918 miles and it happened.... M3P tire /wheel destroyed

[Saghost]

Ouch. Sorry that happened to you.

So, tire experts, confirm or refute my hunch, which--being a hunch--is based on no data. I've always been glad to have 18s, figuring there's a lot more rubber between the wheel and a pothole than is the case with 20s. And that extra rubber gives more "give" or shock absorption or protection or whatever. 34,000 miles, and a few pothole encounters, and goin' strong. But is that a real thing?

It isn't actually the 18s vs the 20s, but for a given car with options that are keeping the rolling radius the same it works out that way.

Damage like the OP has happens when the impact is severe enough that the tire is completely collapsed and energy is still being transferred directly to the rim - that's what bends the rim, but the extreme flexing to get there is what blows the tire.

A tire with more distance for the rubber to flex can take a harder hit before taking permanent damage. You're seeing the trend to rubber bands lately partly because of looks, but also because of handling. Tires with a lot of flex protect against road damage - but they also flex a lot in a turn and on hard acceleration and braking.

So it's a matter of finding the right balance, but I'd rather give up a little handling performance to get the durability, so I don't trust anything under about a 45 series tire (the second number in the tire definition is the height of the sidewall as a percentage of the width of the tread, and is probably the best actual thumb rule for the tire flex. My light trucks growing up had 75 and 85 series tires...)

 

[jeremymc7]

Not sure what you mean. The OP said, "...destroyed a wheel and tire...What are my options for one M3P wheel and tire?"

From that, it seems clear the OP is saying the rim was destroyed, and wants to spend big bucks on replacing it when it may not need replacing.

I didn't see destroyed from the one photo. As did you. I saw damage and thought he wanted be referring to replacing due to possibly minor damage. OP was waiting for tow after all and nothing was really inspected..

I was agreeing with you.

 

[SlimJim]

If I buy a p3d, I would get them replaced with 19” aftermarket ones right away and sell the 20” wheels one by one at $1000.

 

[jkoya]

As the tech was wrapping up he asked me what I did to the factory wheels as 3 of them were bent?! Granted, it must have been very minor as the tire pressure was pretty consistent even with the 'bent' wheels and there was no perceptible vibration or other symptoms of bent wheels.

This happened on my VW R32. Hit a pothole and blew out the sidewall. Wheel had no visible damage. Went to America's Tires to get the damaged tire replaced. They put the wheel on the balancer without the tire and you could visibly see it was bent as it rotated. They mounted the tire and were able to balance it with weights. They recommended taking the wheel to a shop and have it repaired, but I ended up getting new aftermarket wheels for the car instead.

Lots of potholes in my area, so I dropped from the OEM 20" wheels to forged 18" Titan7 wheels and I'm happy with them so far.

 

[bickie]

So, how did the day turn out? Curious about the logistics of a blowout that you cant repair yourself. Were you in a remote area?

 

[omegafiler]

What was the tire pressure when this occurred vs recommended? And when was the last time it was checked, cold, with a gauge? How often is it checked?

In addition to less side-wall, low profile tires will have less air volume and need to be checked more frequently. I see this often due to drivers not being familiar with low-profile tires and the increased need to check and add air. Although given the number of complaints, I suspect quality of the wheel is also questionable.

Generally speaking, you should be manually checking tire pressure at least once a month or whenever there is a noticeable change in ambient temp.

 

[Dolemite]

My own pointless addition to this thread is that it's not just the size of the pothole but also its shape - I've steamrolled over massive potholes in the past without issue vs. relatively benign-looking ones that have bent wheels. Potholes that gradually rise with a "lip" on the end are the worst - suspension gets compressed and then boom, game over.

And yes the heavy 20" donks are far more susceptible to damage than the 18s.

 

[EmOne]

Ouch. Sorry that happened to you.

So, tire experts, confirm or refute my hunch, which--being a hunch--is based on no data. I've always been glad to have 18s, figuring there's a lot more rubber between the wheel and a pothole than is the case with 20s. And that extra rubber gives more "give" or shock absorption or protection or whatever. 34,000 miles, and a few pothole encounters, and goin' strong. But is that a real thing?

 

[EmOne]

No question an 18" wheel with same diameter tire will give FAR better protection from pothole damage (and a softer ride.) That is the best reason for going to 18" set-up for winter (I mean pothole) season in Chicago.

 

[jeremymc7]

Curious to see when the future of tires come to market. Be it airless tires or whatever. Will they be much less prone to damage, will they be kinder on rims?