Fatality Involving R33 Skyline

[Kennedy]

Space saver is standard

[Duncan]

keeplleft what do you do for a living?

[Haysey]

as soon as i saw the news story and they said speed was a major factor in the accident, then i saw the space saver on the back, i was shocked!

dont know why you would ever drive fast on a space saver,

I also heard they wernt wearing seatbelts at all too, the kid was flung from the car and landed in nearby park...

Rip to the driver and passenger, terrible loss of life

[KamikazeR33]

RIP

isnt it funny how they dragrace with space saver wheels on the front??

i doubt id ever do that tho

[NXTIME]

RIP

isnt it funny how they dragrace with space saver wheels on the front??

i doubt id ever do that tho

Those cars you see using space savers on the front while drag racing are more than likely using front runners (drag tyres), not the actual space saver tyre.

[soon2b33]

The worst is having 2 spacer savers on the rears for burnouts. not good.

[Keepleft]

keeplleft what do you do for a living?

I write text for driver manuals around the world ranging from New York to NZ, to EU, Middle East, AUS - esp crash scenes (see the url in my Sig) and hazardous weather lighting texts, motorway lane use text, look after the sick and dying, nag all governments for funds and a better road user deal, nag treasuries too (the most powerful of all agencies) and fight for high standard improvements to our road design guidelines. RTA called me a motorist's advocate back in 1983 and its stuck since. I am now mostly dealing with NSW, when attending functions et al keep quite, take note - and often take the fight from there.

Member of literally a zillion motor forums (and Sat TV/Consumer sites), where if I get the time I post. Paid particular attention to this forum after the Skyline crash that killed three persons on the NSW Central Coast, with one of those victims mother being personally known to our federal roads minister. In effect, to gain an understanding of what folk in this group think, feel and act.

Edited March 20, 2006 by Keepleft

[JCMarshall_Law]

I can vouch for how dangerous those space savers are. I had to put mine on when I had a flat. I crawled away and around the first corner (seriously below 10km/h) and the tyre rolled off the bead and went flat in about 5 seconds!!! Obviously there was not enough pressure which caused the issue. Just lucky it did not happen at a faster speed.

Lesson, don't drive around on space savers and make sure they are pumped up if you have to.

All the best to those left behind.

Edited March 20, 2006 by JCMarshall_Law

[Links]

Very sad to read.. never good to hear when something happens..

condolences to the family.. I hope people realise not to drive with space savers unless required..

if i'm correct - running a space saver (15" wheel approx.) vs a 20" wheel with an LSD is very dangerous as it will cause the diff to lock prematurely (rotating at different speeds)..

anyways.. unfortunately these things happen.. hopefully people learn from it..

[JimX]

A better alternative to the space saver is carrying a puncture repair kit, and a small 12V air pump. The best thing about that is as long as the puncture is repaired properly you can drive on it at full speed again once the sealant sets. I took my bike around Eastern Creek when it had one of those plugs in it, I don't know what my top speed got to but it was well over 200kph. I wouldn't have done that very often though, but it was a single track day and bike tyres wear out quick.

Of course you are screwed if the puncture is too close to the sidewall or the tyre is too damaged, but that's what NRMA and free towing is for. I'd rather do that than drive around on the space saver, especially after this sad news and other people's bad experiences with them.

(incidentally I still have my space saver in the boot, but it's only to support the cardboard floor)

[mako86]

please people stop goin on wit this shit alright and say crap they were 2 mates of mine and there would b a good reason for why they wer doin this and the only person who seen it is so shakin up he still hasnt event said 2 words since he got back to dubbo. and the thing about no seat belts are crap as the family said they were all ripped from the seat belts and from wat else l heard cody's mum wasnt even in the car.all l got to say is R.I.P Russel Condon and Aaron Lacrosse

Edited March 22, 2006 by mako86

[JimX]

I'm sorry if I sounded insensitive I was and still am really sad and shocked to hear the news and I do offer my condolences. I wasn't trying to say it was their own fault, I know accidents happen and I was just trying to offer advice for anyone else contemplating the space saver tyre to try helping reduce the possibility of something simliar happening again.

[mako86]

yea l kno sorry if l soned a bit firie but there is a few sites that are slaggin them prety bad 2 l guess just dont like people talking about mates when they die it hard enough already wit out shit like thes

[mark_vdh]

http://www.toymods.net/forums/showthread.php?t=4768

some pic's of the car

[Mr Italy!]

Holy shit.... thats crazy....

[Sydneykid]

Sorry to hear of the loss of life, just plain terrible.

Quick clarification of the space saver issues;

1. If the space saver is correctly inflated to its recommended pressure it is quite safe to drive on at a normal pace, not exceeding the recommended max speed of course. Remember 80 kph is the max STRAIGHT LINE speed, not to be confused with doing 80 kph around a 35 kph hairpin.

2. If the space saver is the same diameter as the other road tyres then there is no problem with the ATTESSA or the LSD. It’s all about diameter, the width is irrelevant.

3. On an Easter Weekend I drove from just south of Sydney to Melbourne on a space saver, I had no choice, no tyre shops open on Good Friday. I checked the tyre pressure and temperature at each stop. I had no problem keeping up with Good Friday traffic and the space saver showed very little (if any) sign of wear from its 100 k’s or so of use.

A space saver is just as good as any other tyre, as long as it is used within its design parameters.

cheers