I got the tires balanced over the weekend as there was a slight shutter at high speed. The tire technician said that one of the rims was bent, but on the inside of it. Apparently this is not unusual. I have an appointment with a local shop that can straighten it so everything will be good to go again on Wednesday for $130. Cheap repair in mind.

 

Rims are easy to bend on the RLX - already been through two non-repairable wheels.

 

it's because of all the evasive action's that you've been taking

 

So here is the update:

On Wednesday a local tire shop removed the tire to repair the rim, when we discovered other damage. See attached pictures.


We removed the other tires to inspect for damage on the remaining rims, and we found none. I remember two specific hits over the past two years in which I was shocked there was no tire damage. I guess the tires were not damaged, but the rims were inside. The tire guy who looked like he has done this for 40 years said that he did not feel that the structural integrity was compromised by the gash in the center line of the rim. He also did not see any issue with the other damage to the center black plastic piece as I have experienced no rotational issues other than the slight vibration I felt for a while which was resolved when I balanced the tires. Everything was reinstalled and balanced and all is good in the world again.

 

The plastic strips in the center of the rim are the Hemholtz resonators. They are not structural. But I am curious if they look like they are easily removed from the rim? Is there potential they could be transferred to other rims? I will need to research parts catalog and see if they can be purchased independently from the rim.

 

Those Helmholtz resonators really work. I can tell the difference between my stock wheels and my aftermarket wheels. There's noticeably more tire noise with the aftermarkets. I've been back on my stockers for about eight months (no time to switch out for the aftermarkets lately...).

 

It does not appear the Hemholtz resonators can be purchased as an independent part. And looking at the interior design of the wheel, it looks like they are designed to fit in those two ridges on the wheels inner circumference.

Maybe we can patent a generic style Hemholtz resonator that can be applied to most wheel structures. We'll be rich I tell ya!

 

Old thread; but, I also had a bent front passenger rim on my 18 RLX Sport Hybrid from hitting a pothole in the beginning of March 2023. No pinch flat like I had 3 years ago hitting a pothole with OEM rim/tires. I decided to upgrade to aftermarket rims/OEM tires because aftermarket would be easier for find compared to $325-$450 for OEM (if I'm not so lucky and bend the OEM rims next time). I did purchase an extra Petrol P4B 19X8 gloss black rim for $215 with OEM tire as a full size spare just in case I got a flat or hit a pothole. I have lifetime alignment from Firestone and they double-check the alignment and got it back into specs. Called around and most rim repair place around town charge around $175-$200 to fix a bent rim. Probably just going to purchase another new rim instead of trying to fix.