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Author: Subject: My Kit Car wheel falls off while driving! VIDEO included...
f27

posted on 16/4/12 at 02:25 PM Reply With Quote
My Kit Car wheel falls off while driving! VIDEO included...

So last week I put some new wheels on the 'kit car' (Formula 27, factory built) but they didn't fit on the wheel balancing machine at my garage.

While out for a drive later that day with a local acquaintance, he kindly suggested that his local garage would balance them up for me. Great. Cue trip to the garage, wheels get balanced, crowd of people asking about the car etc and distracting the mechanic taking off and putting the wheels back on. Drove home and everything felt OK.

The next day I was out for a quick run over Hartside Pass in Northumberland / Cumbria (fantastic road despite the weather), got about an hour into hooning then disaster struck...

There was a slight wobble, (just felt like a wheel weight had come off) which was shortly followed by my front wheel rolling alongside me, and the car sliding down the road.

I happened to be filming it from my Go Pro camera (tend to film most journeys in this car as something crazy always ends up happening) and was VERY lucky that it happened where it did. If you know the road then you'll know what I mean.

Have a look:


http://youtu.be/IabDnoWVR9w


...and always check your wheel nuts are tight when you've had work done to your car!!!


[Edited on 16/4/12 by f27]





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scootz

posted on 16/4/12 at 02:28 PM Reply With Quote


Glad you're ok. Much damage?





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f27

posted on 16/4/12 at 02:35 PM Reply With Quote
No damage at all luckily! Well, the wing needed gluing back on, but the brake disk was fine- It's a good job they don't weigh much!





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Coopz

posted on 16/4/12 at 02:38 PM Reply With Quote
Not good, I would be seriously upset with the garage! I love how calmly you pulled over the best you could and popped out the car, i bet you were steaming under the helmet really!
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RichardK

posted on 16/4/12 at 02:41 PM Reply With Quote
Yikes, glad you're ok and it didn't happen on one of the bends with a shear drop on the other side!

Remember when wishbone snapped and it drove remarkably well on 3 wheels.

Did you try and find the wheels nuts That would be a a sign of a true locoster.

Cheers

Rich





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theduck

posted on 16/4/12 at 02:42 PM Reply With Quote
Wow! Amazed how controlled it seemed to come to a stop after it came off!

Hope the damage isnt too bad, would be sending the garage a copy of the video!

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coozer

posted on 16/4/12 at 02:44 PM Reply With Quote
Wow, very lucky there. Did you manage to get it back on and drive home?





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1980 Z750

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f27

posted on 16/4/12 at 02:48 PM Reply With Quote
Yeah I hunted around for the wheel nuts but no dice! Haha, anything to save a few quid!

I battled on - we took a nut of each of the other wheels and took it the rest of the way - I was on my way to see Mark (username 'purdy' or something on here) who did a major rebuild on it last summer, and Ali-F27 (also posts on here) so we were able to check it all over and see that nothing had broken.

Just feel really lucky it happened where it did - It's a long road and I had been pressing on a bit leading up to this.

[Edited on 16/4/12 by f27]





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adithorp

posted on 16/4/12 at 03:31 PM Reply With Quote
...and all one handed! Very calmly done.





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serendipity123

posted on 16/4/12 at 04:02 PM Reply With Quote
you sir need to buy a lottery ticket .......
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motorcycle_mayhem

posted on 16/4/12 at 04:09 PM Reply With Quote
Quite amazed you hadn't felt something was wrong in the previous hour..... especially with a loose front wheel. Obviously quite cold though, which numbs the senses a tad.

I have only ever done this once, went to work after checking the brakes on the Land Rover, without tightening the nuts on the rear wheels. Didn't get far before stopping to check what the noise was, difficult to hear above the normal Land Rover din, but enough to make me wonder what it was.

The other thing I have done *once* was to set out without the bonnet catches secured.......! Bang.... Oh Sh%%%!

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motorcycle_mayhem

posted on 16/4/12 at 04:12 PM Reply With Quote
PS....

I don't suppose you used a Mercedes garage :-))

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f27

posted on 16/4/12 at 04:15 PM Reply With Quote
That's the strange thing- there was no loose wheel noise and no wobbling.

About 1 minute before it happened there was a very, VERY slight vibration through the steering wheel, but it was just as if a wheel wasn't balanced properly, or a wheel weight had fallen off. Obviously I would have stopped had I thought it was a sign of what was about to happen, but it was such a minor vibration and I was less than a mile away from where I was going I didn't even consider stopping.





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Proby

posted on 16/4/12 at 04:50 PM Reply With Quote
Lucky you were not 'giving it the beans'. That could of been very nasty. I'd be going to see the garage, glad you and the car came away unharmed!

[Edited on 16/4/12 by Proby]

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Dangle_kt

posted on 16/4/12 at 05:12 PM Reply With Quote


Close shave!

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ali f27

posted on 16/4/12 at 05:26 PM Reply With Quote
Great vid oliver loved the 1 handed cool stop hard men f27 drivers out in the snow wheel falls off just makes a good day out. Wheel arch no probs not using that set so will get it back sometime Mark won his class at Kames and got class record so great day new fueling works well i just need to find out were his is getting extra pace on me only 1 mile per hour differance on the speed trap mabye its the 30 year age gap
Cheers Ali

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Slimy38

posted on 16/4/12 at 05:26 PM Reply With Quote
Why do I have the sudden urge to go check my wheel nuts, despite the fact that the wheels have not been off for the last 500 miles?!
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dhutch

posted on 16/4/12 at 05:57 PM Reply With Quote
Thats awesome, in a really bad way!

Got half way myself however, driving down the motorway, car felt a tiny bit odd at the rear going from power to over run and back onto the power. Played with it a little and came off at the next junction. All wheel nuts about four turns loose of tight on the rear wheel.


Daniel

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slingshot2000

posted on 16/4/12 at 06:05 PM Reply With Quote
###kin" 'ell, glad you are okay! I know that road and think you have been extremely lucky, indeed!

Kind regards

Jon

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thunderace

posted on 16/4/12 at 06:08 PM Reply With Quote
thats NUTS
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wilkingj

posted on 16/4/12 at 07:38 PM Reply With Quote
Had that happen on my caravan some 20 years ago... not nice!

Glad no one was hurt.






1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

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bi22le

posted on 16/4/12 at 07:50 PM Reply With Quote
I had a wheel come off on my old MAC 1. Ended up alot worse then that. Mind you it was the 5th wheel you use to steer. . . . . . .







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Davegtst

posted on 16/4/12 at 08:06 PM Reply With Quote
That looked like something from a herbie film
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nick205

posted on 16/4/12 at 08:43 PM Reply With Quote
Lucky chap - could have been a real disaster that!

Very smooth reaction and controlled stop






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Xtreme Kermit

posted on 16/4/12 at 08:47 PM Reply With Quote
Holy cr@p

Glad and amazed you are ok.

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