What a crappy Saturday

[Camino LS6]

Today I woke up early with all sorts of grand plans to get things accomplished. I took care of the dogs and walked to the Silverado to go get my morning coffee - that's when things turned bad.

The Silverado had a very flat tire.

So, I think OK I can deal with that and proceed to attempt to change the tire. Well, after getting all of the never-used jack and lug wrench stuff out from its compartment behind the seat, I take off the centercap and try the first lug.

Stuck.

I mean really stuck.

I fight with it for a while with no effect, then actually stand on the lug wrench - no movement.

I start to jump on the lug wrench and It finally started to move. I think "great" half an hour into this and I have one lug loose.

2 hours later, 5 of the 8 lugs are now broken loose but the lug wrench is a pretzel and that last three lugs are deforming but not turning.

So I try a 1/2" drive ratchet and socket, then add a large extension, then switch to a huge breaker bar, then try a deadblow hammer - all to no effect.

At the end of that little episode, I finally manage to break one of the three remaining lugs loose by main force - my shoulder and back still hurt.

So, the two remaining lugs are now so deformed and stripped that the socket no longer fits.

I resort to drastic measures.

I use a hand sledge to hammer on a size smaller socket, attach the breaker bar, and slip a 3 foot long pipe over the end.

I push.

I push harder.

Finally, I get both lugs off.

I know have 1 flat tire and three ruined lugs.

A good look at the tire and I find a giant, blue, concrete screw at the very edge of the tread.

So I call for a ride, and take the tire to the local Chevy dealer where the tech tells me that (as I suspected) the tire cannot be patched. They do give me three new lugs, however.

Now it's off to the tire store to get a new tire. I choose the tire I want to go with this time and I wait.

After what seems like too long of a time, they tell me that the computer is wrong and they don't have that tire in stock after all. But they will give me another one temporarily and order the ones I want for Monday. I say OK.

They mount the tire and I think about how the truck is going to behave with mismatched tires and I worry about what that might do to the locking rear. Not to mention that I have a heavy workload scheduled for the truck beginning tomorrow. I also think about Having to take a chunk out of my Monday to get this dealt with. So I ask them if they can just put the other tire on if I hurry back - they say ok as long as I get there by 3:30 PM.

It is just after 2PM at this point and it's a 20 minute drive each way.

I rush home and mount the new tire. At this point I am starving and have run out of cigarettes.

But there is no time to waste, so I just jump in the truck and head back.

I make it with ten minutes to spare after cursing two idiots on bikes that decided to hold up a line of traffic (because they have the right to), and another idiot in a Tahoe driving with his flashers on at 15mph. I made sure that the bike-riders ate a copiuos amount of diesel exhaust when I got the chance to get around them.

On the way back, I come to the painful conclusion that the front tires are even worse than the rears so I ask them to do all four.

The real bitch of this all is that the tires only had at most 20k on them and they were complete junk.

So now my 45k mile truck has its third set of new tires.

The crappy tires were Michelin LTX ATs - don't buy them.

Well, that's the story of my Saturday. Instead of getting a bunch of work done I ended up spending $630.00 that I hadn't planned on spending quite so soon.

Thanks for reading my rant.

[Camino LS6]

Oh, and I have a tire iron with the name of the last tech to rotate my tires written on it.

He must have taken a nap while using the impact wrench on the lugs - even the wheels were stuck on the hubs the lugs were so over-torqued.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Jeez, I was riding my bike with a friend up in PA, and some A$$hole in a truck clogs up my lungs with copious amounts of diesel exhaust. What a jerk, we have a right to be on the road too. :rotflmao:

Edited August 23, 2008 by Pontiac Custom-S

[Camino LS6]

Jeez, I was riding my bike with a friend up in PA, and some A$$hole in a truck clogs up my lungs with copious amounts of diesel exhaust. What a jerk, we have a right to be on the road too. :rotflmao:

I want to declare open season on these spandex-wearing, turtleheads.

10 points if you can knock over the fat-ass on the five-thousand-dollar bike!

They need to understand the logic behind the concept of yielding to larger,faster, vehicles instead of placing their over-fed, spandex clad asses smack in the middle of the lane just to see how many cars they can line up behind them (just because they have a "right" to the road).

Jerks.

[Oracle of Delphi]

I want to declare open season on these spandex-wearing, turtleheads.

10 points if you can knock over the fat-ass on the five-thousand-dollar bike!

They need to understand the logic behind the concept of yielding to larger,faster, vehicles instead of placing their over-fed, spandex clad asses smack in the middle of the lane just to see how many cars they can line up behind them (just because they have a "right" to the road).

Jerks.

Actually, I'm far from PA, and I like it that way!

[Robert Hall]

I want to declare open season on these spandex-wearing, turtleheads.

10 points if you can knock over the fat-ass on the five-thousand-dollar bike!

They need to understand the logic behind the concept of yielding to larger,faster, vehicles instead of placing their over-fed, spandex clad asses smack in the middle of the lane just to see how many cars they can line up behind them (just because they have a "right" to the road).

Jerks.

Agreed.... I have a mountain bike, but I only ride it on trails..to ride a bike on public roads is absurd. I'd be all for legislation to ban them from the roads...nothing more irritating than going out for a fast drive on windy back roads only to get stuck behind some neon spandex retards holding up traffic w/ no room to pass safely.

[frogger]

Oddly enough there have been a few road rage murders committed against cyclists lately

I got a flat in the dead of winter this year, -12 degrees celsius 10pm at night, and only one glove in the car. That sucked.

Edited August 23, 2008 by frogger

[Camino LS6]

Oddly enough there have been a few road rage murders committed against cyclists lately

I got a flat in the dead of winter this year, -12 degrees celsius 10pm at night, and only one glove in the car. That sucked.

Given the way those lug nuts were on, I'd have frozen to death before I could get the wheel off if that had happened to me. That's why I'm so mad at the tech who over-torqued them, and why I'm very glad the tire went flat in my own driveway.

[ocnblu]

New GM lug wrench: $40,000. Comes with 2009 Silverado Duramax attached.

[Camino LS6]

New GM lug wrench: $40,000. Comes with 2009 Silverado Duramax attached.

Not much chance of that, I have an ST to save for. The Silverado isn't scheduled for replacement until the 2015 model year.

But speaking of that lug wrench, I bent it in two different directions!

I think the tech ought to give me the one from his Silverado!

[ocnblu]

Seriously, Roberto. I hate it when technicians sleep at the wheel.

[Camino LS6]

Seriously, Roberto. I hate it when technicians sleep at the wheel.

Yeah, I'm going to give him a ton of grief for this.

[z28luvr01]

to ride a bike on public roads is absurd. I'd be all for legislation to ban them from the roads...

Gotta jump in here and defend the cyclists...

Why do you say this? Bikes have been around long before cars in this country, and there's more than enough space on the road for both to coexist. You may have to get used to it. With gas prices the way they are, bike sales are booming, as people are finally getting the idea that taking a bike to work or even to run some light errands makes a ton of sense. Given my commute, every day I take my bike to work I save about 1/16th of a 13 gallon tank according to my fuel gauge. That's $3 in my pocket instead of Big Oil's.

None of this means I advocate riding down the center of a lane unnecessarily or wearing spandex or tight-fitting neon. As a rider you should find a balance between being visible and not interrupting the flow of traffic, and always, I repeat, always be predictable. 95% of the time I ride within 3 inches of the shoulder line provided it's a reasonably wide shoulder, that way I'm out of the flow of traffic yet away from the tire-damaging debris that collects on the side of the road. If, however, it's no longer safe to ride in the shoulder, such as when the shoudler disappears, gets too narrow, becomes littered with debris and/or potholes, or if riding in the shoulder means drivers can't see me, then I will take the lane as is my right. As soon as the unsafe shoulder condition is behind me, I go back to straddling the shoulder line. You know what, doing it this way works, even on Long Island's perpetually congested roads. I ride in peace on anything from narrow streets to four lane hghways without any negative feedback from drivers.

[Camino LS6]

Gotta jump in here and defend the cyclists...

Why do you say this? Bikes have been around long before cars in this country, and there's more than enough space on the road for both to coexist. You may have to get used to it. With gas prices the way they are, bike sales are booming, as people are finally getting the idea that taking a bike to work or even to run some light errands makes a ton of sense. Given my commute, every day I take my bike to work I save about 1/16th of a 13 gallon tank according to my fuel gauge. That's $3 in my pocket instead of Big Oil's.

None of this means I advocate riding down the center of a lane unnecessarily or wearing spandex or tight-fitting neon. As a rider you should find a balance between being visible and not interrupting the flow of traffic, and always, I repeat, always be predictable. 95% of the time I ride within 3 inches of the shoulder line provided it's a reasonably wide shoulder, that way I'm out of the flow of traffic yet away from the tire-damaging debris that collects on the side of the road. If, however, it's no longer safe to ride in the shoulder, such as when the shoudler disappears, gets too narrow, becomes littered with debris and/or potholes, or if riding in the shoulder means drivers can't see me, then I will take the lane as is my right. As soon as the unsafe shoulder condition is behind me, I go back to straddling the shoulder line. You know what, doing it this way works, even on Long Island's perpetually congested roads. I ride in peace on anything from narrow streets to four lane hghways without any negative feedback from drivers.

And I would have no objection if the rest of the crowd would do as you do. Unfortunately, most (around here at least) do not.

[Oracle of Delphi]

Camino, when you rode by me, did the Spandex make my a$$ look fat?

[Satty]

As a cyclist, I agree that riders who ride in the middle of a public road are dicks. Get over to the side, let traffic pass, everyone goes on happy. Usually when I ride on a trail that drosses a road, I'll stop and let cars go instead of holding them up. Not only for their convenience, but for my own safety.

And that sucks about the tires, what are you doing to them? 4wd burnouts?

[Camino LS6]

Camino, when you rode by me, did the Spandex make my a$$ look fat?

Wide load all the way!

Oh, and fuschia pink isn't your color.

[Camino LS6]

As a cyclist, I agree that riders who ride in the middle of a public road are dicks. Get over to the side, let traffic pass, everyone goes on happy. Usually when I ride on a trail that drosses a road, I'll stop and let cars go instead of holding them up. Not only for their convenience, but for my own safety.

And that sucks about the tires, what are you doing to them? 4wd burnouts?

Seems simple,right?

As for the tires, I do alot of hauling and towing but no 4WD burnouts. I think Michelin must have used recycled pencil erasers to make these. And they rode hard and had lousy wet traction - one of my worst purchases ever.

[Satty]

I've always had good experiences with Michelins, but those were always passenger cars that didn't get abused too bad.

[Camino LS6]

I've always had good experiences with Michelins, but those were always passenger cars that didn't get abused too bad.

That's the weird part. I had these same spec Michelins on my 01 Silverado and they were great. The same thing happened to Goodyear Wranglers a few years back. I had had great luck with those on several trucks only to have the last set I bought be complete crap. I guess the tire companies have trouble being consistent. I'm hoping for better luck this go round.

[ocnblu]

I took crappy ass Generals off my '02 Silverado and my '07 Sierra as soon as I took delivery of the trucks. I put Michelin LTXs on the '02 and Goodyear Fortera Triple Treds on the '07. Both were big improvements over the OE Generals.

[Camino LS6]

I took crappy ass Generals off my '02 Silverado and my '07 Sierra as soon as I took delivery of the trucks. I put Michelin LTXs on the '02 and Goodyear Fortera Triple Treds on the '07. Both were big improvements over the OE Generals.

The OE tires on every new truck I've bought were low-bid crap. The 01 and the 05 both came with Fireblowns.

[z28luvr01]

Hmm....very weird. I've never heard of a bad Michelin tire. I love the Michelins on both my car and my bike. My sister's '05 Avalanche came with Goodyears (not sure what they are, buty the're stockers with raised white letters). THe truck rides great, no road noise, and they work awesome in inclement weather.

[vonVeezelsnider]

Goodyear = Win

[Camino LS6]

Hmm....very weird. I've never heard of a bad Michelin tire. I love the Michelins on both my car and my bike. My sister's '05 Avalanche came with Goodyears (not sure what they are, buty the're stockers with raised white letters). THe truck rides great, no road noise, and they work awesome in inclement weather.

Sometimes GM will put decent tires on the half tons, but the 3/4 tons always get crap.

I'm trying BFG Long Trail TAs this time.

[BigPontiac]

I pulled the crappy Generals that GM put on my truck from the factory. I'm on my 2nd set of Bridgestone Dueler AT's, I got almost 60K from the first set. I expect my AT Revo's to last just as long and they're even better than the last set so far.

[Cory Wolfe]

Strange... I also flattened one of the Jetta's month-old tires by a nail Friday night. I'm sure you can imagine I wasn't a happy camper.

Per the lugs, I had a similar problem with the Cutlass. The difference was that the lugs were irregularly sized and all sockets were either too loose or too tight. I had a hell of a time trying to get those off, but atleast they came off. Over torqued lugs would certainly be a bitch.

Edited August 24, 2008 by blackviper8891

[Robert Hall]

Strange... I also flattened one of the Jetta's month-old tires by a nail Friday night. I'm sure you can imagine I wasn't a happy camper.

Per the lugs, I had a similar problem with the Cutlass. The difference was that the lugs were irregularly sized and all sockets were either too loose or too tight. I had a hell of a time trying to get those off, but atleast they came off. Over torqued lugs would certainly be a bitch.

By the way, whatever happened to the Cutlass? Sell it? Junk it? Drive it off a cliff?

[Camino LS6]

Strange... I also flattened one of the Jetta's month-old tires by a nail Friday night. I'm sure you can imagine I wasn't a happy camper.

Per the lugs, I had a similar problem with the Cutlass. The difference was that the lugs were irregularly sized and all sockets were either too loose or too tight. I had a hell of a time trying to get those off, but atleast they came off. Over torqued lugs would certainly be a bitch.

Fun, isn't it?

And to echo Moltar, what did happen to the Cutlass?

[capriceman]

Yeah about a month ago i blew a tire out on the Caprice I bought Goodyear weather guards. $498 out the door for white walls. Its 50000000000% better than those Republics i had on there though.

For the Sierra its on its 3rd set at 110k. Toyo open country's are an amazing tire. soft N' grippy. But the wear to quickly for the money but it turn its worth it.

[daves87rs]

Sorry to hear that Camino...

Your day was almost as bad as mine..

After hearing all those bad tire stories..I may just put mine on myself.....

Both her Cav and the Balt will be due for tires in the near future...I honestly don't have a clue yet what I want for these cars...

I don't know how much I''ll owe yet...Her car is at the shop now. Normally I would work on it, but it being the "family" car, I'm not taking any chances.....

[daves87rs]

Yeah about a month ago i blew a tire out on the Caprice I bought Goodyear weather guards. $498 out the door for white walls. Its 50000000000% better than those Republics i had on there though.

For the Sierra its on its 3rd set at 110k. Toyo open country's are an amazing tire. soft N' grippy. But the wear to quickly for the money but it turn its worth it.

I think Goodyear makes the Repulic Brand. Interesting...

[Camino LS6]

Sorry to hear that Camino...

Your day was almost as bad as mine..

After hearing all those bad tire stories..I may just put mine on myself.....

Both her Cav and the Balt will be due for tires in the near future...I honestly don't have a clue yet what I want for these cars...

I don't know how much I''ll owe yet...Her car is at the shop now. Normally I would work on it, but it being the "family" car, I'm not taking any chances.....

At least you'll get off easier than I did, truck tires are so expensive.