1000HP

I live in Chicago and like many other big cities, there are a ton of potholes. I try to avoid as many as I can or slow down, but there's always a few that I miss and nail my wheels hard. Anyways, I want new rims and I'm looking at bronze te-37's or le37t's, but I'm not sure which size to get.

Q: How much less likely is a strong forged 18' rim to bend then a 19' rim after repeated exposure to lots of potholes?

biscotti

The 18 inch will have a higher profile tire, so theoretically this will offer more protection to the rim. However, if you hit a pothole hard enough, you will bend the rim, regardless of whether its 18 or 19, or forged vs. cast. The 19 inch rim isn't that much more than the 18 inch ones, I vote get the 19s.

apollocreed71

18's can run more rubber, which means less chance of damage. i ran 245/45/18 out front and 275/40/18 in the rear on g35 coupe. no problems.

Strife350z

iTrader: (4)

you'll need to drive carefully either way... like biscotti said, hit a pothole hard enough with a relatively thin sidewall (less than 100mm) and you'll bend your rim... bottom line

joust75

iTrader: (1)

The TE 37 is a strong wheel. My 19s have stood up to alot with no bending yet.

If you are going for 18s though, dont get the TE 37s. For some reason they dont look very good in 18 inch form. Just sort of Blah.

Get the TE37s in 19x8.5 front and 19x9.5 rear and run a little wider rubber than the standard size everyone runs
Example: For 19x8.5 and 19x9.5 rears, everyone does 245x35 tires front and 275x35 in the rear.

Because I am paranoid about bending a wheel (I have bent two in the past on my prelude!) I run 255x35 front and 285x35 rear. It looks great no rubbing and I have the added insulation from potholes. See my Avatar for a pic of a 19x8.5 TE37 with 255x35 rubber. Gluck!

1000HP

Thanks, that's a great reply. What happened the first two times you bent your rim?

joust75

iTrader: (1)

Anytime.

Before I knew anything about wheels and tires I let Discount pickout the tire selection for my prelude. I told them I wanted 18s and the biggest tires that would fit.
They put on 225x35s all around. The sidewall was like an inch tall. I had konig Imagines on and Konigs arent known for strength.
I hit a pothole and blewout a tire and bent a rim. A minor pothole.
As soon as I replaced the tire I hit another pothole and bent another wheel.
I found out I could run 225x 45 and made discount tire pay for everything because they did not put on large enough tires.
I still jump when I hit a pothole, but I am pretty safe.
I cringe when I see the tiny sidewall some people are running. Its no fun driving around worried more about looking out for potholes than pedestrians!!

ttsupra94

iTrader: (1)

I am about to get RH j8's 19's and I was wondering about this stuff too. First off, I generally try to avoid all potholes anyways. I just wonder what exactly everyone means by potholes. HOw deep are we talking? Should patched up pavement cause any problems, sometimes there are some decent bumps from those. I also dont understand how there is such a problem with this. I would think as expensive as some wheels are, even though they are running shorter sidewalls, that they would hold up better than the stock wheels. I hope i dont have anything to worry about.