I was in the DC area this weekend and was not so pleasantly reminded of how bad city roads can be. With my RB susp. parts and 40 series sidewalls, I fell victim to a not so obvious, but wonderfully large pothole while going ~50mph.

My question is how easliy can the suspension parts be damaged by potholes, etc.? And, what's the best way to inspect for damage?

My rim is not visably bent, but I think I notice a little more roughness to the ride. While I didn't get a good luck at the size or depth of this pothole, it did provide a signicant jolt, more so than most potholes i've managed to hit.

I'm in need of a wheel balance anyway. I think I will do this, inspect the susp., and take it from there. I'm just feeling a little OCD about this as it was rather tramatic and I can't stop kicking myself about it.

 

the mob wants photos!

 

Most likely it would be tire, rim, balance and/or alignment that would be messed up.

Some of the roads here in California are awful. This state ranks about at the bottom for quality of roads.

 

You've never driven in Louisiana!

 

wow really? ive never had any real pothole problems.

 

I was reading an article in the paper or online where a study did road quality in the US and California ranked at the bottom.

You may live in an area where the communities spend more money on road quality. The OC tends to be fairly well off particularly the southern end.

 

maybe you shouldn't have been driving 50mph on CITY roads

 

[QUOTE=CarAndDriver]Most likely it would be tire, rim, balance and/or alignment that would be messed up.

So, unless my struts are spewing fluid, or endlinks are cracked in half, I should worry too much?

I guess I will have all 4 wheels/tires balanced first. If I still notice anything I'll have allignment checked? Do you think this is a good course of action?

 

i was shocked that CA would be at the bottom of the list, but as i sit here i am slowly recalling bad road conditions in several areas ive lived in or frequented. Santa Ana has some ROUGH surfaces. Then up in Simi the roads are bad, but mostly in the backroads and agricultural areas. im assuming CA has the most vehicles of any state in the country. on top of that im willing to bet we have the most "road surface area" to keep in good shape. just a couple possible contributing factors.

Anyway, no need to hijack the thread.

 

i hope youre joking. 50mph city streets are quite common.

 

Thanks for the driving lesson...

The speed limit was like 40mph. I was probably going a little fast, but there was hardly any traffic. In retrospect, I guess I would have gone more like 45mph, and just watched the road more closely. For every 50 potholes I dodged, I hit just one and it was a doozie. F**kin A.

Has anyone damaged their 8's suspension via pothole?

 

not on crappy DC streets you don't

 

It was in Arlington, but still crappy in places.

 

yea eastcoast roads are all chewed up after winter and they take years before fixing it...i live in NJ and last yr on one last rainy night i cracked two of my stock rims when i ran over HUGEEEE potholes on I-80. i went back couple of days later to see how big the pothole was and they had already fixed it xP

 

Those damn semi trucks and hunking trucks and SUVs chewing up the roads. Not our 3000LB svelte 8.

 

its not the trucks that chew up the roads...its the salt that they spray on the road when it snows that decomposes the asphalt quickly

 

yeah, i live in MD its no better here lol and we dont get that much snow sad to say! lol damn potholes

 

Here is another thought:

Has anyone noticed increase wear to suspension parts on one side due to a pothole incident? It could very well be in my head, but I think the right-front corner that hit the pothole could be dampening a little softer? Instant wear to strut/spring??

Ok, I'm felling really OCD about this

 

Michigan roads are the worst anywhere.

Not even a runner up.

 

Bump for more opinions on (not on roads, but the affects on the 8)...

 

Not to worry. It wasn't on city streets. It was the sidewalk.

 

Maybe you guys should try NYC sometime.

2 tire sidewall punture. 2 Rear member brace replaced.

 

It sounds like my experience could have been much worse. I got tires balanced and the car feels smoother now.

From reading other posts I'm assuming that if the wheel and/or tire was not damaged, and my allignment is ok, then the rest of the car should be fine too. I just don't want to loose any of my pinpoint steering and ride comfort, oh and did I mention I'm OCD about my car?

 

I lost a rim to a pothole, and it was quite difficult to find a replacement one.

 

Any of you that bent or broke a rim have alignment or other suspension issues? It seems like it would take quite an impact to damage the rim.