Don`t sweat the small stuff...and it`s ALL small stuff!!

**1 Clean WS6** · 05-20-2005, 09:24 PM

Hey all!!!

Today was an adventure...it was Friday the 13th one week late!! Before I even begin my tale I guess I have to explain my jovial mood. You see...even though my "incident" could have been worse or looked on as "why me" I just have to laugh. Why? Because I am here safe at home in Marietta while some young 18 year old man is watching his friends die in Iraq and Afghanistan while fighting to make this world and this country a better place. Whenever I have a so called "bad day" I think of that young man and realize just how lucky I am. If you see a man or woman in uniform THANK THEM...their sacrifice is the reason why we can bit** about relabled detailing products, hidden product shills and inferior sealants. :usa

My adventure....

My cousin is getting married this July in NJ so my wife is flying up today to see her for her bridal shower. Her flight is at 8:00pm and we live about 45 minutes from the Atlanta airport. I don`t know why but she decides we should leave at 5:00...good thing we did. You see it rained today here in Atlanta and when that happens you can almost guarantee WRECK CITY on the interstates...especially during rush hour...and especially during the Friday afternoon rush hour. She was right as we saw at least a half dozen wrecks on the way down including one ten car pile-up that had almost every lane of I75`s 5 southbound lanes blocked. That 45 minute ride took us nearly two and a half hours!!

We get to the airport only to find that her flight is delayed until 9:05...such is the bane of Hartsfield Jackson airport though...nothing unusual especially during bad weather days. I say goodbye and begin my journey home. As I`m driving along wondering in my thoughts of eating junk food and walking around in my underwear while the wife is gone I hear a pronounced "thump" from the right rear of my truck. "Hmmmm" I think to myself....that was an odd noise. No big...Papa John`s pizza awaits me. About 15-30 seconds later I start hearing a noise I can only equate to a low flying Bell UH-1 helicopter...repeated "thuds" increasing in intensity. OK...something is definitely not right with my truck. I`m going about 70mph right now and lift on the gas to start making my way over to the shoulder. The noise increases...I start to smell rubber...the arse end of my truck is beginning to slide out from me. By the grace of God and my many years of driving in the winter conditions of Connecticut I get the truck over to the shoulder. Needless to say it was a bit more than just a tire puncture.

Some Fix-a-flat should fix that

I could see about an inch long puncture in the tread shaped like a triangle that caused the complete failure.

Here is what it looked like as I changed the spare. Nothing like 75mph + traffic whizzing just feet away from you as the sun sets. Check out the 3 coats of ZFX`d Z-5 and 3 coats of ZFX`d Z-2 Pro reflecting though.

Last one...and this one belongs in Lee`s "You might be an Autopian if..." thread. You might be an Autopian if after having a catastrophic tire failure on one of the country`s busiest interstates you bust out a Moist Nap to wipe the tire shine off your hands so as to not get any on your leather upholstery.

Hey...it`s refreshing and lemon scented to boot!!

Take care, be safe and don`t sweat the small stuff because it really is...just small stuff.

Mike

**MongooseGA** · 05-20-2005, 11:03 PM

Glad you`re ok. Do you know what caused it?

Wait a sec... that`s not your truck!

When`d you get the Chevy?

**1 Clean WS6** · 05-21-2005, 06:03 AM

GA I haven`t a clue...I didn`t see anything in the road at all but it was something. When I got a chance to inspect the tire I could see an inch long pucture shaped like a triangle that had ripped right through the cords of the tire. It was so large a wound that the tire immediately lost all air at about 70mph and completely failed as you can see.

It`s a GMC...I bought it the first week in March.

**Setec Astronomy** · 05-21-2005, 06:25 AM

So I guess instead of walking around in your underwear eating junk food...you`ll be dressed and at the tire store...maybe they will let you strip down and you can walk around with a candy bar from the machine in the waiting room.

I think the moral of this story is that NJ figures into everything bad that happens.

**imported_Aurora40** · 05-21-2005, 09:14 AM

Originally posted by Setec Astronomy

I think the moral of this story is that NJ figures into everything bad that happens.

LOL!!!!!!!

Ever since I first stopped at a NJ gas station, and a greasy-handed attendant put his hand on the rear deck of my `87 Corvette and told me I wasn`t allowed to pump my own gas, I`ve hated that state! I swear, in the back of my head when I was considering that Callaway I went to look at, I was thinking "do I really want a car that`s lived in New Jersey?". No offense to anyone who lives there.

1 Clean WS6, glad nothing else resulted from the incident and you made it home safe. :xyxthumbs

**imported_Sullybob** · 05-21-2005, 10:05 AM

Glad that you are okay Mike. Thank you for the post it puts lots of things into prospective.

Is there any damage to the rim?

**Accumulator** · 05-21-2005, 11:28 AM

Heh heh, Sullybob just took the words right out of my mouth! Good job jeeping it under control and :xyxthumbs on your attitude about the whole thing. Looks like the rim might`ve escaped damage.

**SilverLexus** · 05-21-2005, 11:46 AM

"and this one belongs in Lee`s "You might be an Autopian if..." thread. You might be an Autopian if after having a catastrophic tire failure on one of the country`s busiest interstates you bust out a Moist Nap to wipe the tire shine off your hands so as to not get any on your leather upholstery."

That`s a Hall of Fame entry right there.

I`m glad you are safe.

**WrxRob513** · 05-21-2005, 03:55 PM

The SAD part is that is what I call my Detailing Buisness. LOL!

www.thesmallstuff.net

**1 Clean WS6** · 05-21-2005, 04:20 PM

Thanks for the words of encouragement all!! My guardian angel has its hands full for sure.

Mike...I agree with you as well!!! A black stain on my 32 years is that at one point in my life I held a valid NJ driver`s license. To this day I still feel a bit "off" because of it.

The rim did not survive this incident. The rim face made it out OK (just a few scuffs) but the rear of the rim is noticeably out of round. Ah well...what good is a Denali without a set of aftermarket rims I guess?? :nixweiss

I placed an order today for a set of 18" BBS RW rims in the plasma finish. I`ll post pics when they are installed.

WrxRob513...its all good!! The name of my business is Sweating the Details.

**Prometheus** · 05-21-2005, 04:54 PM

Sounds like you had a fun day

. Glad you are OK though.

**imported_perry** · 05-21-2005, 07:45 PM

Been there, done that.. changing a tire on the side of the interstate in Atlanta that is. Around I85N and.. umm.. first exit after 400. Several of us hit a piece of metal and got slashed tires. Around noon on a weekday during July. Yech.

There were some older folks in a Yukon that looked confused, so I changed their tire for them. DOT truck stopped by (I called in to report 4 cars with flats and the strip of metal) as I was finishing and I told him we were alright, so he went on his way. The a roadside assistance truck from a cell phone company stopped by as I was getting the stuff out of my car. Told him I was alright, so he put some air in my spare tire and went on his way.

Got the spare on, and moved about 10 ft before I realized that the scraping sound wasn`t good. My spare didn`t clear my bigger brakes. Got on the cell phone, called USAA, they had a tow truck to me in about 20 minutes and I got towed to my tire shop for a new tire. Bought a bigger spare about a month later

**TortoiseAWD** · 05-23-2005, 09:16 AM

I`m reminded of a quote from my favorite geeky cook:

"All of life`s big problems include the words `indictment` or `inoperable`. Everything else is small stuff." -- Alton Brown

Tort