tires in both cars. low and behold, both were flat (15-18 lbs. respectively). neither spare was ever used. go figure.

Nogaro Nitwit

Now my trunk is filled with three tires I need to have checked out. Why do I have a feeling this going to get expensive...

O.W. Kenobi

If so, you all can probably have a strong case against the entity that's in charge of that road. Find out how to make a claim, and even if you're the only one, see what you can do. You can probably get a new wheel & tire out of it. But be sure to act quickly, becuase government entities usually only give 6 months to file claims...

Nogaro Nitwit

But I did call the State Police and tell them about the situation. I told them there was a huge pothole there and that it had claimed a few other peoples tires before mine.

George @ BostonAudi

They get a flat and find out the hard way that they can't put the spare on the car because all they've got is the bolts for their summer wheels.

QuiksilverS4

Good thing Audis have spares. Friend got a flat in a '02 M5, no spare, just a BMW air pump.

WECoyote-SuperGenius

and stock bolts for winter too (when running separate winter wheels)

WECoyote-SuperGenius

don't laugh, i keep a small air pump that plugs into my cigarette lighter in my trunk too.

O.W. Kenobi

and I kept a brown bag in the storage bin with the stock lug bolts.