Hi all.

I was dumb enough to hit the curb with my front left wheel on the parking lot at night two days ago. But only today in the morning I noticed damage. The corner of rim is smashed for about one inch and a small piece of it missing. The original 225/50R17 V93 Protenza tire is also damaged. A little piece on the side right next to the smashed rim is kind of cut off. But the tire didn’t loose any pressure in two days, and I had to drive to work and back today on it. So, after about 30 miles at 65mph, and 15 miles in the city I didn’t notice any changes. But I think that driving with this kind of tire isn’t safe, so I was wondering what would be my choices of replacement. And also I would like to know, will it make a big impact on safety and performance of the car that rim is smashed?

Thank you.

P.S. BTW – I checked with the local tire store, and they offered me BF Goodrich G-Force T/A KDWS 225/50R17 Z rated tire for $144 installed. Are those tires ok? At least, are they not worse then the stock? Please let me know

 

The BF Goodrich g-Force T/A KDWS tire is W-rated and is not available in size 225/50R17.

If your tires are worn or if you're tired of the Potenzas, I'd suggest you replace all four with Michelin XGT Z4's in 225/50R17. If not, buy another Potenza RE-92. Both brands are available at Tirerack.com.

 

BF Goodrich makes a tire in 225/50/17???

 

Now I feel even dumber. I just went to their website to make sure - and you are right - they don't have 225/50R17.

I checked the prices in local Costco. The sales person suggested BF tires.And I looked myself in their catalog where they had g-Force T/A KDWS 225/50R17, Z rated. He told me that it's a special order and I can have it in ten days.
Go figure...

Is there any other tire options?
What about my rim problem?

BTW, I checked the tire size question in FAQ of this forum, and went to NITTO website. They show that for 555 245/45ZR17 tires you need minimum 7.5" rim. ...

 

you can get the rim fixed up for around $100 probably depending on the damage. But, you will again be stuck with a 7" wide rim and limited tire selection. Can you foot the cost of getting new rims/tires? Once my stock Potenzas wear out, I am going that route.

 

Well that's definitely interesting. I wonder why BF Goodrich doesn't advertise that tire on their web site.

I imagine your rim can be repaired if it's not damaged too badly.

 

Actually I called them tonight to make sure that they have those tires. Now they tell me that they don't and it was probably a missprint ;(

I checked tires.com
is Nitto NT-450 Extreme any good?

I think that the rim isn't damaged that badly. I mean - I still can drive 65 and don't really feel any difference. Does it needs the repair???

I was looking at http://www.discounttiredirect.com/ for rim/tire packages. The cheapest one starts at about a grand (4x 235/45ZR-17 93W Nitto NT 555 Extreme Performance tires with 4x 17X7 5-100/114 40S Enkei CDR9 wheels)

I'll have to replace two tires - so if I go with stock Protenzas it will cost me a bit more than 300.
Does it make sense to upgrade to bigger rims/tires for that money?

 

Teser-

If there is actually a piece of the rim broken off, get the rim replaced. If you don't, you are just asking for trouble. It may be fine now, but during hard cornering, or sustained highway travel (read: heat build up), the tire could blow very easily. Don't put yourself in danger over a few bucks.

You have a few options...1) buy a replacement rim and tire (the dealer will gouge you for this @ $600) 2) try posting in the parts section for a single rim from a member, or check ebay, junkyards etc....this should be cheaper 3) spend a few more bucks and buy 7.5 or 8" rims and have a huge selection of larger tires (if you are looking for performance gains), plus make your car look really unique.

Good luck

 

without the rim damage. i ended up replacing two stocks with yokohama avs intermediates @ $100 each. oldies but goodies man. i had the remaining pair of stocks rotated to the rear and enjoyed an unbelievable improvement in traction all around.
risky to continue using the rim tho, i'd check the parts section for a replacement. don't drive on the chipped wheel. also ask yourself how much you want the selection of tires in 235/45 vs. the safety of the stock size. that's something you'll have answer yourself.

 

I get anxious everytime I'm first in line at a green light... I always step on it (automatic (sigh)) and peel out a bit... I'm wondering what type of tires have the best grip on startup, because i have no trouble on the turns, etc.

 

try out the yokohamas i wrote about above. eliminated my wheelspin after the initial breakin period. i had to move away from them for my next set however cuz the treadwear just ain't there. aweful good price tho. i'll probably move back to yokos after experimenting for a while first.

 

Thanks for advice Serin.

I guess it all comes down to defining how bad is the rim damaged. I’ll try to take some pics of it and will post them here to find out opinion of other members.
The cheapest upgrade according to http://www.discounttiredirect.com would cost me about a $1200 for four new 17” x 7.5” wheels and 235/45ZR tires. The site recommends it as an upgrade package to stock specs. There is also a $1300 option for 18”x7 wheels with 235/40ZR tires. Is there a safety hazard changing the stock wheels/tires to the bigger ones?

 

I dont think its a safety thing... It will probably change your speedometer reading a bit though...

 

If you cannot get your rim fixed, you can try a junkyard or even this company:

http://www.victoriatire.com/wheels.h...del%5D&size=17

$175 for an OEM Nissan rim.