Destroyed Wheel bun Pothole. Need Advice

[Wooloomooloo]

OK so this will be the third time I’ve fallen foul of a New York City pothole, the prior times just destroyed the tire, this time my front and rear wheels are both trashed. I can’t believe the tire didn’t blow out. This happened at about 25mph on Hamilton Ave in Brooklyn.

So I want to change to a 19” wheel and tires with a slightly higher wall. After this repair, I’ll have spent more in wheels and tires than I spent on gas, service and repairs on my prior car in 3 years, so I really need to change.

I have the performance brakes so looking for any advice compatible with the larger calipers and who’s qualified to do it on a Tesla. My SC already said they won’t fit 3rd party wheels.

 

[SSedan]

Be aware wheel bearing damage is highly likely in this instance as well.

 

[VT_EE]

That blows. Tesla really needs to offer a 19” option for the M3P. I’m sure you’ll be able to find some sweet aftermarket wheels with a little more tolerance for pot holes.

 

[Wooloomooloo]

Here is the offending hole. It’s quite hard to tell how large it is in isolation but it’s about 2.5 feel long and about 5 inches wide.

 

[WilliamG]

You should be able to get the city to pay for your repairs, no?

 

[WilliamG]

That blows. Tesla really needs to offer a 19” option for the M3P. I’m sure you’ll be able to find some sweet aftermarket wheels with a little more tolerance for pot holes.

I don’t know why people think 19s will magically fix this issue. I had a Golf R with 19s, and people complained about the wheels and potholes and blah blah blah - need to switch to 18s etc etc. A pothole like that is going to mess up a 19 just as easily as a 20. There will always be people that get unlucky here.

I drove my Golf R for 3.5 years on the 19s and never had an issue. If you frequented VWVortex like I did, you’d think the wheels were exploding every day of the week.

 

[SSedan]

I don’t know why people think 19s will magically fix this issue. I had a Golf R with 19s, and people complained about the wheels and potholes and blah blah blah - need to switch to 18s etc etc. A pothole like that is going to mess up a 19 just as easily as a 20. There will always be people that get unlucky here.

I drove my Golf R for 3.5 years on the 19s and never had an issue. If you frequented VWVortex like I did, you’d think the wheels were exploding every day of the week.

So you want to completely ignore sidewall height?
The Golf had tires that were an inch shorter overall, so the 19" Golf and 20" Model 3 setup actually have the same amount of sidewall. Downsizing the rim and inch gains an inch of sidewall to protect the rim.
Perfectly valid consideration so long as it clears the brakes.

 

[Wooloomooloo]

You should be able to get the city to pay for your repairs, no?

I'm looking into it, there are claim forms for both the City and State. I am not sure if they will only pay for "like" repairs, or if I have an opportunity to change the wheels at this point and have them pay for half.

 

[Wooloomooloo]

I don’t know why people think 19s will magically fix this issue. I had a Golf R with 19s, and people complained about the wheels and potholes and blah blah blah - need to switch to 18s etc etc. A pothole like that is going to mess up a 19 just as easily as a 20. There will always be people that get unlucky here.

I drove my Golf R for 3.5 years on the 19s and never had an issue. If you frequented VWVortex like I did, you’d think the wheels were exploding every day of the week.

I don't know, this is a little extreme even for sheer bad luck. I've actually had 2 bulges in the tires to the point they needed replacing, a completely blown tire once, all early this year. I also noticed a bulge in a tire today on the other side to the destroyed rims, plus these two rims, so potentially I need two new wheels and perhaps 3 new tires. So that's the equivalent of six tires and two wheels in not much more than 6 months. That's more than bad luck.

From what I can see, the 19" wheels for the Model 3 will have the same tire wall height as my 18 inch GTI wheels had, which I had for 3 years without so much as a flat (although I did curb one of them!) Either that or VW have better wheels..?

Something has to give for me, because this is really insane - I'm kind of beyond upset, and it's also blown my Memorial weekend plans as I can't really travel.

 

[Burrito]

I don’t know why people think 19s will magically fix this issue. I had a Golf R with 19s, and people complained about the wheels and potholes and blah blah blah - need to switch to 18s etc etc. A pothole like that is going to mess up a 19 just as easily as a 20. There will always be people that get unlucky here.

I drove my Golf R for 3.5 years on the 19s and never had an issue. If you frequented VWVortex like I did, you’d think the wheels were exploding every day of the week.

Hi fellow vortex guy.

Yea, VW wheels seem to blow up. Lol.

Sucks about the wheel. Hope nyc pays.

 

[WilliamG]

So you want to completely ignore sidewall height?
The Golf had tires that were an inch shorter overall, so the 19" Golf and 20" Model 3 setup actually have the same amount of sidewall. Downsizing the rim and inch gains an inch of sidewall to protect the rim.
Perfectly valid consideration so long as it clears the brakes.

Well then I can’t speak for anyone else, but if the 19” Golf R tires and 20” Model 3 tires have the same amount of sidewall, I’m not worried for me personally in Seattle. I’ve hit a few potholes before which were OUCH, but no damage yet. Of course, I went through a 20” Model 3 wheel and tire in 6 days of ownership, for other reasons.

 

[WilliamG]

So you want to completely ignore sidewall height?
The Golf had tires that were an inch shorter overall, so the 19" Golf and 20" Model 3 setup actually have the same amount of sidewall. Downsizing the rim and inch gains an inch of sidewall to protect the rim.
Perfectly valid consideration so long as it clears the brakes.

I don’t think that extra inch will make enough of a difference in this scenario, truly.

 

[mswlogo]

View attachment 412033 View attachment 412034 View attachment 412035 Here is the offending hole. It’s quite hard to tell how large it is in isolation but it’s about 2.5 feel long and about 5 inches wide.

That it one nasty pothole. That might of killed a 19” too. It looks like your tire probably went in the hole but it caught the edge of the rim on the side of the pothole. That’s why the tire didn’t blow out.

 

[Wooloomooloo]

I don’t think that extra inch will make enough of a difference in this scenario, truly.

Maybe, it’s one nasty hole. I’m an ex-VW Vortex guy too!

 

[M3totms]

View attachment 412006 View attachment 412007 OK so this will be the third time I’ve fallen foul of a New York City pothole, the prior times just destroyed the tire, this time my front and rear wheels are both trashed. I can’t believe the tire didn’t blow out. This happened at about 25mph on Hamilton Ave in Brooklyn.

So I want to change to a 19” wheel and tires with a slightly higher wall. After this repair, I’ll have spent more in wheels and tires than I spent on gas, service and repairs on my prior car in 3 years, so I really need to change.

I have the performance brakes so looking for any advice compatible with the larger calipers and who’s qualified to do it on a Tesla. My SC already said they won’t fit 3rd party wheels.

Sorry to hear about your wheels issues. I'm dreading the same thing happening to me when I get my P3. I've bubbled a few side walls on my 5 series run flats on pot holes.

Id look into Home page
They make a 18" & 19" wheel for the mustangs that fit over P brakes and are strong and light weight. If you search around the forums some people have got them. They said they have apex a call and they where helpful on getting you the right fitment. Some went with square set up. That's what I plan on doing. Your post makes me think about doing it sooner.

Also Tsportline and unplugged performance has other wheel options that will fit in P brakes but they are heavier then the apex. But looks are different so you'll know what you like more. Good luck and keep us posted on what you do.

 

[SSedan]

I agree with the assesment that in this case the rim snagged the edge of the pothole and half an inch of sidewall wouldn't have helped.

Generally though. 20" rim setup on a 3 has 3.2" of sidewall, half an inch more is a meaningful percentage that will often make a difference.

 

[Wooloomooloo]

Sorry to hear about your wheels issues. I'm dreading the same thing happening to me when I get my P3. I've bubbled a few side walls on my 5 series run flats on pot holes.

Id look into Home page
They make a 18" & 19" wheel for the mustangs that fit over P brakes and are strong and light weight. If you search around the forums some people have got them. They said they have apex a call and they where helpful on getting you the right fitment. Some went with square set up. That's what I plan on doing. Your post makes me think about doing it sooner.
Also Tsportline and unplugged performance has other wheel options that will fit in P brakes but they are heavier then the apex. But looks are different so you'll know what you like more. Good luck and keep us posted on what you do.

Thanks for the tip - I checked their website and it looks as though the 18" wheels are the only ones on there, I don't see 19". So those 18-inchers are good for the performance brakes? If so, I might do that; the weight saving and smaller wheels might save me some watts as well!

I’m also looking at the TST Sportline 18” wheels.

 

[SMAlset]

Very nasty. Don't know about your area of the country but we won our claim against a city on the Peninsula here a number of years ago when at night a huge pothole that was covered up by heavy rain took out our two right side passenger tires and one or two wheels. The city told us they never pay out on that kind of thing but the shop keeper who was located near that area had told us that she had seen a handful of cars that had gotten flats right at that spot and it had been going on all day even before the rain. In fact the car in front of us hit it too blowing out a tire and we both waited in the rain for a tow. The shop keeper was sure it had been reported to the city as a dangerous pothole prior and based on that we found out it had in fact and that the city hadn't taken any action to mark off the area or have a crew out to fill it. They paid out. The tires were prorated for time in service but getting hit with two tires and one or two wheels at the same time to replace was still a huge help. Good luck.

 

[KenC]

How deep is that? 2"? Honestly, on my 18s, I hit potholes like that all the time here in Maine. It's been a brutal Winter. However, I try to avoid them as much as possible, and if I can't avoid them, due to traffic around me preventing me from swerving around, I try to hit a narrow 5" pothole dead center on the tire, so that the edges of the tire can bridge the hole. Don't know if that's a good idea or whether it works, but it's what I try to do. So far, I've never damaged a rim on any car I've owned.

As others have noted, you can try to get it covered by the city. My understanding is that it has to be marked, for the city to avoid liability.

 

[Mahkus]

I've bubbled 3 tires in 7 months with the 19" wheels. I'm looking at switching to the 18s