New kind of tire "plug"

[waynerd]

So, riding the spring weather roller coaster out here in Colorado - probably like most everyone else in the northern hemisphere. Looks like we're going to get a nice stretch here for a few days. I was happy to finally ride in to work this morning (hadn't ridden in a few days due to snow)...until...

 

In the middle of a slow right hand turn, the bike gets wiggy and I hear a thwap, twhap, thwap. Crap, flat tire I think. I roll to the curb and look down...tires look fine. I roll some more - thwap, twhap, thwap. I slowly hobble to a side street where I can dismount and inspect, to find this (well sort of, this is actually back home, partially reinserted for dramatic effect):

 

 

 

 

Now, I’ve picked up plenty of nails, screws, and assorted metal brackets in my tires before…even rolled a hammer on the interstate in my cage (shredded the tire), but this is a first. I was amazed that it punctured the tire even with the aluminum cap still screwed onto the tip of the spark plug.

 

However, the biggest irony of all is the exact type of plug that it was:

 

 

 

 

Can you believe it? Yes, the venerable Autolite 3923. That's it, I'm going back to NGK's

 

How 'bout you guys/gals...what's the strangest thing you've picked up in your tire?

 

[Danny caddyshack Noonan]

Looks like an effective advertising tool!

 

Allen key in a truck tire.

 

KZ1000P master link from the chain. It flung it off and into the tire on the freeway. Regular beat units had to take crash reports that afternoon.

 

And, of course, roofing nails whenever a neighbor is getting shake removed for tile or whatever.

[BriSco]

Wow!

I've never picked up anything in a motorcycle tire but the odd screw or nail.

 

My wife did run over an engine pushrod. It not only punctured the tire but also the aluminum rim. It was kind of strange in that it was the rear tire, I don't know how the front missed it, unless it picked it up in the tread and threw it at the back tire like a dart.

 

I had to buy a new wheel and tire for her Pontiac.

[elkroeger]

That's the way that goes - the front tire kicks it up, and it lodges in the rear tire.

 

I've heard those Autolites hold air better than the NGKs.

 

I picked up a sawzall blade on my RS one time, and my wife got a crescent wrench in her car tire.

[tallman]

Mercedes 220 S.

Noticed front tire low.

Aired up.

Noticed front tire low about a week later.

Aired up.

Both times did visual inspction of outside wall and tread best as I could.

Noticed front tire low.

Aired up, now a couple weeks into it.

Crawl under front looking tire over, don't see anyting, wait, what's that?

On the inside side wall a landcrab claw.

In S. Fla they used to (still?) migrate, good sized beasts with big claw.

Somehow it pierced the tire, on the inside wall.

No clue.

[Guest Kakugo]

I only go as far as bits of scrap metal. Big lorries on their way to the steel mills drop them all over the place. Situation has improved with high scrap metal prices (every ounce is precious so most companies have bought decent semis instead of the dilapidated beaters they had before) but you still have to be careful.

[MT Wallet]

I've run over my share of nails like the rest of you. The oddest thing I ran over and flattened a tire was the metal tip to the barrel of a ball point pen. I was driving a van at the time. Somehow the cone end penetrated the tire. Fortunately, it was in a parking lot and must have happened after I pulled into the parking space. It was a shock to come out of the business I visited and see that tire flat.

[na1g]

I'd think you'd at least be using a platinum plug on the BMW.

 

 

[Bologna]

I had a 12" section of a leaf spring hit my rear tire perfect. You could not see where it went in the tire, I couldn't believe my eyes when we pulled that out!