Bent rims... what's the cause?
 

So I've just installed my new 19s... and they're cast so I've been driving like i'm on eggs for the past few days... my question is... is that really nescessary?

I don't mind being careful, but can things like driveway ramps, manholes and railway tracks cause bent rims?

Obviously potholes should be my primary concern, but for some reason I think I'm over-doing it a little bit by driving super slow over railway tracks and driveway ramps etc... :P

any hole or bump can bend a rim. it all depends on how fast you're going and how you hit it.

I avoid anything and everything while I am driving. If you arent sure of what you are going to run over, go super slow. Those steel plates in the road kill me!

check all tire pressure and just watch out for poleholes.!! The most common reason for wheels to bend is low low tire pressure.

Yep, just drive slow. Instead of paying attention to a yapping girl in the passenger seat, I pay attention to the road now. ;) Keeps the rims happy :)

Drive like you stole it. If you bend one, buy another. When you put 19's on your car you will eventually bend a wheel. I've had to replace the outer part of my three piece wheel twice. NYC sux!

The exact reason I won't be getting 19s.

Ditto. NYC is not a very rim friendly place.

hmm thanks for the reply guys

maybe i'll try running 40 psi in the front... ? more air = more protection right? I'm running 35psi cold right now front/rear

Forged is the answer.

I had a set of forged wheels on my last car and got into a accident at 65mph and they were still good.

Thats why forged wheesl cost so much and most people go for them vs a cast wheel.

red6 - i couldn't afford anything forged in 19s... in Canada we pay retail price per rim plus exchange rate (*1.4) and taxes/duties (*1.2).. so my only choice is to live w/ what i've got, dial up the PSI's and drive carefully

A set of Volks that run 2300 USD is 3800 to my door in Canadian dollars... taking exchange out of it we're still paying a 20% markup :(

If you add too much pressure, the wheel will became so hard that any hit on tire will be transferred directly to rim. Imagine you have an aluminum instead of air in tires :D

17 rules!

word.....another reason why I question myself for wanting to replace my perfectly good and pimp chrome BBS 17's that are light and forged.....

altho forged are the strongest construction, they are not impervious to bending-just much harder to do

Re: Bent rims... what's the cause?
 

strife i have the same rims you bought and i already hit a pothole! i couldnt believe it....only 4 days after putting them on the car...I was cursing like a sailor...till i took the wheel off the car and examined the rim...nothing was bent and i hit pretty hard. no pressure loss either. i know these wheels are cast but according to axis they use a new process for these rims that make them stronger than regular cast wheels. i forget the name they used for it. anyway if you bend a rim its not the end of the world. they can be repaired or you can buy a new one...

on a side note..has anyone insured their rims?

Now this is true. Mine are forged, and I hit the largest pothole I have ever hit in my life. It sounded like I hit a truck when I hit the pothole. I thought that the rim had to have caved in. Well, I checked it, and there is a mild dent in the outer lip, but it is only something that I can see as the owner cause I know it is there. That is the only place it was hurt, the rest of the wheel seems fine, a lesser wheel would have caved in for sure, I have never ever hit anything close to that sharp and rough of a bump in my life.

The rims had just been put on that day, and guess what, the tire pressure was like 20 something, the tire shop didn't even check them. With the right tire pressure, I am sure I would have not had a problem. I am sick that it happened at all, but it is not noticable to others, so I can't be too upset since the tire pressure has maintained itself fine.

Moral to the story, run the right tire pressure. Any of you rim experts know, when do you know that a rim is bent too much and needs to be replaced?? Do you only replace it when you can either see the bend or the tire loses air?? And does any imperfection make the rim easier to bend in the future?? Seems like a real big gray area.