Was turning into a wellsfargo this morning and somehow didn't see the curb and nailed it with my front right passenger wheel. Took a nice chunk out of my wheel which I don't mind (the paint and stuff on the car was untouched so its all good) but is there anything else I should look for? I know these cars are sensitive. It sounded gnar, BAM!

 

Wheel bearing and alignment. I did this last winter and needed a new right front wheel bearing and an alignment.

 

"Nailed a curb today...anything to look for?"

How about looking for the curb...

 

My niece did this in her Cooper a few weeks ago in the rain. Cracked a wheel, needed an alignment and now needs a new wheel bearing.

 

I talked to some mini techs I know and found out that the control arm is the weak point in that area... if your tire pressure or stability control start getting wonky, you might wanna check if something bent.

I'd say get a 2 wheel alignment on the front to be safe and keep from wearing the tires funky.

 

Get it up on a jack, pull the wheel off and check everything for bends: control arms, tie rods, etc. Use the opposite side as a comparison of how everything should look. Be PRECISE. Small bends can yield a lot of extra wear on the tires if not taken care of.

Also once you get the wheel off the ground, put your hands at 12 and 6 o'clock on the wheel and try to wiggle it back and forth. There should be no play.

Good luck on getting that bent wheel fixed, straightened and painted... I know a guy quite well that works at a wheel shop and he was quoting me around 80 per wheel just to straighten them all out. I have no idea what he would charge to weld in a missing chunk, lathe it back to shape, straighten it out, and paint it...

 

If you hit the curb hard enough to take a chunk out of the wheel, the tire is likely damaged (even though you can't see it) and I'd replace it.

At the very least, keep an eye out for any bulging of the sidewall. If it's bulging even a little bit, replace it before it blows at speed and causes a serious accident.

 

After you get the alignment, see if the car's behavior is any different: such as pulling to one side or the other (or "drifting" either way) where it has not before. If you can find a smooth, flat level straight stretch of pavement, test it for straight travel with hands off the wheel. I got ambushed on a freeway offramp once by an unintentional 4-5"-high "curb" that some CalTrans crew left. Bent my stock rim (left front) and put a blister on the tire sidewall. Wierd. It lost no air, but the tire and rim were trashed. (At the time it was a great excuse to go for upgraded wheels and tires!!)

 

I don't think I will get an alignment done because my tires have probably 5,000-8,000 left on them and the rain is pretty much through with here so they'll make it through the summer. I will just align it when I get new tires. so far nothing feels different and I don't have a jack to put it up on so I'll just have to wait and see. thanks for all replies

 

Yesterday, I hit a pothole so hard, the tire literally exploded, leaving a gaping hole in it. The tire is only a month old. Tire Rack sent a replacement. The only thing that came on was the green "clock" looking symbol on my dash. Do you think damage occurred other than the flat? I just had suspension work done to it, too. Rim had minor scratches.

Sorry for the thread jack. This particular car is becoming a major PITA.

 

Isn't the green clock symbol the symbol for the cruise control? maybe you hit that with your finger or something...correct me if i'm wrong.

yea I hit a few potholes around here and a bolt came loose by the cv joint and was making some clicking noises at one point. place fixed it for free, damn potholes

 

Yeah, I'm hoping the tire absorbed most of the impact sparing my suspension bits. I probably did hit the cruise control after the confusion that followed. Hmmm.