Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

Given that Charlotte likes to grace us with road construction on every corner and every mile of the city. They also felt that I needed more challenges in life, because my own was too boring......

So they decided to put man holes in the road, and not pave around them to make them level with the road. Well commuters would run over them and bend their rims and blow the sidewalls of their tires. :thankscharlotte:

The man holes are about 1.5 - 2 inches tall, enough to ruin a nice set of 19's. Also, I guess one wasn't enough, cause they had about 11 or 12 in 1 lane in a row, spaced about 15 to 20 feet apart. Half were along the right tire, the other half along the left. They left that lane and 2 others open to traffic. Saw the first one after the car in front of me went over it, went to swerve around to miss it, but was too late. Couldn't get a police report cause the officer said a sign was up stating a Construction Zone and they get calls like this all the time. "humm, maybe we should fix some roads around here!"

At any rate, need some suggestions on where some "GOOD" rim repair shops might be. I don't mind shipping and paying to get it done right. On the other hand these run retail 255.00 per rim and 189.00 per tire, so if the price for repair exceeds the price of a new rim, then I'll just buy a new one.

Thanks for the help and listening.

Cliff Clavin

iTrader: (11)

Damn, I thought mine was bad...



I hit a couple of steel plates in the road going about 35 or so.

I think mine might be fixable, but yours looks pretty hammered. Post up if you find a good shop to send them to.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

^^most definately.

AnDyMaN

iTrader: (19)

haha, funny story, sucks tho... im glad my roads around here are prettty clean..... even parts of downtown atlanta isnt that bad...

sk24iam

That sucks. My boy had some major damage on one of his rims.

He sent pics in with a receipt for new rim and tire and the town payed for it. you might want to try that

Cliff Clavin

iTrader: (11)

That looks like some kind of casting defect.

I don't think bending a rim on a pothole/manhole cover counts as a rim being defective.

4DRSpeed

iTrader: (22)

My mom's stock 17s on her '02 3 of them were bent. My dad was looking for places to repair rims as well.

He found one in Atlanta, but I can't really remember the name at the moment. There's also one in PA, I believe the one in PA has an ad in the back of Car and Driver.

CandiMan

iTrader: (1)

I have to agree, comparing S. Florida to Charlotte the roads here absolutely suck big ones. But being a noob to Charlotte I didn't want to sound like a cry baby considering you guys have been dealing with these roads a lot longer than I have.

What's that object in the rim? Is it a piece of the rim or something you just stuck in there to see the depth of the damge?


Your wheel doesn't look too bad, but I understand your concerns. I remembar back in the days some tire shops use to have a tool to bend back wheels with minor damage like yours. It was mainly used for the steel wheels but there were times I used them on mag wheels. Basically it was a bar that attaches to the area of the damage and you bend it back into shape using leverage.

Knowing me I'll try to repair the rim myself if the repair cost is more than what the rim is worth. Dismount the tire, get the largest channel lock pliers, pipe wrench for adjustable wrench you can find, pad the jaws with rags so not to leave marks on the rim, have someone (or 2) stand on the rim while you try bending it back into shape. It may sound barbaric, but what the heck you gonna replace it anyways.

Mike

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

That's where contact was first made between the rim and manhole. It's actually a big dent within the bent rim.

joemax1

I once asked the around in our area if i can get my wife's bent rim repaired, but they all told me the rim ALWAYS has to be replaced when bent (I dunno if that's true...) Anyways, Im with you about bad roads! I still cringe now everytime I hit a pothole or uneven patches in the interstate, even if my car is already a year old. How fast were you driving?

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

What a tragedy I would have been furious if I had sexy rims like that and they got bent. They dont look too bad, they should be repairable, wish i had some ideas besides tire shops to see about help.

icelandmaxima

iTrader: (22)

Damn that sux dude. Good luck with the repairs. If that happened to me i'd be

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

No more than the posted speed limit of 45. I wish I could have blamed it on reckless driving, then I wouldn't be so upset, but it's so ridiculous here that not driving at all seems to be the answer.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

You could file a claim against the city if you had, time, place, and pictures of the location. They made the hazard and F%ucked up the road condition, they should be held liable.

Heck, when I lived in NYC, you could sue the city if you where hurt walking and tripping over a pot hole...

I would at least address the question...

Good luck...

sloppymax

iTrader: (8)

no use filing a claim in charlotte. been down that route and there was no way it was happening. i have been lucky with the stronger kosei wheels so far but time will tell. paramy-what road did you encounter them on?

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

Independence Blvd, inbound (going towards the city right after the merging traffic from Albermarle Road) It was the 3rd lane from the center median.

Yes becareful through there, cause I know you frequent Independence also.

sloppymax

iTrader: (8)

thanks for the heads up. i normally stick to the center lanes but you may want to consider contacting the construction company. it might be rea contracting. i had no luck going through the city when i had my incident. funny thing was after i blew the tire, 3 more people hit the same spot and pulled into the neighborhood where i was changing to the spare.

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

If you're willing to do battle with the City you can eventually win. However you'll get the major run around because the City will point the finger at the contractor and vise versa. I say give it a try and be patient. They should have to pay for this.

Matt93SE

iTrader: (44)

Take pics and possibly some video of cars driving over that part of the road. show that it was unavoidable and obviously everyone was forced to drive over them.

whether it's the contractor's fault or the city's, the problem is still their responsiblity. (if I have construction going on at my house and a neighbor steps on a board with a nail in it, are they going to sue the homeowner or the contractor?).

anyway, get in touch with the city and tell them you need to file a tort claim against the city due to vehicular damage caused by poorly maintained roads..
that should get you the right paperwork and forms to fill out. (that's the hardest part- getting the correct forms to fill out.).

At that point, you wait for a response from the city. if it's easy, they'll just ask how much the bill was (if you don't provide receipts with the claim and pictures).

If they want to be a PITA, you may have to take it to court.. at that point, you may want to call a scum-sucking lawyer and tell him you may have a class action lawsuit on your hands and offer him a piese of the pie if he wants to volunteer to represent everyone who wants to sue the city over damage done on that particular stretch of road. may get you somewhere, may not.

as for fixing it... WheelsAmerica.. http://www.fixrim.com/

shurik

iTrader: (6)

Constructions, constructions, it takes like 3 month here to just widen the road of about 1 feet. They placed some kind of a speed bump right in front of a light. It's about 1.5-2.5" tall, and that thing is sharp. Man you try to run a yellow light and press on the padel and you will end up with a big dent or something. Man I don't think those boys are worried at all, the longer it takes it the more $$$ they get paid. So I hate constructions here as well.

joemax1

are you sure the manholes you were talking about are just 1.5-2 inches tall?

Northern Maxima

Yikes, that sucks! Sounds like something construction companies around here would do. I hate it when people are so incompetant. I was mad they turned my highway into a dirt road but you're construction problems seem much worse!

ImmaSquashYou

iTrader: (7)

rim repair shouldn't be more then $100. it should come out looking brand new. as long as there are no cracks in the rim, then thats fine. dont try to fix it yourself because you might crack your rim, and even tho they weld it back, its still not safe.

sloppymax

iTrader: (8)

that would be the range i would guesstimate since i saw them this morning. no more than 2.5" above the road surface.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

So let me tell you how my luck has been. I get the new wheel in today, the lip has 3 knicks in it, possibly from mounting the tire. I went to take off the spare tire, 2 of the 5 studs break off. Not sure if the pressure from the spare caused the lug to bend or not, so root cause is still unknown. I'm not liking much of anything that has to do with wheels, tires, and luck right now.

Anyone know where the cheapest place to get studs and lugs from?

96GreenMax

iTrader: (2)

man that sucks. I found studs at pep boys for a couple bucks a piece. they should be available at any auto parts store. Good luck and drive safe

Cliff Clavin

iTrader: (11)

Did you get a new wheel or have the original one fixed?

I sent mine to the shop Matt93SE recommended (except the closest one to me in San Fran) and they are sending it back, since the wheel is warped and unrepairable. He told me a lot of forged wheels are strong enough that the damage will go beyond the lip, into the barrel of the rim. Sucks for me. I was going about the same speed as you when I hit the metal plates.

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

Get the studs from the Nissan Stealer.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

I took it to a local place and they said it couldn't be fixed. I called up a few places and they said it could be fixed for 150 bones. I shopped around and haggled with a few places for a new wheel, and got a good deal for 190 per wheel. It was worth the extra 40 bucks to just get a new wheel. I might try to fix the old one myself, and use it as a spare cause the oem spare is teh

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

Thanks Matt, headed there right now.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

Finally back on the road! Of course I forgot to bring my KY Jelly to the Stealership for the wheel studs that ran 4.50 a piece. Where I could have waited another week and got them for .99 a piece online. I guess that's the price you pay for convience.....

sloppymax

iTrader: (8)

did they suggest a 6 wheel alignment?

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

might as well have. i do need to get an alignment done though.

SR20DEN

iTrader: (7)

Uhh, how much did you pay for these wheels and tires and you want to b!tch about $9 for a couple of wheel studs to protect them?

Blu

iTrader: (63)

should have buzzed me, I have like 732823 wheel studs somewhere in the garage. I used to have issues at the track with wheel studs.

deezo

iTrader: (3)

Or you could have gone to Autozone.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

hell sheaaa, not biatchin bout the 9 bucks, just about the overly inflated price of 4.50 at the lership vs .99 online. if i could have waited, then i would have.....

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

where u iz blu? i would have never figured anyone would have these layin around.

Deckdout2

iTrader: (151)

could have, but these were "cheap" enough that i wanted oem.

Blu

iTrader: (63)

I iz at work