damn...that sucks haha

 

I can empathize. I've blown many tires and bent many wheels.

That's what I love about my current car; it's stiff and low enough that I don't have to modify. It's all OEM so less chance of destroying anything.

 

Well, I have the bad wheel replaced and a new tire on the car. The insurance company inspected the car last night, just waiting for the report to see what they are going to cover with regards to the other 3 bent wheels.



For some reason the front end of my car looks more pitched than normal

 

[Update]

Sooo I got my car back, and after getting 4 new wheels and 1 new tire, had my friend align the car. His tech said that he couldn't align the front the way it should be, and the driver's side (the side affected by this incident) is a lot more off than the passenger's side. On visual inspection, the driver's side has more negative camber than the passenger's side. When putting the car up on a lift, you see that the suspension is slightly off on the driver's side, but no impact to any parts, making it harder to see if there was any damage or bending sustained.

Went to the dealer today to replace the headlight again, and asked them to check out the suspension. He came back to me and said that the shock tower "mushroomed", and is what is causing the wheel to be the way it is. Apparently it's a common problem on these cars. There are aftermarket plates that a few companies make that prevents the mushroom effect, so I just bought it. BUT the only way to fix the problem is to pound down the shock towers where it got pushed up from the impact. The Mini tech said the passenger's side also has mushrooming, but very slight. I'll have to get some wood and a mallet and start pounding away to flatten it before putting the bracing on. They make the reinforcement plates alone, or the plates with a shock tower brace, that's the one I chose..

Reinforcement Plate:

Strut Bar:


Anywho, changed back to summer shoes after all 4 of the other wheels were replaced.

 

And those are 45 profile tires. Imagine how vulnerable anything lower is. Some cars are running 30 profile tires. They better never come over the GW Bridge!