Took a trip to the DC autoshow this morning and on the way home hit a monster pothole between lanes on MD Route 3. Fortunately I was only a few miles from home. Inspection of the front wheel shows a large dent and associated crack. I'm also not convinced that there isn't a much smaller dent on the rear, but I will need to remove to get a better look. I'm assuming that the front is toast (tell me otherwise?) but the rear, if there is a dent at all, should be repairable. Anyone have any experience with wheel repair in the Crofton/Annapolis Maryland area?

Of course I could resolve this in a different way if I could rustle up the $320K+ to swap out for the Aston DBS Superleggera volante that I saw at the show, but that will have to stay as option 2

Front wheel with massive dent/crack

Rear wheel with suspicious tire-contact like mark

 

I've seen worse dents / cracks on a rim. This can be repaired like new. Out of curiosity, what tyre pressure were you running and were they recently been checked?

 

I creamed one of my Sentas some time ago with a dent significantly larger than that. ARS Wheel (after razzing me a bit) repaired it to as-new condition, and the cost was very reasonable.

 

And now we will hear from the side that believes that ANY repaired wheel is unsafe and you will die soon...

 

Here's a better picture of the damage - there is a ~90mm split in the rim. I was running at the standard book pressures (33/36) which were last checked when new tires were mounted about 8 weeks ago. Pressure gauge this morning on the cold damaged wheel showed 31, the damage must be just outside of the bead line. I went ahead and ordered a new front wheel, as much for convenience (this is my daily driver) as anything else. I still plan to get a repair if I can, to keep as a spare or sell but don't need to rush it now. I'll get the rear checked when I have the tire swapped to the new rim.

 

Eww. That might not be repairable.

 

Some states will (eventually) reimburse you for pot hole damage. Worth asking anyway.

 

I might also suggest an alignment check. My wife sideswiped a curb at 30mph and in addition to the wheel damage, the car didn't drive straight afterwards.

 

Yeah, if two rims at least are toast, take the opportunity to buy a new set. I wouldn't have the hassle of two repairs that may not be perfect. Just my $0.02.

I didn't disappoint, Cee Jay?

 

LOL well I don't want to let Cee Jay down either and in this case, I won't. Most tire shops outsource wheel repair. I use Discount Tire. If the machine shop is willing to repair it, they will and are then liable. They won't put their own business at risk. It's actually kind of enjoyable watching you tube videos of Machine shops repairing alloy wheels. And it's down right satisfying to watch them when the gent is from the deep south and has two first names:-) Some of those fellas got mad skillz. Some, not so much.

 

I didn't see how bad they were damaged until later. I'd not repair those ones either.

 

Got a reply from the wheel repair shop after I sent them the pictures. They recommend replacement. Glad I put the order in early, should receive the new rim on Monday. The takobas are my favorite wheel I have ever seen on the XK, with the exception of the final 50 Vortex, so I never seriously thought of jumping to a different set.

Also, check your spare tire pressure if you haven't done so recently! It was lucky that I put the donut on in my garage, mine was pretty much flat.