It seems like you dont sound too sure your wheel is bent. Do you get some vibrations? does your car still go straight? Does your tire still hold air?

 

why not just put the car on 4 jackstands and put it in gear and let them spin and find out?

trust me, ive hit some hard **** going fast with my bbs, and theyre perfect. the strongest wheels ive ever owned

 

Well, I've bent rims twice before (lovely roads here we have in NY), I think I feel a similar vibration. I'll check the air tomorrow. The other thing I need to do is look for a tell-tale bubble in the tire. Each I bent a wheel on my Acura the tire was ruined too.

The problem is I'm still having issues with nasty vibrations on the highway anyway (from an accident in December), so it's hard to tell if it's coming from the wheel for sure.

I think the easiest way to tell for sure is to just throw it on the a balancing machine. There is a shop near me that will do this for free.

 

Had it in today - it was bent.

Luckily, another IWSTI member was there having some curb-rashed Goldies swapped off his white STI. He kindly sold me one for a fraction of what they wanted ($900 I think they quoted me!!!).

Great community we have here.

Since the other wheel is cosmetically perfect, I think next time I head up to Mass on business I'll drop it off at the wheel straightening place they have up in Newton. I understand it has a very good reputation. Then I'll swap off the curb-rashed one and keep it as a spare.

Still interested in hearing everyone's opinion about if it's wise to straighten forged rims or not.

 

Wow, that must have been some helluva pot hole! Those BBS wheels are tough as nails. I've hit a few bad ones going decently fast and my wheels were ok.

 

some of the potholes in NYC are NOT potholes. Theyre literally just HOLES in the ground sometimes. Sometimes they are so deep, instead of standing a cone they will put those orange barrels on its side and stick them inside the hole so you can see some orange sticking out.

 

its really hard to straighten a forged rim and keep its durable properties.

 

I have straightened a forged wheel before. It was a Work RZR or something like that. It held up great and still is on the road today as far as I know. It should be noted that these wheels were never used on the track and only saw daily driving duties.

 

it's not an issue of not being able to do it, just that the way most reputable spots do it, may compromise the strength. when heating and welding (if cracked) you mess with the forged process of the metal.

 

For a normal vehicle it would probably be OK. But a vehicle like the STI demands the best. IMO.

 

I've hit a super pot hole on a dirt road going 40mph

only the rear wheel fell in. The bump was so hard, my wiper lever went down two notches.

Straight wheel :tup:

 

if they guarentee it I say go for it....

 

I run a cast wheel on my race car that had a bend and was fixed. I would think forged would be even safer.

 

Isn't the city/town/state responsible for covering the damage? I know here in Ontario (Canada) you can submit a claim if your car is damaged due to poor road maintenance. I don't know how hard it is to successfully submit the claim, but I know there is a process for it.

It's one thing to hit a small pot hole, it is another to hit one so big that it bends a forged wheel.

 

Try and get money out of the City or State of New York? AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I think I'd have better luck squeezing milk out of a stone.

 

When something is bent and then re-bent back into shape, it is not as strong. Now is the loss of strength anything to be worried about? When it comes to wheels... I wouldn't take the chance. You could probably pick up a used one if you keep your eyes open. Run with the curb rashed one until you find it. I just couldn't bring myself to trust something so important as a wheel like that. It's not like "hey my motor just blew and I'm stuck on the side of the road." It's more like "hey my wheel fell off and shot across 3 lanes of traffic hitting 7 cars and mine flipped and rolled." That's over dramatic but I think you get the point.

 

^^lol its not that extreme ive had forged altstadts 19s bend in NY and had wheel collisions fix them no problem and then drove on them for another three years i dont know if having 3 piece would makes any difference though

 

I would document everything and get NYC to buy me a brand new wheel.

http://www.comptroller.nyc.gov/bureaus/bla/auto_damage_claim.pdf

 

I bent both of my passenger side BBS wheels on the PHOD (pot hole of doom) The front was visibly bent and the rear only slightly bent, had to put it on the balance machine to see the wobble.

I bought a used set off of the other forum and slapped 2 of those on to put the car back to good. So now I had 2 more good wheels and 2 bent wheels. So, I decided to get the 2 bent ones repaired and use them for dedicated winter wheels. Don't know if I would take them to track but figure for commuting in the winter, they should be fine.

So short answer, yes.

 

i had my enkei rpf1s straightened
bought them off harman motives track car...

they were all bent(1 small and 3 tweaked.........)
i had them fixed and i use them for daily driver and havent had any issues.....

 

if its done right it will be fine.

 

thats a bummer bro those wheels were mint.... hope it works out for you