sharpWheels

Greetings Acura Gurus,

I hit a couple of potholes late last week - one in particular real bad in Jersey City, NJ - which caused a flat in my front passenger tire. I also believe the bubble on my front driver tire was caused by a pothole as well.

Have 235/45ZR17 Continental Extreme Contact DWS tires - bought March, 2012 - so < 26,000 miles on the tires so far. Took the tires to Sears Auto Center to get the flat repaired and was told tire had sidewall damage - could not be repaired. They also told me the other front tire has a bubble and needed to be replaced ASAP. Is that true - that driving with a tire with even a small bubble is unsafe?

This morning, I called the manufacturer since the tires are only 2 years old.Was asked to take it to a shop for inspection - took it back to Sears and this time they told me the rim of the tire with the flat was bent and needed to be fixed. The manufacturer has agreed to a 50% goodwill discount on 2 DWS tires. I believe that's nice of them to do that - since this sidewall damage and bubbles are normally not covered under the manufacturer's warranty - is that true? My road hazard warranty expired a year from date of purchase.

Please advise of any trustworthy shops in North Jersey where I can go to get the rim repaired. How much is a reasonable expense to get the rim bent back into shape? I haven't seen it yet - will post an update with a picture (if I can) after I see it.

All input and suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

Jackass

There are people who drive 40k miles on a tire with a bubble in the sidewall. Then there are people like me who replace the tire immediately upon finding a bubble in the sidewall. Not worth the risk of the tire failing at speed. A bubbled sidewall generally means the belts are damaged.

You are correct in thinking it is nice of them to offer the discount. The damage described is exactly what road hazard coverage is for since it is not a manufacturer's defect.

Mr24v

iTrader: (1)

At the very least, I'd rotate the bubbled tire to the rear and replace it as soon as you can. I bubbled two of my tires and put several thousand on them without issue although I wouldn't recommend it.

sharpWheels

Jackass and Mr24v, Appreciate your input.

I am still running on the spare and the bubbled tire in the front since this past Thursday night. Have to address the bent rim(small bend) before buying the new tires - please let me know if you have any suggestions for the rim(like would buying a new one online at like rockauto.com be cheaper than getting the original rim bent at a shop?).

Question about the tires - are the Continental DWSs know to have a weaker side wall than other tires - that might have contributed to my sidewall damage/bubbles ? With all the potholes in NY/NJ, wondering if next time I have to be in the market, I should be buying a different set of tires with more firm sidewalls ? Would appreciate input from others based on their experience and knowledge.

Also, the car has excessive camber in the rear wheels(-1.5 degress on the left rear and even worse on the right rear) which I have been told needs to be corrected before alignment can be done. A Sears mechanic advised me to get a control arm installed in both rear tires - picture attached - which would allow for camber adjustment. Or does it make more sense to go to a body shop and ask them to fix the camber?

Many thanks, all!

tweeder82o

also got a bent rim (after market); want to know the advice/experiences on repair for the bent rim

3pol6

look for @needpowdercoating in instagram, did mine for $100 located in newark nj.

Jackass

I have no idea about rim repair. I purchased a new rim when mine got bent from a big f'ing pothole. Two of rims right now are slightly tweaked according to the tire store. I hit a poorly filled cut in the road from construction at 30mph. No damage to the tires, but slight flat spot on rims and needed an alignment.

As for the DWS having a weaker sidewall? I know they are known to have a softer sidewall which impacts handling a bit, but not sure if they are "weaker" or not. A pothole big enough to damage the rim and knock the car out of alignment is big enough to damage any tire.

Also to note, you generally do not want to keep the spare up front if you are continuing to drive on it. I am "assuming" the spare is not quite the same outer diameter as the regular tires. Therefore it is constantly putting load/strain on the differential since each front tire is rotating at different speeds 100% of the time. I have been lucky enough with this car to have never needed my spare....so far.