Its also potentially slower, and definitely louder. I’ve never tried to bust through the side wall of a tire, but I’m gonna bet that even the side wall material is as tough as… well… a tire.
To get around that you might consider a bit of engineering. Tires effectively “pull” the road beneath them. If there is anything between the tire and the ground, it gets pulled first until the ground is met
A simple piece of bent metal cut into a 90 degree bend, with a rugged metal hook on one side, could easily be wedged between the tire and the ground in such a way, such that when the vehicle is being put into motion again, the forward rotation of the tire “drags” the metal spur into, and across the side wall of the tire. Basically bend the metal to a 90, cut a hook into one side, and wedge it in parallel. Once they roll out, the wheel pulls the hook across the side wall using the force of the transmission, and you can be very far away.
Obviously this would take more work, foresight, and maybe a bit of engineering and testing, but its worth keeping in mind.
At the end of the day however, its almost trivial to throw a $2 tool onto a key chain you are already carrying.
Speaking from experience a sharp knife will get the job done. Or a sharp punch and a hammer if you don’t have the arm strength to get a knife through the sidewall.
Also, just a side note it was funny you mentioned a bent piece of metal with a hook on one side. I was on a road trip with my family as a teenager when we hit something that took out 2 of our tires, one on my aunt’s car who was following us and about a dozen other cars. We were stuck so I ended up changing probably 5-6 tires for other people while we waited for a tow. While I was at it a dude pulled up and was like “Want to see what you hit?” and had almost exactly what you described in the back of his pickup. So… yea very effective lol.
Depends on a number of things like how much air pressure, how big the hole is, shape of the hole etc. I would say generally quieter than pulling the valve core.
Depending on the tire pressure? If it’s above 30, it’s going to be loud enough to be heard if someone is within a hundred feet. If they’re inside a building, you’d probably be mistaken for something else going on in the building. A knife into a 40 PSI tire is enough to make your ears ring for a second or two.
I think the SUVs they’d be using are going to be somewhere in the realm of 35-50. Tahoes were around 38-40 when I drove one.
Its also potentially slower, and definitely louder. I’ve never tried to bust through the side wall of a tire, but I’m gonna bet that even the side wall material is as tough as… well… a tire.
To get around that you might consider a bit of engineering. Tires effectively “pull” the road beneath them. If there is anything between the tire and the ground, it gets pulled first until the ground is met
A simple piece of bent metal cut into a 90 degree bend, with a rugged metal hook on one side, could easily be wedged between the tire and the ground in such a way, such that when the vehicle is being put into motion again, the forward rotation of the tire “drags” the metal spur into, and across the side wall of the tire. Basically bend the metal to a 90, cut a hook into one side, and wedge it in parallel. Once they roll out, the wheel pulls the hook across the side wall using the force of the transmission, and you can be very far away.
Obviously this would take more work, foresight, and maybe a bit of engineering and testing, but its worth keeping in mind.
At the end of the day however, its almost trivial to throw a $2 tool onto a key chain you are already carrying.
Speaking from experience a sharp knife will get the job done. Or a sharp punch and a hammer if you don’t have the arm strength to get a knife through the sidewall.
Also, just a side note it was funny you mentioned a bent piece of metal with a hook on one side. I was on a road trip with my family as a teenager when we hit something that took out 2 of our tires, one on my aunt’s car who was following us and about a dozen other cars. We were stuck so I ended up changing probably 5-6 tires for other people while we waited for a tow. While I was at it a dude pulled up and was like “Want to see what you hit?” and had almost exactly what you described in the back of his pickup. So… yea very effective lol.
How loud? The loudness to me is the biggest concern.
Depends on a number of things like how much air pressure, how big the hole is, shape of the hole etc. I would say generally quieter than pulling the valve core.
Depending on the tire pressure? If it’s above 30, it’s going to be loud enough to be heard if someone is within a hundred feet. If they’re inside a building, you’d probably be mistaken for something else going on in the building. A knife into a 40 PSI tire is enough to make your ears ring for a second or two.
I think the SUVs they’d be using are going to be somewhere in the realm of 35-50. Tahoes were around 38-40 when I drove one.