briiannj

I was driving into Hoboken today with some friends and as soon as I went under the train trestle BAM, I hit a massive pothole out of nowehre doing like 20mps or so, when I parked a noticed a bubble on the front right tire's sidewall which was fairly big about 2" and one on the back right tire sidewall, but a little smaller. I ended up driving back home cautiously at night and hit speeds of about 75 on 78 since it was really smooth. didnt notice anything and it was as if nothing had happened. I've been reading around and I am worried about bends. Nobody whose seen it says they see any damage to the rim, and I can handle the $350 for two new pirelli's but I have the amg double spoke 18's so two new rims would be almost another $1000

i dont think there ware any bends right? I would definitely notice something...

and also I took these wheels off my moms car since i had OEM ones and she recently got a new c300 with these amg ones so we just swapped. the wheels are only about 2 months old, any way the warranty could help out? thanks for the input :/

snarlingchicken

Take it to a tire shop, get it checked out. If anything, I would still get some new tires up front because the next pothole you hit, you might not be so fortunate.

Sportstick

Replace the tires if a sidewall bubble appears. A small bend in the rim could be a problem for a smooth, vibration-free ride, but does not pose the safety problem of the tire, assuming the rim is not bent enough to cause an air leak. A small bend is also repairable. The condition of the rim will become obvious when the new tire is mounted and balanced, preferably on a Hunter Road Force balancer. Unless you bought a separate wheel/tire warranty coverage, the standard vehicle warranty does not apply to accidental damage.

briiannj

okay yeah, ill definitely replace the tires. i felt the entire inside edge and looked at the outside curve of the rim and it doesnt seem bent at all. and the pressure of the tire hasnt changed and its been nearly 24 hours so i dont think it would be a crack anywhere leaking air. whether there is a tiny bend somewhere at this point it wouldn't really matter right? maybe there be a slight difference in the ride but i didnt feel it even with the bubble. so maybe I would just need to replace the tires..

briiannj

there was some black reside right where the bubble is on the lip of the rim, so im thinking when i hit the pothole the tire was just pinched against the rim and the edge of the pothole, and the high pressure at that point caused the bubble as the rim itself didnt give way to the pressure so the only way it had to go was outwards stretching the rubber

Doanster

Since you don't feel any vibrations at lower speeds, your wheels are probably good. Easy to know for sure when you get the tires replaced. Will be obvious if you have even the slightest bend once the wheel is on the balancer and spinning.
My pothole bends (except for one major one recently) have been on the backside of the wheel. Hope it turns out well for you and tires are the only fix needed.

briiannj

anybody know if if/how to go after the city of hoboken for this one?

the area this happened in was a major entrance (literally the only entrance into hoboken from the south) where it was undoubtedly reported before and since this was under the train trestle the road is usually shaded from the sun and dark, there was no lighting here even at night. I looked closly at it and counted about 14 large and potentially dangerous potholes. Could I go after the city filling a claim and getting reimbursement for the damages?

I hear stories of people not getting any but is this cause they just give up on it or what? and where could I go about doing this..couldnt find any information

nyca

The roads in NY & NJ are horrible - and this is true even with a snowless winter. Tolls are at record highs, little of the money raised goes for roads.

schvamf

You were lucking that the tire didn't blow out, I hit a pothole on Rt 287 doing about 70 and it cut into the sidewall of my tire and caused it to blow out. Luckily I was able to safely pull over after the car was nice enough to tell me something like "unexpected loss in tire pressure, pull over as soon as possible" LOL

MBRedux

Nope, keep them on your car.. Compromised sidewalls are adrenaline boosters, especially during the hot summer months when internal pressures can build to dangerous levels even with brand new rubber. Keep them on and you may even experience what we like to call a near God experience ...



This one happened in the rear... happy