Potholes and tire damage

[contemplative_shrimp]

Anyone else having recurring issues with the stock wheel and tire size vs potholes? I am running Michelin Pilot Sport AS4 and am now on my 3rd pothole related damage/replacement in 2 years. Roads around me get super bad after any amount of rain so potholes are almost unavoidable when they suddenly appear during a rain. I've never had pothole related tire damage on my previous cars in all the years I've lived here, just this Fiesta ST.

 

[rallytaff]

Touch wood, I've never had a flat having tried the Pirellis, original Bridgstones, Riken's or on my 2nd set of Lionhart's. Maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones?

 

[Mega ST]

I had a blowout merging on to the interstate where a pot was right where you want to merge in between the expansion joints. Wasn't even that big. Stock sized General Gmax tires.

 

[Intuit]

Never a problem on the stock Bridgestones except, damage when a truck carrying large size gravel left a gift in the roadway. I always kept them a little over pressure just for that reason though. Still, that one time damage was enough for me to go 215/45R17 and never look back. There have been times when I was shocked that there wasn't rim damage. Be sure to balance your front/rear pressure according to the door jamb. If the rear is equal or higher than the front, the vehicle will fish-tail fairly easily.

 

[tri-pedaler]

215/45R17 and never look back. There have been times when I was shocked that there wasn't rim damage. Be sure to balance your front/rear pressure according to the door jamb. If the rear is equal or higher than the front, the vehicle will fish-tail fairly easily.

Does 215/45R17 rub? I’m running 205/45 and that looks big on the car. But that’s good for peace of mind I suppose.

I started running a set of R15 steelies with snow tires and it’s de-stressed the winter commute

 

[Intuit]

Many people report that it does but Ford has tweaked the suspension over the years. Not really a problem for my 2016. IIRC that year and 2018 or 19 got revised. The tread has hit something if the suspension has bottomed out on the snow tires before the tread wore down. Likely have to replace the rear wheel well liner more often as the 2:30 position (driver side) position will contact. My car is roughly 70k and it developed a hole roughly eighteen months ago and replaced it then. It had been sagging for years already so was contacting even the stock size tire.. Being in salt country, I don't tolerate any breach in fabric liner.. Speedometer will read a little slower than actual. So 40MPH may actually be 42MPH, 60 as 63, 80 as 84. More details -- https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/?wh...50mm&scl=50mm&wcl=50mm&sr=0mm#google_vignette (has improved wet pavement grip BTW)

 

[Mega ST]

Does 215/45R17 rub? I’m running 205/45 and that looks big on the car. But that’s good for peace of mind I suppose.

I started running a set of R15 steelies with snow tires and it’s de-stressed the winter commute

I went with that size with some cheap Delinte Thunder D7's after my blowout. They rubbed on full lock turns running Eiback Pro's when new, not so much now with 10k miles on them. They are a pretty tall tire compared to other tires of the same size. Even tho it is slight I like the taller gear ratio they provide. Cuts down some wheel spin in 2nd.

 

[slopoke]

Just for poops and grins. Did you damage your tire/wheels on the highway or city streets and if so, did you file a claim? I know that you can file a claim with Caltrans if the damage occured on a highway/freeway. You probably can file a claim with the city it occured in, if it was a city street.

 

[Mega ST]

Tried that when it happened in my Audi S5. What a headache. Ended up getting a small check. Wasn't worth the hassle IMO. Other city/states may do better.

 

[tri-pedaler]

Many people report that it does but Ford has tweaked the suspension over the years. Not really a problem for my 2016. IIRC that year and 2018 or 19 got revised. The tread has hit something if the suspension has bottomed out on the snow tires before the tread wore down. Likely have to replace the rear wheel well liner more often as the 2:30 position (driver side) position will contact. My car is roughly 70k and it developed a hole roughly eighteen months ago and replaced it then. It had been sagging for years already so was contacting even the stock size tire.. Being in salt country, I don't tolerate any breach in fabric liner.. Speedometer will read a little slower than actual. So 40MPH may actually be 42MPH, 60 as 63, 80 as 84. More details -- https://www.wheel-size.com/calc/?wh...50mm&scl=50mm&wcl=50mm&sr=0mm#google_vignette (has improved wet pavement grip BTW)

Yeah, 2016+ got softer spring rates and a thicker front sway bar. Does that affect rub much?

 

[Gone in 60]

The road near my office might as well not even be paved. Lots of heavy trucks pounding it and tearing potholes in it. I hit one in the rain at night and bent one of my EAP 15-spokes. It was hard finding a replacement, as they were starting to dry up. Knock on wood it won't happen again, but I happened across another one at a good price in the box at a swap meet and put it in the garage in case I need a spare now that they're gone.

 

[Dpro]

LA is notorious for killing. wheels and destroying tires . I have even had damaged stock wheels from the Pot Holes here and lost a couple of Rota Titans due the them. My Dekagrams have faired better. You really have to smack Dekagrams to bend them . Yes flow formed are a lot stromger than Cast any cast wheels even the stock ones. Flow formed semi forged and forged are the way to go wheel wise cast suck but they are cheap.
P.S. after recent storms we have some really nasty pot holes out there now be carful.

 

[Intuit]

Yeah, 2016+ got softer spring rates and a thicker front sway bar. Does that affect rub much?

Never really had a "rub" per say even with hard cornering, dip-cornering, bump-cornering or lock-turning. Just the aforementioned "contact" if bottomed-out the suspension. Like anyone would normally do, I merely avoid bottoming-out the suspension. I learned this was likely to occur with hard acceleration over a brief dip in the road.

 

[contemplative_shrimp]

Just for poops and grins. Did you damage your tire/wheels on the highway or city streets and if so, did you file a claim? I know that you can file a claim with Caltrans if the damage occured on a highway/freeway. You probably can file a claim with the city it occured in, if it was a city street.

City streets, so can't try for any Caltrans compensation. It is Costco so there is road hazard warranty, just have to deal with Costco tire center which is the worst

 

[slopoke]

City streets, so can't try for any Caltrans compensation. It is Costco so there is road hazard warranty, just have to deal with Costco tire center which is the worst

You can file a claim with your city. Seeing you listed Los Angeles, you can file a claim with the city clerk. The bottom link is to an article in the LA Times regarding the city and getting repaid for pothole damage.

https://clerk.lacity.gov/clerk-divisions/cps/file-claim


https://www.latimes.com/california/...-more-car-damaging-potholes-how-to-get-repaid