So I made my dream happen last year. Wrapped my pimp ass Autobahn 2006 Shinka Rx-8 in some badass Racing Hart RS-721 staggered 19 inch rims. 8.5 front and 10 back. Laced up those sweet rims with some nice premium Toyo T1R's 245-35-19 front, 275-30-19 back.

Since I've done this I have hit potholes on 3 separate occasions!!! 2 major pothole and 1 minor. 1 of the major ones disabled the vehicle (Bent to extreme to hold air in tire) and the other 2 were just bends that let me keep driving.

Got the first bend straightened and it left a scar. Second bend left as is for the time being and the third was the one that took the car out of service and back to stock wheels for now.

I thought I did the right thing by buying high end wheels $3000 for the set with tires new but NJ roads have gotten the best of me. Is there simply not enough meat on my tire choice to make this realistic for anything but show car appearances for these wheels? Similar issues out there?

I seem to have no trouble with my stocks on similar potholes so I am perplexed (Granted, the stock Bridgestone def have a bit more meat on them)

What is the minimum tires size to ensure reasonable protection on roads??


http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r291/gilvelez/RX8/Autobahn%203-2007/RX8Autobahn007.jpg

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r291/gilvelez/RX8/RHWheels005.jpg

Major Damage Pic:

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r291/gilvelez/RX8/rims/Pothole002.jpg
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r291/gilvelez/RX8/rims/Pothole001.jpg

ouch. I don't know if 45 thick tires would offer you much more protection if you're hitting potholes that are doing that much damage.

sounds like low profile tires aren't cutting it for you. if 19s are having problems and 18s aren't, then i say stay with 18s. you need the taller sidewall. unless you're will go to 19s with taller sidewalls, which will mess up your speedometer reading.

Ouch, that has to hurt..

OMFG, that's the crasiest bent rim i've seen. your potholes must be like 4 inches deep!

i say replace the one wheel, keep pimping, and be more careful of potholes and things

Im running 255/35-19 on a 19x9.5 wheel all around with no issues. but then again im in Delaware and the roads are decent. part of the problem is the fact that you are running 2 piece wheels. they are more prone to bending than a 1 piece forged wheel. i am running the bfg kdw tires, which have a reinforced sidewall.

one of the responsibilities of having larger wheels is to make sure that you try and avoid the potholes.

Do you plan on getting the bent wheel fixed at all? I know this happened to me and I took it over to discount tire and they actually sent it out to a shop to get fixed for around $150.

one of the responsibilities of having larger wheels is to make sure that you try and avoid the potholes.

lol, funny but true.

Do you plan on getting the bent wheel fixed at all? I know this happened to me and I took it over to discount tire and they actually sent it out to a shop to get fixed for around $150.

ditto

a buddy of mine bent one of his work meister wheels. it was taken care of, so i would suggest doing that.

2 of my OEM wheels were bent, is usable but its really shaky and scary.

One of them look like the one in the picture just not as worst.

I got myself a set of Mazdaspeed Version II wheels couldnt be happier, but Im extremely careful now, since I think NYC roads are WORST than NJ's.

Im thinking of either repair it or just get another 2. still thinking (for winter use only)

Low profile tires dont offer much protection even 18 inch OEM sizes, so just becareful when you drive.

damn gil thats rough.....where are you driving cuz i never hit holes that big.....

Rt. 80 Parsippany area!! Rough holes!!

I will probably get them fixed next year around tax time. At this point. All 4 have some damage so it will run me around $600 to do the set...

Time

sorry about the damage- i kind of agree with one of the posters who said that that type of damage seemed like it would hurt even your OEMS- and its a nature of the roads and avoiding the potholes as opposed to your tire profile (to a degree -obviously less means more damage prone, but you know what im saying)

one thing i do more of now that i'm on lower profile tires is increasing the space between myself and the car in front of me- as it allows you to see more of the road approaching to avoid potential surprises.

This makes me feel better about the tiny bend I have in my wheel now :)

That really blows, tho. I know I drive nervous. You might want to look into getting 2 spares (one rear and one front since you're staggered), it's worth the peace of mind IMO

:eek: Ouch! That sucks.

thats not good....

holy crap that bend is huge!

I believe this to be universally true: If it is possible for the car's suspension to compress, it will do so before the wheel bends. If it is not possible for the car's suspension to compress, the forces required to push the entire planet out of the way of the car just might bend the wheel.

From this we learn: Don't run out of suspension travel.

If you're lowered, go stiff.

If you don't have a lot of bump travel to start with, don't go much lower.

People tell me SSRs are weak and bend easily, but after about 50k miles of LA nastiness, mine are still perfect. My car is stiff, and not that low.

This is why we need hover cars. :lol2: lol

Anyway, potholes are a serious problem. My brother hit a huge pothole coming from the drive thru at Taco Bell. The next day the wheel fell off. It was crazy. Well, hope you find a solution to your problem.

Solar,

Think you hit it on the head. I am running Tein S-Techs on stock shocks. The car is pretty slammed at this point so I assume there is very little shock give at this point. Should I invest in Koni's or something to match the aggresive spring?

Time

I believe this to be universally true: If it is possible for the car's suspension to compress, it will do so before the wheel bends. If it is not possible for the car's suspension to compress, the forces required to push the entire planet out of the way of the car just might bend the wheel.

From this we learn: Don't run out of suspension travel.

If you're lowered, go stiff.

If you don't have a lot of bump travel to start with, don't go much lower.

People tell me SSRs are weak and bend easily, but after about 50k miles of LA nastiness, mine are still perfect. My car is stiff, and not that low.

Gil i'd match them with koni yellows personally

beautiful rims btw, good luck

Discount tire will send the wheel to wheel technologies. they are the ones that re-finished two of my wheels. excellent quality and if you go through discount tire its a little cheaper. good luck...

Solar,

Think you hit it on the head. I am running Tein S-Techs on stock shocks. The car is pretty slammed at this point so I assume there is very little shock give at this point. Should I invest in Koni's or something to match the aggresive spring?

Time

It's likely your problem isn't the shocks, but the springs. The tendency is for suspension companies to provide springs that offer the really aggressive lowering people want, while keeping the rates pansy-soft so the stock shocks have some hope of sort-of controlling them. But the end result is often that the car is a "bump-stopping POS". The springs don't have enough rate to keep the car off the bump stops at the static ride height, but they are still too stiff for the stock shocks to control.

That's why a matched, fully-engineered system is the best (assuming it's done right), whether it's conventional springs and dampers or coilovers.

I can't comment on whether the Konis would work well with your Tein springs. I don't know anything about the spec of the Teins, and haven't gotten into the RX-8 suspension specifically yet myself. Konis are pretty well regarded on the RX-8, so I would expect them to work well with the right springs.