Lee-online
Senior Member
I never knew this could happen to this extent and i have seen wheels that have been heated or welded on.
YouTube - Wheels of Fire Training Video
YouTube - Wheels of Fire Training Video
Great video.
It would have been good to get some tips on how to avoid it. He's telling us that even if you deflate the tyre and break the bead, it can still happen.
I know it's best practise to inflate tyres with nitrogen, but will nitrogen inflation prevent this? In other words is oxygen (air) necessary for this reaction or are the compounds in the rubber sufficient?
I'm sweating now over the thought of the amount of wheel-nuts I've cut off over the years, even though I always deflate the tyres.
Once the wheel is cool, then all is fine. If you pop the bead then have the tire half off the wheel, again your fine. I dont think nitrogen would help in this case, as it is a chemical reaction with in the rubber tire its self that causes the heat leading to the massive pressure increase, seems like heat dissipating through the wheel prorbably helps the process along quite quickly.
fortunately we did not lose the Swamp loggers last night ,when they modified wheels