Slashed Tires

[elbles]

Well, I was at one of my high school's hockey games last night, and after leaving, I saw some kid in the parking lot standing close to my car, and I hear a whistling sound too . . . as I get closer to my car, the kid runs, the truck burnsout, and gets out of there, but not before I get the plates. Long story short, I was at the police station until 1 or so in the morning making a statement, and they made an arrest, and the kid that they arrested copped to it, but I don't think he was the one who did it. He was definitely driving the car that got away (some of my friends know him), but the kid who did it got into the passenger seat . . . more pissed off about all this than you can believe.

But, more to the point, I need to find a way to get my car home (3-4 miles from where it is now), preferably without towing it, because it's $70 for that, and my insurance has a $500 deductable (insurance is absolutely useless for the most part), which repairs won't exceed. My thinking is to put the spare on, and try to find another spare that would work. Does anyone know what would work as a spare on a 1990 240SX? I was thinking possibly something from an older Accord, or maybe a late-model Hyundai (all cars my friends have, none are all that interested in cars), but does anyone know what will fit? Also, with a slash in each sidewall, would any of those "liquid tire patches" work? If someone could reply, I'd really appreciate it . . .

[elbles]

Oh, and FWIW, I don't think they were targetting me, just a kid with a similar car (an older red Acura Integra 2 door hatchback). Haven't had a problem with the kids . . . until now.

[hannibal]

Sorry to hear about your car. Damn high schoolers. I'm glad you caught the guys though.

I dont think youre supposed to use the tire patch stuff if the hole is in your side wall. If your tires are slashed, theres not much you can do AFAIK.

Your spare tire idea sounds good. But its gonna be hard to track down 4 spares that fit if they got all 4 tires.

[ricebike]

that sux to hear... nope, those repair things are for the tread areas only. too dangerous to try to fix 'em & drive it that way.

hopefully a local member in your area can loan u the other spare tire... or just sue the guy for damages, including the towing fee, if u haveta...

[elbles]

By the time I realized what had happened, the kid had already ran back to the truck, jumped in, and drove off . . . if I had known, I would've ran to get the kid, I had two of my friends come up just a few seconds later. They only got the one kid, and I'm almost positive it wasn't him who did it, though he took the rap for it . . . though if I had gotten the kid, I have no idea what I would've done, so maybe it's better off that I didn't. I just hope he doesn't get away clean . . . yep, still really angry about the whole thing. :-(

Thanks for the reply though . . . I doubt that the that tire stuff would hold well or long, but if I can get my car home (3-4 miles of backroads), I'd feel better . . . I'll try calling a tire place and see what they say. Thanks again.

[elbles]

Thanks for the reply Ricebike . . . I still haven't gotten around to calling the tire shop around here, it would be nice if I could just get the car home 3 miles away. I've already talked to the court clerk, and state attorney office, and they've said to call back on the 23rd (court date is the 26th) to discuss restituion . . . I'll be out $240 or so to get tires here, mounted and balanced, not to mention towing charges, or however else I get the car home. Also, I'll be out of work tomorrow, and possibly Friday too . . . sucks being a poor high-school student, and even more so having to miss work and spend my own money to fix someone else being an a$$hole. Thanks again for the reply though, I appreciate it . . .

[fiznat]

where in CT are you? there are plenty of CT NICO members (including myself) who have spares... I'm actually from Middletown.

[Nathan]

Well, my simple solution is to wait until AFTER court etc. then attempt to coerce the knowledge of who REALLY did it out of the driver Use whatever means you must and enjoy every minute of it is my best advice. As for the car, hopefully someone around you will loan you a spare, I know I would but that ain't gonna work.

[fiznat]

...also check out 240sxone.com, a New England 240sx club... plenty of other connecticut S13 owners there, too.

[elbles]

Nathan: Hehe, the funny thing about it all is that I'm friends with almost all of the seniors on the hockey team, so much so that they treat me as a "member", haha. The kid driving was/is also good friends with one of my friends who hung around until the cops came (thank God for that, was 2 degrees out), and I'm sure they found out at school today who it really was . . . and although an ***-kicking might be appropriate, all I care about is the money issue, and hopefully I'll get that. And you're sure you don't feel like taking the next flight out of Dallas? ;-)

fiznat: Thanks for the link man, I've been checking it out the past few minutes . . . still have to register, and hope that someone in the Fairfield/Litchfield county area can help a fellow 240 owner out. :-) EDIT: I'm in New Milford, BTW . . . just north of Brookfield and Danbury on Route 7, exit 7 off I84.

[Nathan]

Actually, I DO feel like taking the next flight out of Dallas (the North East is always gorgeous ) but unfortunately that's an impossibility.

[APEXi240]

Any wheel with a 4x114.3 lug pattern will work. Just cart over all your friends spares and test fit them in you have to. I know Accords are that pattern, but I'm unsure about the older ones.

Good luck getting your car home, flats do indeed suck, especially slashed tires.

To get the kid in the truck back (you gotta let someone have it, and he is guilty). After court stuffs is over, simply deflate his tires every day that you can. Don't slash the tires, just stick a pen in the valve or something so they deflate. No damage on your part, so you can't really get in trouble.

A good ***whooping always does the job too.

[elbles]

Nathan: Hehe, oh well . . . if you ever feel like visiting dreary old New England, feel free to stop by. :-)

APEXi240: Good to know, thanks . . . hopefully that will do the trick. And with my luck, if I did anything back, I'd get arrested just the same . . . yep, my luck is that bad. :-(

[ilikenissan]

Yeah the old body style accords do have a 4x144.3(like early 90's late 80's??) Also old 200sx's(the 80's ones) Also Im pretty sure like the wheels off a 4th gen prelude would work too(92-95 style) Them and accords share ALOT of parts..

[elbles]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'm going to pick up a spare off one of my friends later tonight (early 90's Accord), and get my car back home . . . and then the flame throwers, leg-breaking devices are on order too. :-) Or at least 2 new AVS ES100's, to the tune of $200 overnighted . . . :-(

[Nathan]

Ahhhh, good ways to let air out of tires:small pebble in the valve cap, screw it back onvalve core remover (personal favorite, royal pain in the *** if you take out more than 1)

The best part: neither of them cause any real damage, just a lot of wasted time which for me, is more gratifying. I'd probably do that repeatedly to the driver and the other guy if you find out who he is. If you replace the valve core/leave it in and just do one occasionally it looks more like a random flat too and hence, they are more likely to waste time taking it in to get it checked out

[elbles]

Hehe, sounds like good ideas Nathan . . . but I'm sure the rednecks that did it would say "that's not fair" as soon as it happened, and call the police, regardless of the fact that they wouldn't be out the $200+ I am now. :-(

[elbles]

Hey man, thanks a lot for that link . . . I actually borrowed the spare from a friend and his Accord, which worked well enough to get my car home, and get two new AVS ES100's on it, to the tune of $245 or so. :-( Hopefully I'll get that back . . . anyway, thanks again!

[Rex]

Restitution, spend the tow money, find out when the court date is and be willing to not push the case (allow lower plea) if/when restitution is made.

[elbles]

Thanks for the reply Rex . . . I got the car home without towing it by borrowing a friend's spare, made it easier to get 2 new tires put on too, as I could drive it down to the tire place just a few miles away. The court date is the 26th of this month, and I'm supposed to call the prosecutor a week or so before that to discuss restitution, et cetra. The kid who took the blame for it happens to be a friend of a friend, and when my friend mentioned to him whose car it was, he said he felt bad, etc. Whatever . . . I really don't care what kind of punishment he gets, as long as I get my money back. Thanks again for the reply!

[Phax]

To get the kid in the truck back (you gotta let someone have it, and he is guilty). After court stuffs is over, simply deflate his tires every day that you can. Don't slash the tires, just stick a pen in the valve or something so they deflate. No damage on your part, so you can't really get in trouble.

Forget using a pen, that takes too frickin long. Grab a pair of plyers and yank the stems out. That'll deflate them right quick.

*EDIT: Or so I've been told by a friend... yeah, that's the ticket, a friend...

[Turb0wned]

damn that sucks sorry

[LiU]

if this helps mid 90s corollas also have the same bolt pattern, 4x4.5(114.3)

[elbles]

Thanks for the replies guys. I'll be sure to keep it in mind, well, what spare tires work on my car anyway . . . though I'd love vengenance, with my luck, I'd get caught. :-) I'll let the court deal it out . . .

[SmithSR]

Safety Alert

Honda wheels use a ball seat(rouned area where the lug nut and wheel meet.

Nissan uses conical seat lug nuts and wheels.

Thread pitch for honda is 12x1.5, for nissan is 12x1.25.

You can't properly and safely fit a Honda wheel on a Nissan, because there are no 12x1.25 ball seat lug nuts anywhere.

You COULD fit a nissan wheel to a Honda, if you use aftermarket lug nuts with the conical seat. You COULD NOT fit a Honda wheel to a Nissan, because you need lug nuts that do not exist.

OK, so you can do it, but technically, it's not correct, and you have a very small portion of proper engagement between the lug nut and wheel (lug nut seat area)

Just a lil FYI.

Also, elbles, get yourself some lug nuts, take the ones off of the offender's car. Nobody checks to see if his/her's lug nuts are in place before they hop in the car and blast out of the HS parking lot. With a 4way or speed wrench, you can have his fancy Honda lug nuts off in 30-40secs using only hand tools. Try it, and observe the carnage that follows, after he makes a gentle turn and two of his wheels fall off. Payback is a biatch!

[elbles]

Hey SmithSR, thanks for the tip . . . yeah, I noticed that the Honda wheel wasn't "meshing" too well with my Nissan lug nuts. :-) It worked for the short trip though, and hopefully, there wasn't any real permenant damage. Good thing to note though, much appreciated.

Oh, and the kid who slashed my tires isn't the same kid with the Honda, the kid with the Honda is someone I would consider a friend, heh. :-) The kid who actually slashed them drives a pickup of some sorts . . . Toyota Tacoma, is what I saw him with today when I gave him a nasty look. Makes sense, huh? A confederate-loving redneck driving a Japanese pickup . . . :rolleyes. Go figure, good advice though, I like the idea . . . much more expensive than slashed tires too. :-)

[SmithSR]

Oh, and be sure to TAKE the lug nuts with you. He'll have hell on his hands trying to find lug nuts in a hurry(while his truck is stuck in the middle of a parking lot driving lane). Just be sure to take enough nuts so that he can't borrow a few from another wheel.

While I've never done any of this out of spite, we did try this to our boss a while back. We work at a wheel/tire shop, so no real harm was done, but it DOES work. Use at your own risk, and don't get caught.

[methodchris]

just a nastylook? give him a nasty *** beating, or just take lug nuts off a wheel see how far he gets. Then when u see him on the side of the road, stop..point..and laugh...alot

[elbles]

I like your methods SmithSR . . . :-) Getting caught is the hard part, I'm sure this kid loves to go around and do **** things, but not take responsibility for them when they go too far, but at the same time, if it were to happen to him, he'd be running to the police.

Methodchris, I'd love to do that . . . nothing would be better for revenge. But see above, I know with my luck, I'd get caught. This is where having friends on the hockey team might help though, heh . . .

[Jonny 290]

Just take the high road and ask the judge for restitution and a face to face apology. The kid won't forget that. I'd hate for one of my NICO friends to have to check "Yes" on that felony conviction box on job applications for the rest of their lives, all over a pair of tires.