I recently hit a pothole and discovered a huge dent in the face of the rim on my 21” turbine wheel. Has anyone had experiences with bent rims being repaired. Are the 19” rims for the model S with the /45 sidewalls less prone to this issue than the 21” /35 sidewall tires?
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Hit a pothole and now 21” rim is bent. Repair, replace or switch to 19” rims?
- Thread starter EngineerIt
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- rims and tires
Dozens or more threads on this. Yes 19” will be MUCH less prone to bent rims.
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I would explore repairing the wheel as the first option, had my bent 21” wheel fixed for $150 in the Phoenix area, the vibration is gone. Worst case scenario it buys you time to explore other options.
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May I ask how big this pothole was? Looks like it was big enough for a big portion of the wheel and tire to fall into it and then crash pretty hard onto the edge of the hole. Also, how fast were you going? I have the 21" turbine wheels too and always mindful of bad road conditions all the time.
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As long as the rim is not cracked, it should be able to be repaired. That being said, while the 21" tires look nice on the car, they just have too narrow of a sidewall and cannot properly cushion the rim on rough road surfaces.
I'd go 19" for sure. It's almost a must if you live in an area with less than perfect roads.
I'd go 19" for sure. It's almost a must if you live in an area with less than perfect roads.
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Hayseed_MS
Spreader of "Endless Non Sequitur"
If you like the 21's just repair it and keep the 21's. They are fine. Do not overthink it.
That is a pretty big bend - how fast and how big a hole? That may have bent any size rim.
That is a pretty big bend - how fast and how big a hole? That may have bent any size rim.
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After obtaining a set of 19” silver slipstream rims with slightly used Goodyear Eagles and a replacement 21” dark grey turbine rim from Nicholas at California Beemers, Teslas for $800 total, I removed the bent 21” rim and discovered it was actually cracked. So thanks to Nicholas and FB marketplace, I have the best of both worlds. A pothole resilient set of 19” slipstreams and a set of 21” turbines that I can swap back on when I’m feeling aggressive. Picked up a 3 ton low profile jack from HFreight, made my own jack pad from a rubber hockey puck and 7/8” clear bumper because I couldn’t wait for my Tesla lift pads to arrive the next day. So problem solved.
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With the recent rains in Southern California, the pothole was most likely filled with rain water. Traveling about 45 mph behind other vehicles, I simply didn’t notice it until a harsh jolt was felt throughout the model S. I’ve never experienced a bent rim before in all my years of driving so I thought nothing of it until I went to wash my wheels. Upon further inspection I discovered the rim was actually cracked and most likely unrepairable. After some searching, calls and haggling, I acquired a set of 19” Silver Slipstreams with 245/45R19 Goodyear Eagle Touring and TPMS sensors for $750 from Nicholas at California Beemers, Teslas in Costa Mesa California. He threw in a 21” gunmetal grey Turbine for $50. So they’re going to have my future business. Model S is back on the road and I have a perfect set of 19” Slip Streams as well as a set of 21” Turbines for when I feel invigorated.
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I love my 21” Turbines. But after removing the wheel I saw a 3” long crack in the rim. It was hiding out of sight under the bend at its vertex. However I have acquired a replacement 21” gunmetal grey Turbine as well as a set of 19” Silver Slip Streams with tires and TPMS sensors for $800. What a deal.
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airborne spoon
Active Member
Just tell the insurance company you hit a moving object like a branch that was suddenly unavoidable and poof free new rim under comprehensive.
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airborne spoon
Active Member
It's only fraud if you lie. Maybe he didn't want us to believe he's a bad driver and smacked the *sugar* out of a log in the road so he said pothole
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