Question about bent wheel

[luv2drive]

Sorry for long post.....Well.... after 15 years of owning my g35 couple with 124K and never curbing or bending a wheel.... my 3 week old gt1 with stock 19" rims took a hit on a pothole Here in PA Phila we have pot holes everywhere. It was raining and the hole was filled with water... I hit the hold going straight about 35 MPH. Sounded and felt awful. Was driver side wheels. Damage report.... front tire bubbled and torn slightly. Both wheel bent on inside. Outside was perfect on both...not a scratch or bent on outside. Body fine. So... I took it to a place to have it repaired (http://www.straightenswheelrepair.com/wheel-straighetning ). He has 85 reviews at 5 stars on every review. Uses hydraulic wheel straightening machine. Wheels came out good. He did warn me that the machine leaves "marks/indents" as it uses pressure to undo the bend. He did paint inside on both wheels after they where corrected. They are almost perfect on inside when you spin and look... very very slight "wave" as he called it... said that is normal. Again out side was not bent. Then I took it to my shop who I used for years.... he put new rubber on front tire that was bad... did the balance on both wheels to check if fix is good ( they wheel fix guy did take tires off and balance...but we wanted to check). Wheels balanced with no issue using very little wights.... just see very very slight "wave" on inside when spinning wheel fast. Then put it on on alignment machine to visually check suspension all components. All was good. Believe it or not it was completely aligned still with a dead center steering wheel. My mechanic stated if the car aligns with no issue then every part of suspension post visual look should still be perfect. I took it out for a high speed run and it seems perfect.... straight and not wobble in steering wheel and suspension seems very quite like before.

I guess I am looking for confirmation that having some marks/indents on the inside lip after a professional wheel fix is normal due to the machine...and also can the stinger suspension take such a hit. The wheels where not bend to bad...but man did it sound awful

Thanks for opinions.... guess I am trying to make myself feel better that car is ok

 

[spider55]

You will be ok with normal driving but don't hit any more potholes. The integrity of that wheel is gone, its got a weak spot, so if you hit another pothole it will bend for good or break and your suspension, steering rack don't like those big hits, to many of those and something will bend or break. I hate the road in PA. NY. area, the roads suck. I spent three years over their in upstate NY Fort Drum. Your really going to have too watch where you drive now so you don't hit anymore potholes.

 

[Djltoronto]

Where are the "before" pics of the bent rims so we can get an understanding of how bent they were?

 

[spider55]

Heres the wheel

 

[spider55]

That must have been a hell of a pothole for 35 miles a hour, you can still see a little curve in the wheel..

 

[Djltoronto]

Heres the wheel

That's a GT1 wheel?

 

[luv2drive]

That's a GT1 wheel?

 

[luv2drive]

That pic is from the guys website that fixed wheel to show some of his work. That is not my wheel. I had two wheels bent on same side. I don’t have a pic of the wheels of the damage. I will say they were not nearly as bad as that pic. I never lost any tire pressure in both wheels. Car sat overnight and still had full pressure in tires before fix. I would say my bend on both wheels was same length as pic but maybe half that pics indent. So seal on both tires was still good. The guy said integrity of wheel was fine. Never mentioned that where bends where corrected had “integrity” compromised. Said good as new.

Only pic I have is the front wheel which had the tire bulge / cut..... on the other side was the bend...inner side. That said, you can see the front rim in picture at point of contact...exactly where the cut/bubble is. You can see the outside of rim is perfectly fine...not a scratch. Was told that usually if not too bad of hit...the inner part of wheel will bend first because there are no "spokes" like the front which add a lot of strength to the wheel. Seems being 35 / 40 series tires make this issue more common. I am thinking now the sound / impact made it sound worst then it was otherwise there be suspension issue... I was surprised the alignment was still in spec.

And thanks to all for responding

 

[CKeeler]

I hit a broken curb months back and my tire burst but my wheel didn’t bend. What did bend was the strut. I had to replace it. If your car still comes out properly aligned, I wouldn’t worry. If not you might want to check the strut where it attaches to the wheel.

 

[luv2drive]

I hit a broken curb months back and my tire burst but my wheel didn’t bend. What did bend was the strut. I had to replace it. If your car still comes out properly aligned, I wouldn’t worry. If not you might want to check the strut where it attaches to the wheel.

Thanks for the reply and information. After wheels where corrected and re-balanced we put the car on the alignment rack. It was in perfect alignment and steering wheel was centered.... was a 80K alignment rack. They also did visual while on lift and everything looks good. But like you said if the alignment is good then nothing was damaged.

 

[Canfail]

Wow! For the price and low miles I would have checked out scrap yards.

 

[luv2drive]

Actually was not bad. Straighten inside of rims, new front tire (rear was fine), Balance both wheels, put on alignment rack and also visually inspect suspension...$480.00.

The rack for alignment was new 80k machine. Wanted to check suspension with latest tech.

Went back when dry to the scene. It was filled with water at time as was pouring

 

[CKeeler]

Make sure it gets reported to the city. Who knows, they may actually compensate you for the damage. My city has done that before for people who have the same issue

 

[mzones]

I know some people here in Los Angeles that have had similar damage and were, indeed able to get reimbursed by the bureau of street maintenance. I'm sure it takes a bit of persistent complaining, but worth a try.

 

[luv2drive]

I know some people here in Los Angeles that have had similar damage and were, indeed able to get reimbursed by the bureau of street maintenance. I'm sure it takes a bit of persistent complaining, but worth a try.

Today I called. PA state road. Turns out I was second call today about same hole. Previous caller blew tire. Very dangerous. I filed form...we shall see.

That said my baby is fixed. Only thing is with my OCD I know the inside of 2 of the rims are not “perfect” do to being straighten....The inside lips have marks from the Machine that corrects the bend. Also how much suspension took hit. Maybe it sounded worse then it was. I know our suspensions have a lot of tech built in. It been checked and drives same as before as far can tell. Tech said when on the alignment rack it was still in spec alignment.

 

[Canfail]

Not too terribly priced for like new