Disaster…

I finally got the car ready for the Bottle Rockets event. I loaded the car on the trailer careful not to damage the aero or the wheels. The SSRs have valve stems near the outside of the lips that are easy to snag and replacements are expensive. I also loaded the truck with wheels, tires, and tools. The plan was to leave from work Thursday and stay in Charlotte by a freind then continue to Atlanta.

After getting the car strapped down I cranked each strap one more time. On the last strap I heard a loud hiss. My heart sank and I instantly knew what it was.

I had taken care to put the strap in front of the stem. How it snagged it was beyond me.

I texted my freind that I was no longer coming. After sitting and thinking I decided to push through. I’ve met adversity a lot before and I always persevered. I had spent weeks fixing this oil leak and getting the car ready and this was a great opportunity to drive with some folks I hadn’t seen in a while and at a new track. So the next morning I pulled the wheel off, put it in the G35, and took it and the new stem to a tire shop. I asked them to make sure they got the broken piece out the wheel because it would throw the balance off.

They called around lunch so I decided to take it home and install. On the way the lip fell off the G35 and was destroyed by oncoming traffic.

I installed the tire then headed back to work. I ran into traffic and missed my afternoon meeting.

After work I went home. I had ordered replacement lug nuts and decided to leave after they were delivered. They were supposed to come the day before but were delayed. Once they showed up I tried to install them but they immediately started stripping. They were the wrong color and length anyways so I decided to return them and head on my way.

On the road the truck was shaking like crazy. So I picked a spot just outside Charlotte to stop and get my tires balanced. When I pulled up I noticed the tire on he SC was flat again. So I disconnected the trailer and got the truck on the lift and also took the tire off the SC. It turns out the other shop installed the valve stem incorrectly. Instead of sandwiching the lip with the rubber pieces the did metal to metal.

The guys finished the tire and were rolling it back to the car when they felt something inside. The other shop did not remove the broken piece. They put it on the balance machine and it was way out. So they took the tire off again to get the piece out and then had to rebalance. The truck was finished by then as well so I decided to go get them some Redbulls as a thanks.

As I pulled out the shop the 4WD ABS lights came on and the throttle stopped working despite the engine still running. I was in the middle of the road blocking traffic. I turned the truck off then on. Same problem. I said a panicked prayer and tried the same procedure again. It worked. I decided to go home.

I was devastated. All that work for nothing. Drove 2 hours just to get tired balanced. Wack.

The next day I went to unload and as I was putting the ramps on I heard a loud pop and hiss. At first I thought it was another tire. But then I saw a cloud of mist under my truck.

The strut I replaced late last year had leaked internally into the airbag. The pressure burst the bag and was leaking all the fluid in the ground. Thank God I had come back home. I would have been stranded because he 33s were too wide to clear the rear quarters and would have gotten cut.