Alloys and bad roads dont mix

I'm getting to really hate Saturn Alloy rims. My '94 and '02 had slightly
warped rims that had to be road-force balanced to keep the ride perfectly
smooth, a driving need that I'm un-conditional about. Those rims were warped
by the previous owners, I bought the cars used. Thought now that I have a
brand new car, I wouldn't have that problem anymore...right.

The other day while off to work, I hit a spot in the road, a very narrow
high-speed country road where the shoulder was missing and there was a foot
long hole where the cement was missing. A very sharp point was jutting out
and my inside part of my rim caught it, wasting my front rim and warping the
rear rim. It felt like a I hit a bad train track. I slowed down, but saw
nothing behind me, thought nothing of it, until a block from work, the front
end started shaking.

My front tire started losing 1/2 it's air. Pulled the ION into the shop and
they pulled the rims. Sure enough, front rim flanged out about 5 inches,
rear warped and un-reparable. Called Progre**ive and they said it's not
covered under comp as road holes aren't covered and it wasn't a collision,
WTF? time for a new ins. co.

Called SC DOT, filed a repot, they said file a bunch of reports and I "may"
be reimbursed. I went over and showed them many pics I took of the road
damage and they patched the hole that day. I'll be sending the pics along
with my report. The roads in upper SC s-u-c-k and I'm not too thrilled of
the idea of having delicate girly-man rims again, bad combo.

My tech said that as the damage was to the side of the rims, the tires
aren't damaged, yet there is over $570. (my discount cost) damage. I have to
pay out of pocket as I need my car and then to wait 'till SC DOT "may" pay
for it.

I really am regretting buying alloys again.

 

Can you even get steel rims anymore??? I was wondering what I would do if I
needed to replace the rims on my lw300.
Oppie

 

From the description of the mishap I don't know that steel wheels would have
survived any better...

 

Yep, stock steel wheels are available fer sure. I do feel better after
discussing the accident to my tech, he sez that if I would have had the same
impact with ION.2 steel rims, my tires would have likely blown, both of
them, instead the alloys bent, absorbing the impact and unfortunately
sacrificing themselves. I guess that averted what could have turned into
loss of control and an inevietable crash into a tree or mailbox or worse.

 

Glad that you are safe in any event. What type of tires were you running?
I have seen so many vehicles lately with these big wheels and tiny sidewalls
that look like mere rubber bands. They look very cool and supposedly have
great handling but are prone to damage from hitting anything larger/deeper
than 1/2". My son, at night, hit a ledge left from road work and bent the
front rims. Successfully got replacement cost from the contractor that had
not properly marked the construction area.
Oppie

 

They were 16" stock Hankook tires, not low profile, but they are slightly
thinner than your basic tire.
I'm supposed to get the rims in today, wish me luck, I'm hoping that the
tires are still good though and wont need replacing.


--
marx404

 

Well 16 inches is not very stock on a Saturn because it does not leave
much room for rubber. As someone else said, the trend today is that
you need to have big diameter wheels with rubber band tires on them
that offer little or no impact protection. If bad roads are a issue,
use a 14 or 15 inch rim and run tires at or near max pressure as this
will decrease their delfelction on impact. Also while a steel rim may
have been damaged too, they are a lot more forgiving and usaully can
be straightened too. I think rim makers have a class act going on.
They have convinced some that they have to have them and then they are
damaged easier so that generates more sales and tire companies like
them too because they can charge top dollar for some of the tires to
fit them.

 

And I thought my ride with my '03 Ion was crappy!,of course i was told
the alloys ride well,then why did Saturn/GM switch them to Steelies in
'05?.My last check up @ Saturn they ''pounded '' a rim back,there was
a bend on one of them.Maybe when that asshole bounced off of me
because I was going too slow in the passing lane on I-480 in streets
boro ,ohio 2 years ago in June.Maybe.The way the talk on these steel
rims doesnt make them any better.

 

Unfortunately, with a choice of an ION.3, 16" alloys are the only choice.
Teem is right in remembering that '05 ION.3's came with a 16"steel
reinforced wheel. Why did Saturn make that only 1 year? Must have been cost.
Now I wish that I had choosen a level 2 for the steel wheels, but I would
have had to immediately replace the tires to be more compatable with the
harsh road conditions here. The funny thing is according to Saturn, the GVW
is almost identical between level 2 and 3 (30 lbs difference), so the alloys
would have really not made much difference.

 

I 1st started noticing rims on saturns a few years ago,that is,they
LOOKED like alloys,but had a black backing w/holes w/the
lighter''alloy'' out front,after aking an ass of myself asking
questions on this to saturn techs,it dawned on me---Steel Rims!--just
a crappy plastic wheel cover,how crafty!.

 

Steel rims and plastic cover was the standard on the Vue 4cyl. You had to
upgrade to get alloy rims...

That said, I have the steel rims and plastic covers and I'll tell you the
following:

Positives:
You never get the black front rims from brake dust, so the car (yes, despite
what they call it - to me, it's still a car or SUV - The dealers insist on
calling it a "truck")
The wife chews it up or scratches it against a curb - Cheap easy replace vs.
expensive rims

Negatives:
PITA (pain in the ass) added extra work changing a tire or rotating...
Plastic lug nuts screw onto real lugs and can strip or break easily if not
careful (esp. by lunk head in service department whose not used to them)
Biggest complaint however, I noticed when it got warm outside and had my
windows opened...When you hit a descent bump you may hear them rattle. (Was
driving me nuts trying to figure that one out for days, and fixed this with
a thin strip of adhesive foam on the inside of the covers)

Just FYI

PS: If you do have these and have your vehicle serviced, check the plastic
lugs on all 4 wheels before leaving. I found one snapped the last service.
I would have livid if I had gotten a flat at night or in the rain and I
couldn't get the cover off because of a plastic lug. (actually, you would
just rip and break the thing off as a last resort, but you'd still be
pissed)

IYM

 

That's a low speed country road

Free men own guns - www(dot)geocities(dot)com/CapitolHill/5357/

 

GM has used this concept for many years on many vehicles and they are
not that fragile. If you over torque them the simple jump thread. It
would that a impact wrench spining them fast too far to eat threads
out of them.

 

Well, jump the thread to many times the plastic threads wear down. I can
tell you from my experience with them that if I take and over torque one, it
jumps. Then, try to torque it back up to where it was and it doesn't make
it before it jumps again. It will get progressively worse until it just
spins or barely holds, as I have on 3 of these plastic lugs. Sorry, to me
that's too fragile. And of course, if you can't torque them up as tight as
they should be, then you get a rattle from the cover as well as
overstressing the remaining plastic lugs. As far as any idiot who would
stick a impact wrench on them........well, that's why I check them all after
a service. I've had them broken.....

IYM

 

Well, the bill came out to $560. (after my discount) for 2 rims. Maybe it's
me, but the ride doesnt feel as solid as before. Maybe because I am paying
more attention to the ride now (especially watching for holes in the road).
I've had the wheel balance and alignment checked twice and the car rides a
pretty straight line when you let go of the wheel (as straight as can be
expected for these roads).