So, i was driving on 101 the other night, going a little over the speed limit when out of nowhere I hit a huge pothole. right there and then I knew I had bent my rims,even the CD skipped. When I got home, it turned out out that I was correct in my assumption. My front right wheel was so bent out ofshape it was incredible. I have 18 X 7.5 RacingHart C5 Evo's, luckily I had a spare rim available and I got the bent one switched out.

In any case, I have a few questions:

1. Anyone know of any good places to get rims fixed out in the San Jose California area?

2. I'm new to the whole enthusiasts circle and I love my rims, but I had I known they were that easy to bend, I woud have probably gone another route. Anyone know what I can do to make sure this doesn't happen again? (outside of being more careful)

Lastly, I'm thinking of selling these rims, I still have a good set of 4 and not sure what I'm gonna do wih the bent one yet. I'm thinking about getting 17" OEM stock tires. any ideas on where I can find a good place to get them cheap?

Thanks guys your inputs are always highly welcomed

 

There really is nothing you can do about potholes. The stock tire size offers more protection than the larger sizes. I will say that my forged rim only bent on impact whereas the OEM rim shattered -under very similar circumstances.

You CAN try to claim the damages from whatever jurisdiction you were in. I bent a rim where I live, found out what government is supposed to maintain that road, got the claim form and sent it in. I also say it's a good idea to call in the pothole to the road department.

 

Bent a 19 on the 280 this past summer. What cold psi were you running? Before the bent rim, I was running 40; now I'm running 44-45. Stiffens the ride, but boy did that rescue me tons of times from unavoidable potholes (the not-so-deep ones less than 2 inches deep). As for preventing another bent rim, well... 17s on at least a 50 series tire is the obvious solution. But if you still plan on keeping the 18s, raise the pressures, avoid potholed roads you know of, and (unfortunately), drive slower and look ahead so you can spot a pothole in time to swerve around it.

To fix bent rims... check Wheel Techniques in Campbell off the 17. Word of caution: they take FOREVER to fix your rims if you don't constantly call/pester them to check on their status. Five years ago, I had them fix a bent stock rim off my 92 Accord. Took 'em 6 months to get the rim back. Want 'em faster? Call every 2-3 days. Good luck.

 

Yeh, I am usually more careful, butthis one caught me off guard and in the dark. I will be looking to buy a set of 17" OEM 5 spoke CL rims. If you guys know of any good places, please do tell. I will try and submit it to the caltrans to see if I can get some money back. But w all knwo that dealing with the government is like a "forever" process.

 

isn't 44 really really high? aren't the oem tires supposed to be 32 cold or something?

 

At America's tire the guy reccomended 38-40, but mine were all at close to 40 and the rim bent onthe outside lip and on the inside. For the people in Nor Cal this happened on 101 Northbound somewhere from Sunnyvale to Moutain View in the lane closest to the fast lane (carpool).

 

On stock 17s, yes. On lower profile 18s and 19s that require higher pressures to maintain a wider contact patch... no. Strike a pothole more than 2" deep on 19s (running 235/35s) set to 32 psi = 100% chance of writing a check for $400 to replace the rim.

 

So what you are saying is that I should raise the PSI to 44-45 on my 215/40? I think my tires say 50 PSI max...

 

You're running 215/40/18??? Whoa... no wonder your rim bent! You should be running 235/40/18 to give you a little more sidewall (and to keep your speedometer from reading incorrectly). Keep in mind that WEIGHT is a major factor in how much shock a low-pro tire can absorb. 215/40/18s on a 2700 lb. Civic striking a pothole is way different compared to a 3400 lb CL wearing the same tire size.

I'd either swap tire sizes to 235/40, or resort back to stock 215/50/17s. But if you wanna keep those 215/40s, YES I WOULD bump the pressures to 44-45psi (cold)!

 

I was actuallythinking of swapping out those tires and gettin 235/50/18 just to be on the safe side. What do you think about that. I know it will look a little less sporty and the speedometer will be slightly off, but the sidewall will at least be pretty safe.

 

235/50/18? Too big! Kinda like putting 4x4 tires on a sedan! If you're really worried about another pothole fiasco, I'd go with either 225/45/18 (still slightly taller than stock, but not as huge as a 235/50/18), or just save your $$$ and put the stock 17s back on.

 

well, I wouldgo back to stock, but mine are the 16" CL-p rims and the rims are scratched up and the tires are all worn out... If anyone out there has a nice lookin 5-spoke 17" Acura stock rim, please let me know

 

I bent two of my 18" SSRs on a pot hole. front and back. I knew immediately it was bent cause the steering wheel was shaking. still haven't fixed them.