Tyres are expensive, don't bash them on kerbs

[audigex]

Driving in the Lake District today, I managed to misjudge a corner and clobber my wheel fairly nastily

I drove a slightly different route to usual, and over-corrected when a van came around the corner the other way a little too quickly. I followed the line of the corner, but didn't notice until the last second that the kerb wasn't perfectly fit to the curve of the corner... with hindsight, I should have just carried on and ridden over it, but I instinctively pulled away from it and took a glancing blow on the sidewall and alloy, taking a chunk out of the sidewall and gouging the alloy rather unpleasantl

So now I'm paying £230 to replace a 1700 mile old tyre I wouldn't mind so much if I'd gone for a "spirited" drive and had done something silly, but in this case I was following an elderly chap in a Fiat Panda, was travelling at less than 35mph, and it was completely avoidable. Eurgh.

The alloy looks structurally okay and tyre pressure is fine, so I'm hoping I've not damaged the alloy beyond the cosmetic bite I've taken out of it - I'll be having my tyre guy inspect it tomorrow to be sure. I haven't decided whether to have the alloy repaired yet - it's a company lease and a certian amount of kerbing is accepted, but I'll have to live with the ugly alloy for nearly 3 years so I might be tempted to repair it

Not the end of the world, but I wanted to vent and remind you all to avoid picking fights with stone kerbs.
Also, as much as I love my Model 3... this thing really isn't designed for the Lake District. I'd love to scale the car down by about 10%. She's nearly perfect, but she's uncomfortably wide on a narrow road

 

[qingshan]

Don't pick fights at all. Someone stabbed the sidewall on a brand new tire - sidewall damage = new tire

Would've been cheaper if he'd stabbed me

 

[pgkevet]

You will get used to it. My S is 100mm wider still on Welsh rural roads and tracks. A new tyre cost me £206 locally after the 4th puncture failed to hold 2 repairs. At least it had done 15K miles
Whenever I park neatly in a row of cars at th side of a road it just looks weird how much more the S sticks out sideways...

 

[Rustybkts]

I hate to say it but the alloy wheel looks dead to me!

 

[Bootneckshuffl]

I hate to say it but the alloy wheel looks dead to me!

Nightmare, feeling ya pain

 

[Adopado]

She's nearly perfect, but she's uncomfortably wide on a narrow road

Yes, to be frank it was a reason why we nearly didn't buy a Model 3 ... our country roads are too narrow for many modern wide cars. It's also a reason, for all the performance differential, that a well driven 1960s Mini Cooper would "see off" any Model 3 around the back roads and lanes! All we can do is recognise the issue and do our best to avoid trouble. Unfortunately you can't control what other drivers will do ... I had to dive into the gravel at the side of the road the other day to avoid someone who crossed the middle line ...

 

[m3p_uk]

I have some silver unused alloygators for sale ;-)
Hopefully there won't be a next time but will certainly help if there is!