Damn UK Potholes, just cracked 21inch rim...

[Spacey73]

Wife complained of rear left tyre going down, sure enough it was on 20 psi, I thought the gatorrim protectors might have messed up the seal but nope after taking it to the garage this morning they confirmed that there was a crack in the rear left rim.

It's stopped leaking air but this might be costly. Apparently they said it had been repaired before and had cracked in the same place.

Last week a pothole dinged the front left wheel causing slight tyre damage showing a little bump in the sidewall on the tyre.

Wondering if I should change from 21inch rims to 20inch or 19 inch. I love how they look 21 inch rims but they have been curbed a lot by the previous owner...curbed and more it would seem. As the car is so damn wide it's really hard to miss the potholes here in rainy Wiltshire.

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Any chance that you can find and take a photo of the pothole?

My neighbour had much the same happen earlier this year, took a photo of the offending pothole, and his tyre/rim, got a note from the local tyre place to confirm that the damage was caused by impact with something like a pothole and he made a complaint, via the council "pothole reporting service", together with a claim. After a month or so the council made him an offer to settle for the damage. IIRC he didn't get the whole cost, as they would only pay for the pro-rata wear on the tyre, but it was still well worth the hassle of doing. Here the system for reporting road defects is pretty easy to use, as it can be done online in a couple of minutes: My Wiltshire online reporting - Wiltshire Council

 

[Spacey73]

I thought they changed the rules on that for Wilts in that a while ago. But I have no idea apart from the telegraph hill one in between Bulford and Amesbury plus the many many ones from Salisbury to Amesbury. Could be any of those.

I might part ex the 21's and £450 for a set of 20's (plus new tyres grrr) as the 21's are a bit sensitive to the great British pothole...but they do look so nice.

Appreciate the input Jeremy

 

[Glan gluaisne]

They may have done, bad news if they have, though, given the state of the roads around here. The pothole in question was on Winterslow Road, in Porton, heading out under the railway bridge towards the range road. I got peripherally involved as we were paying for major roadworks to put new traffic lights in at the railways bridge and do all the work at the end of the range road, at the Pheasant junction. I know there was more than one claim resulting from wheel or tyre damage along that stretch of road, as it was (like a lot of smaller Wiltshire roads) pretty dire for years,

 

[Spacey73]

You know what, I'm going to give it a go. I found the pothole I hit, I remember overtaking a cyclist and the thud as front and back left wheels hit the pothole in Amesbury. Front tyre has a small bulge now near rim from impact with rear wheel needing welding (booked in for tomorrow).

It was raining so could not tell it was a pothole really, looking at it today it is a bit beefy and would certainly have had impact damage.

Cheers again Jeremy

 

[ThrustSSC]

They can change the rules all they like! If there is a pothole and they know about it - e.g. it's clearly been there some time - then they're liable for the damage. End of!

You might have to keep pressing them - in which case I suggest telling them that them deliberately wasting your time will increase the claim!

 

[Spacey73]

Will do, am at the wheel fixing place now. They have just quoted me £55 for the repair and only £85 + vat for fixing all the really bad rim rash and respray (previous owner ding all the rims really bad on kerbs)

 

[Glan gluaisne]

Will do, am at the wheel fixing place now. They have just quoted me £55 for the repair and only £85 + vat for fixing all the really bad rim rash and respray (previous owner ding all the rims really bad on kerbs)

TBH, that sounds like a really good price to me. It seems as if you may be fairly near me, any chance of passing on the name of the people doing the work, please (assuming they do a good job!)?

 

[Spacey73]

Will do, am at the wheel fixing place now. They have just quoted me £55 for the repair and only £85 + vat for fixing all the really bad rim rash and respray (previous owner ding all the rims really bad on kerbs)

TBH, that sounds like a really good price to me. It seems as if you may be fairly near me, any chance of passing on the name of the people doing the work, please (assuming they do a good job!)?

I'm probably about 7 miles from you I think.

https://www.proalloys.co.uk/ They did a good job and took 45 mins to fix the rim and have the wheel back on. I agree with them now about those alloy rim protectors that I fitted (AlloyGator Alloy Wheel Protection - Protect Your Rims From Scratches) in that they are not worth it for a few reasons:

1: Cheapen the look of a model S (but hide a load of curbing)

2: Have to be replaced when fitting a new tyre

3: One of them has started falling off already when they come off they flay around scratching the bodywork

4: My tyres look like they are not on 100% in some areas

Just going to bite the bullet and get all 4 wheels fixed and resprayed, serious curbing on all wheels from previous owner. It's why I got such a big reduction on the car.

They've quoted me £85 a wheel today with a 2 day turnaround, this includes laser cutting the wheels and respraying. The Alloygators do protect the rims but they are easily damaged themselves.

I was going to get 19's for the car but I think the 21's look so nice that I will keep them.

Oh and have a look at my ebike I built (as I know you like them).... Cromotor with a 2kwh 84v battery, took me ages to build that damn thing. 12kw controller at moment but might push it to 20kw

 

[Glan gluaisne]

View attachment 488125 Will do, am at the wheel fixing place now. They have just quoted me £55 for the repair and only £85 + vat for fixing all the really bad rim rash and respray (previous owner ding all the rims really bad on kerbs)


I'm probably about 7 miles from you I think.

https://www.proalloys.co.uk/ They did a good job and took 45 mins to fix the rim and have the wheel back on. I agree with them now about those alloy rim protectors that I fitted (AlloyGator Alloy Wheel Protection - Protect Your Rims From Scratches) in that they are not worth it for a few reasons:

1: Cheapen the look of a model S (but hide a load of curbing)

2: Have to be replaced when fitting a new tyre

3: One of them has started falling off already when they come off they flay around scratching the bodywork

4: My tyres look like they are not on 100% in some areas

Just going to bite the bullet and get all 4 wheels fixed and resprayed, serious curbing on all wheels from previous owner. It's why I got such a big reduction on the car.

They've quoted me £85 a wheel today with a 2 day turnaround, this includes laser cutting the wheels and respraying. The Alloygators do protect the rims but they are easily damaged themselves.

I was going to get 19's for the car but I think the 21's look so nice that I will keep them.

Oh and have a look at my ebike I built (as I know you like them).... Cromotor with a 2kwh 84v battery, took me ages to build that damn thing. 12kw controller at moment but might push it to 20kw

Many thanks.

Yes, still into ebikes, but down to just the one, now, just this lightweight folder I made several years ago:

I may have posted up the build on Endless Sphere at the time, I can recall, but the bike has been my daily trip to the shops bike for years now. Nothing like as quick as your Cromotor!

 

[Beady3647]

Cheapen the look of a model S (but hide a load of curbing)

When I first picked up my MS P85D with 21" rims in September 2016 I drove away from Birmingham SC and kerbed the front passenger wheel within less than half a mile. It took quite a while for me to get used to the width of my MS, so much so that I needed to get all four wheels resprayed, it was then that I decided to get Alloygators. I have to say that I agree with your view that they are not the best visually, but they did a wonderful job whilst I got thoroughly accustomed to the car width and making a suitable allowance when parking etc. In June 2017 I got the car ceramic coated and the guy showed me a very similar product but with a totally curved profile. These looked and performed much better than my original Alloygators. When I changed to MS P100D in June 2019, I specified 19" rims as I had read on the forums that these rims were far less susceptible to kerbing and had the added advantage of increasing range slightly. I immediately had the car ceramic coated and the same 'Alloygators' fitted. I've just had a quick look and there is not sign of scuffing in the six months driving. Perhaps it's because I drive/park more carefully, maybe these gators are a better proposition, maybe it's down to the wheel size - who knows. What I can say is that IMHO the slightest sign of kerbing on 'raw' wheels is an eyesore and repairing is a far more expensive proposition.