I could've died today....pics

Alright i'll try and make the story short....

So I was driving on the 13 today around 2pm and all of a sudden I felt a strong vibration in my steering wheel so I slowed down to 50-60 km/h and went into the slow lane. Then a couple of seconds later, right before the tunnel I hear a loud boom and the whole front left side of my car dropped down. I thought that my tire blew or something so I began to pull over to the side, and as I pulled over to the side I looked to my left and saw my whole tire bouncing right beside me.

Probably the most ****ed up shit that ever happened to me while driving...luckily no other cars were involved in this and my wheel didn't hit another car. I was in shock and could barely dial my home phone number, I still am kinda in shock. There was a garbage truck behind me and the guy was nice enough to pull over in front of me and pick up my tire which was in another lane. Ambulance came after...then the tow truck...the flatbed tow truck was gonna rip my whole front end off cause the car was too low...but I ended up making him remove my front lip. I'm so glad everything went well and no one got hurt! Out of all the ways this incident could of happened, i'm glad it happened this way. I'm just imagining what would of happened if all of this happened in the tunnel instead of literally right before the tunnel. Anyways the situation could have been worst, but luckily it wasn't.

I have no idea what happened but it looks to me that 1 bolt was cracked and it sheard off the other bolts/threads...maybe you guys can help me figure out what happened? Thanks

Here are the pics:






I'll need a new fender.....what else?




Here's the close-up on the bolts that broke...

way to **** up the teg kevin, I'm kidding your lucky you slowed down cause if you were going faster and were in the tunnel that could have ended up a lot worst.

Wow completement fou comme accident!!!Content que tu sois sain et sauf!!Peut etre que tes lugs nuts se sont devisses graduellement!Depuis que jai verifier une fois apres avoir fait changer mes pneus d hiver pour ceux d ete que les lugs etaient devisses je les verifies une fois ou deux par semaine...

C est peut etre pas ce qui tes arrive mais bref au moins tes chanceux dans ta malchance!

Lucky indeed!

Thank God you were at 50 Bro, tht kind of thing at 100 kmn/h plus! is a killer! i still don't get it, one bolt off should not cause this, did you had spacers or any after market stuff beside the mags?

are those OEM bolts? did you torque them to specs?
someone else had the same exact mishap but his was after he did a wheel alignment and the guys at the garage screwed up.
you are pretty lucky nothing major happened.

naw man no spacers....I think maybe one bolt was cracked already....and another one was getting to be cracked....the others were bent because of the force of the wheel on only 2 bolts

woah glad to know you're safe!!

If you feel something is not right when driving you should try to stop and check it out asap.

i was gonna bust out the "didnt hear the wheel bearing making noise" but you're smarter than that.. plus the pics helped too.

glad to hear you're okay, check the -3000$ section there's a 98 for sale for 2500$, buy it and resell it after you take the parts for the same amount, it will go fast in pieces OR whole.

just a thought.. works for me an unbelievable amount, i hardly EVER pay for anything in the end.

seems to me your bolts were loose, and now you need a fender, 4 wheel nuts, 4 lug nuts and the odds are the front wheel bearing, cause if it is the same set up for a 2001 civic you have to pull the hub apart to get the new wheel nuts in, and the wheel bearing is a pain in the ass most of the time.

even if one bolt is cracked or warped, the other 3 are strong enough to hold everything together.

That right there looks like either loose nuts or waaaaaaaaaay overtorqued, all of them.

Good thing you slowed down, could have been much much worse.

I've seen this happen a few times. One of the main reasons this happens is that the weight of the vehicle, is on the studs, and not on the hub of the vehicle. It is most common with AFTERMARKET Rims, due to people not using centering rings.

Centering rings do exactly that, center the wheel on the vehicle. The Rims have a centre bore, for instance, 72.62mm, and your honda has a bore of 64mm. The wheel isn't centered, causes an imbalance, and over time, sheers off your studs. When your installing your wheels, make sure they have a ring; or if your buying used off MR, take the wheel to a shop, and buy the proper ring for the wheel, and your vehicle. The bolt pattern isnt the only thing that matters.

The other problem is people using the wrong nuts to secure their wheels. Aftermarket wheels generally use a lug / nut with a 45 degree angle. Factory vehicle use 60 degrees. That extra space, over time, chews at the wheel, causes the lug to get loose, and fall off.

Make sure you torque your wheels properly. Over-torquring can cause the threads and studs to stretch, and can cause problems with the hub / brakes and other issues. Under-torquing, well.. your wheel falls off. Remember... DO NOT use Anti-Seize, Grease, Oil, or any other Lube on your Studs. This changes the torque values when you torque your wheels, and also makes it easier for them to come loose!!

Make sure your lugs have enough turns on them also. If the nut only does 3 turns before its tight, the lug isn't on properly, and can come off. This is most common when using SPACERS. Make sure your lugs get a MINIMUM of 6 Full Turns when your installing them.

Remember that this applies for every wheel, including factory wheels. Factory wheels have factory center bores, and there aren't any need for spacers. Winter Steel-Wheels aren't normally centered, and may need a ring also. If you put the wheel on the car, and you need to play with the wheel in order to tighten the lugs, it means its not centered.

Re-Cap

• Torque your Wheels, But Don't Over Torque. 80Ft-Lbs is Safe for Cars, 90Ft-Lbs for Light SUVs, 100ft-lbs for SUV and Trucks, but check owners manual.
• No Anti-Seize, Grease or Oil on your Threads.
• Use Centering Rings... ALWAYS. See local wheel / speed shops.
• At least 6 Full Turns on Lugs
• Use the Correct Lugs / Nuts for the Wheel, even if factory "looks" like it will fit.

Good luck with the repair.

Je pense aussi qu'il te manquait des centering rings, est-ce que tu en avais?

wow, i feel bad for you man. What a freak accident...

Glad it wasn't any worse :bigup:

Crazy shit, good to see you're ok!

u over tightend the nuts

ayoye ca doit tellement etre freakant voir ca roue se pousser a coté! au moins il n'y a rien eu de trop grave..

i saw you on the 13 , i was in the opposite direction , you were looking at your car in disbelief , scratching your head lol Glad to hear your Ok.

samething happend to me on the 40. I heard noise so I slow down and bang i see my wheel flying but me it was right after I had change my summer tire to winter tires at wal-mart. They didnt screw my bolts properly and I lost my wheel.

i dont know what i would do if something would happen to you kevin