» Site Navigation | | » Recent Threads | | | | | | 04-08-2005, 06:45 PM | #1 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Springfield, Va Posts: 164 | bent a rim last night... So i was drivin home around 10:00pm and I took a turn with too much gas. I had my ACS on, since I wasn't trying to do much crazy driving, but my car slid practically sideways. I didn't hit anything, but when I corrected it, the car felt funny. Immediately I got out and checked my left rear tire, which was flat. I drove home (i was about 100 feet from my street) and changed my tire. This morning I went to the shop and they said the rim was bent - keeping the tire from holding any pressure for more than 30 seconds or so. My question is, should I buy new rims (im short on cash, I also wanted to get new suspension and possibly a new head unit) and tires, or should I just buy this one rim (stock steel rim) and save my money for the other stuff? My tires still have a good amount of tread on them, but after this with not giving my car hardly any gas and me sliding the amount I did, i'm thinkin I should get new tires. This also may haev something to do with my old bouncy suspension, but I'm not sure. Best advice? | | | 04-08-2005, 06:59 PM | #2 | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 3,244 | How did you bend a 15" steel rim w/o hitting anything? Sounds fishy- do you trust this shop? More likely you damaged the tire by driving on it flat. If you're short on cash, just buy another steel rim from the tire shop. I'm guessing $40 for a new one. Tire rack is the best deal if you plab to buy a tire mounted already or a whole set of alloys+tires for that matter. __________________ My Former Rides 1999 318ti Alpine White, Cali Roof, Dinan goodies 1996 318ti Hellrot California Edition | | | 04-08-2005, 07:52 PM | #3 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: state college, pa Posts: 3,431 | if you bend a steel rim, it can be bent back (living in boston for a few years teaches you these things). if you have an NTB near you, they'll charge about $15 for the wheel repair and flat fix. some dealers will do it, some won't. however, it takes a healthy pothole to bend a steel rim. like 96cali said, it's possible you've damaged the sidewall of the tire driving on it flat, and the leak is actually in the casing. whatever the case, you'd be better off getting a second opinion, maybe even a third. if the casing is cracked you can probably use SLIME for a short time (2 mo. max) until you upgrade your stuff. | | | 04-08-2005, 08:04 PM | #4 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Springfield, Va Posts: 164 | Well I watched the guy look at the tire, it was clearly bent and I could feel the air coming out the side lip of the rim... the weird thing is that the rim was bent on the INSIDE so maybe the tire wasn't mounted correctly. Maybe I hit that drift too hard and I hit the inside of my suspension or something. | | | 04-08-2005, 08:24 PM | #5 | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: PA Posts: 822 | You can totally bend a steel wheel back to almost true. Ive had to do this on 2 of my steel winter wheels. I used a sledge hammer and a 6" long piece of 2"x4" to bend them back. PA roads really suck, there are pothoples everywhere. | | | 04-08-2005, 08:50 PM | #6 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Springfield, Va Posts: 164 | Id do that if I didnt already have shaking. I think im gonna get my tires fixed properly and balanced. Save some money for later perhaps.... | | | 04-08-2005, 09:05 PM | #7 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: state college, pa Posts: 3,431 | it's kind of not worth putting a 15" steel wheel back into complete true. 1, a new rim costs $70 from the dealer, truing it costs about $90. 2, as long as it holds air, you won't feel that much shake (there's enough sidewall to absorb slight variations at most speeds). 3, you can probably find a steel at the junkyard for $30 if you look around. i've had my steels beat the crap back into shape at least three times, and have no more shudder than with my alloys (even at 90mph+). it takes an hour, costs $15 and works. all of the above options are a significant higher time and money investment, with similar results. if you've still got shaking with that tire off, it's likely you bumped it out of alignment, which having a straight wheel won't fix. i'd save your money for that. | | | 04-08-2005, 09:41 PM | #8 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Springfield, Va Posts: 164 | Well it doesnt hold any air really. I just want to get it to a safe, driveable state without paying too much money. | | | 04-08-2005, 10:38 PM | #9 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: state college, pa Posts: 3,431 | do you have NTB around you? like i said, i've done this three times (each a different pothole). i still use the same rims for my snow tires, and they hold air fine. the rims were pretty badly bent up--enough to know why the tire was flat, and i don't get any more shake than i do with my alloys. give it a shot; they'll know if they can bend it back or not. | | | 04-12-2005, 09:15 PM | #10 | Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Springfield, Va Posts: 164 | Ahh well it turns out the rim was fine. What happened was when I drifted my car, the tire was underinflated a) caused the drift b) popped off the rim after it popped off I proceeded to drive on it for a very short distance (1/4 mile or so) until I stopped to look at it. At that point it was flat. I was maybe 1/8 mile from my house so I went home and put my spare on. This mistake cost me my tire - it was shredded probably from me driving on it. So i bought new tires in the rear (goodyear touring LS) which are decent. Much better grip than my front (and old rear) tires. | | | 04-12-2005, 10:58 PM | #11 | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 3,244 | So I was right! Sorry, I don't get much chance to gloat these days. At least you're up and motoring again. __________________ My Former Rides 1999 318ti Alpine White, Cali Roof, Dinan goodies 1996 318ti Hellrot California Edition | | | 04-13-2005, 12:09 AM | #12 | Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Garden City, NY/Daytona Beach, FL Posts: 228 | Quote: Originally Posted by aceyx if you've still got shaking with that tire off, it's likely you bumped it out of alignment, which having a straight wheel won't fix. i'd save your money for that. | How much does an alignment run? I didn't think they were all that expensive __________________ --------------------------------------- '97 Hellrot 318ti - Active, 5 speed 17'' BMW Motorsport Wheels ACS-"Style" (E-Bay, haha) Racing Pedals M Frontspoiler (OEM) Alpine CDA 9827 MP3/CD Head Unit Alpine E12 Subwoofer (now stolen) Audiobahn A4002T Amp (also now stolen) Dented driver side fender (provided courtesy of blind 80 year old woman) Keyed passenger door (provided by someone who likes to key red cars) Soon to come (now that I've graduated and have a real job) S52 Engine Swap!!! Fixing aformentioned damage caused by the elderly and the brain deprived Supersprint Exhaust and Headers Angel Eye/Projector Headlights | | | 04-13-2005, 03:28 PM | #13 | Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint Paul, MN Posts: 3,244 | I've been quoted $60 - $90. Surprisingly the dealer was not the most expensive. Supposedly to do it right BMW's need to under load (driver + passenger weight) to do it but I've also read there is a cheat setting that can be done w/o load. I have a coupon for Firestone for $49.99 too. __________________ My Former Rides 1999 318ti Alpine White, Cali Roof, Dinan goodies 1996 318ti Hellrot California Edition | | | 04-13-2005, 04:33 PM | #14 | Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Tyler, TX Posts: 1,022 | For around $200 firestone will give you a lifetime of alignments. Which is definately worth if you plan on keeping the car very long. | | | | Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | | Posting Rules | You may not post new threads You may not post replies You may not post attachments You may not edit your posts HTML code is Off | | | |