Member
My wife and I were traveling through the Sierra on hwy 49 when an unseen rock bit my right rear wheel bending the rim and puncturing a new continental. We mounted the donut spare and had little choice but to drive the 75 miles to Quincy, CA in hopes of finding someone who could straighten a rim. No such luck, no boneyards, no repair shops that were open on a weekend and Les Schwab wasn't going to touch that one. After watching some YouTube videos on wheel straightening I was sorely tempted to "heat it and beat it" even buying a rubber hammer at the local hardware but because my wife was along I decided against that plan. The closest wheel service was Sierra Wheel Repair in Reno another 75 miles away, we went there @50mph and they got on it first thing Monday morning. Great shop and they hooked me up with Mill Street Tire who was able to get me a matching Continental from the Tire Rack saving me another 15 miles on the freeway at 50 mph. With all the running around in Quincy and Reno adding up to another 50 miles or so, I am pretty impressed with how well the donut held up, does anyone know how far you can really go on one? Also I am interested in putting more rubber between the rim and the roadway to try and prevent this kind of thing from happening again, what sort of set ups do people who live in the rough country use? A 15 or 16" wheel and taller rubber maybe?
Apprentice w/#yrs. exp.
That must have been one hell of a rock bit,LOL. I only run on 16" now on the rough valleys(potholes) of the Chicago area. Had many similar situations such as yours, and tired of the replacement costs of low profile rims & tires . Continentals are great tires, as I am running on 16" ContiExtremeContact DWS(z3,z4,Civic)
Last edited by MIKYZZ4; 05-25-2016 at 05:53 PM.
Member
I agree with Miky, 16" wheels and more rubber is way better protection from the sorts of hazards that lurk in the places that we want to drive to. Any recommendations on tire size? Can you get away with a 60 series? Rim width?
Also, I'd like to call out The Tire Rack and their so called road hazard guarantee, they are denying my claim because they are unable to determine that the tire was damaged suffiently to require replacement. They think we drove to Reno on a donut spare just so we could go to Peg's Ham&Eggs Glorified, possibly true.
Apprentice w/#yrs. exp.
Are you running on 225/50-16 tires? That is the OEM size recommended on TireRack site. That is the size I run on the z3, z4. Running larger/taller diameter tires causes speedometer misreadings. Concerning the road hazard warranty, maybe a visit to a local TireRack authorized installer(found on TR website) can confirm condition of tire to authorize replacement?
Last edited by MIKYZZ4; 05-27-2016 at 11:26 PM.
Member
Right now it has the 17" staggered rims, when those tires wear out or I bend another rim, I will be looking for a set of 16" wheels. I think I better understand how to deal with the Tire Rack's alleged road hazard department. My speedo reads about 4 mph slow, with the stock tire that has a 25" diameter, I wonder if going to a 225/55/16 with a 25.7" would bring the speedo back in line as well as putting more rubber between the rocks and the rim.
Member
I would recommend michelin or bfg for your next set of tires. Every tire is a trade-off. Contis ride well but they have the flimsiest sidewalls among the major brands. You can also add 10-20% added tire pressure but it will give a bumpier ride. Did you hit a pothole? Looks more like pothole damage than from a rock.
I have a set of staggered SSR comps for sale if anyone is interested. For z3, M coupe, M roadster. Please PM me.
Member
It was a brick sized rock, never saw it but my wife did.Originally Posted by scooper
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