So I'm coming back from work, down the freeway, at my usual 100 mph, when I start hearing this clacking noise in the front of my car, over the noise of the engine and the music, and the first thing I think it's "detonation!", so I let off the accel and put the car in neutral. And then, clunk! my right front end goes down, and the right front wheel goes its own way. So I think to myself. "Hmmm, I'm going 100 mph and I just lost my front right wheel. Interesting." So I start maneuvering to get out of the way of the traffic surrounding me, and then bam! my own wheel hit the right side of the car, right behind the door. So I manage to maneuver into the breakdown lane with a fair amount of success, and stopped. Had to walk down about 200 feet to retrieve my wheel, came back to my car, looked at hte damage. Surprisingly, the only visible damage was where the wheel had hit the car, and it was very visible.

Photos will follow, but both the tow guy and the auto shop guy thought I was joking around when i told them what happenned.

All I can say is, man I got lucky, glad it worked out in the end!

 

can you say sabotage

 

Wow you got lucky!! Time to upgrade to Studs and Lugnuts......easy upgrade with a few tools...

 

what upgrade is that?

 

How did it come off exactly?

 

The studs broke

 

Broke? They must have been loose.

 

Maybe, but last time I tighten them was a week ago. Hmm, maybe a neighbour is trying to handle the noisy exhaust every morning...

 

Lugs must have been loose.

 

This is a 12a which used the Bolts to hold the wheels on, which are weak after 20 years of age and being removed and put back on so many times. What I was refering to was the Lugs on an GSL-SE, which use a Stud and Lug Nuts. Seeings you have a POSI rearend that means you have the 4 wheel disc brakes. All you need to do is order up the Studs and Lugs for an 85 GSL-SE and just bore out the threaded part on the rotors just enough where the stud will go in there snuggly...meaning put in with some force not just slip in. The idea is the fatter end near the head of the stud needs to be beaten in with a hammer while pulled from the other end with the lug nut. Great upgrade from those old Bolts that hold your wheels on now...

Mike

 

First off if your wheels are hubcentric, the bolts are not stressed very much. 2nd, Steel has an unlimited cycle duty if its loaded below its fatigue threshold.

What will destroy the bolts? Overtorquing by some monkey in a tire shop using an impact gun @ 300 Ft./lbs. to put them on most likely. Once stretched and/or fatigued by overstressing, then the problems will eventually manifest themselves.

 

i had a similar experience once... was testing a locked diff i just put in at 100km/h, rear left wheel came off and overtook me. It took me till the morning to find the wheel, so there i am with a 14' on one side and a 13'spare on the other... trying to drive home with a locked diff... had to be constantly one wheel in the sand to stop twisting the axles lots.... wasnt fun

the joys of a locked diff

-James

 

Friend borrowed my wife's -7 about 3 yrs ago... got a call from him later that day. "hey, man... ummm... yeah. the back wheel fell off." I was like WTF, man?!!

He was doing about 45 or so around a corner when the back left wheel flew off, rolled accross the street, hit the curb, bounced over a 9 foot high fence, went down an incredibly long embankment down into an old gravel pit. Now, I stress OLD gravel pit, because no one had been down there in years, and everything had grass growing up like 3 ft high. So, we found a place where some dogs or something had dug under the fence, and we crawled in there. We ended up finding the wheel after about 4 hrs of searching (with 5 guys). It had gone at least half a mile and was in the middle of a small hole on top of a small mound surrounded by 3 ft high grass. You had to be actually on top of it to see it...


That blew ***.

 

Order the studs and bolts from mazda motorsports, they twist right in and when locktighted stay in for a good log time, been useing mine under race conditions for a season and a half with no significant problems running 9in wid slicks

 

my friend ranger lost a wheel, fortunetly, it was in my drive way

 

That......
is an incredible story.
Glad you're safe!

 

I had a smiliar experience in a 72 Chevy truck w/a trailer on the back. All 10 bolts had snaped going down the freeway, I was lucky the tire never flew off, it rested on the shaft of the rotor.

Glad you where not hurt!

 

That's what I had on the front wheels. Those studs broke. Now I have the normal bolts on the right, and the studs and lugs nuts on the left front wheel. Oh well, at least Musashi is back on the road!

 

Where the tire hit the car:



A slightly grinded rotor:

 

my wheel didi the same thing front right luckily the flap guard or what ever it is called folded and protected the brake rotor from being ripped to shreds and it also ground down the bottom of the arm. that is the last time i take my car anywhere for ANYTHING.
danget i'm logged under my brother again (supposed to be sweetege)

 

yea we were dirving with my friend in his bug doin about 80-90 on the interstate and the wheel is just vibrating to all hell where(five of usin this bug) like "slow down your wheel is going to fall off" so he goes what any proud amarican driver would do, he guns it. the next day he walks over to our house.

so wheres your car?

oh, the wheel fell off.

 

WOW ! you guys are geniuses !




this guys an don't what hes talking about

 

Huh?

BTW, yield strength was the term I was looking for. As long as its not stressed to its yield strength, it should last forever theoretically.

 

Right here, buddy.

 

Alright, Im gonna lok this b4 its gets outta hand.