Torque and Chrome

Questions on bent 20" chrome rim and tire?

I had brought in my car to a dealership because it was vibrating at higher speeds. They took off my front tire and showed me where my chrome was bent on the inside with a gash on my tire on top of it. Is it possible you can hit a pothole that hard to even damage the tire, or could it have been that they damaged it balancing them ? I have been driving with this vibration for a few months now, if this whole time my tire was like this, am i in danger of anything happening. How long should i allow before i must replace it, as it is going to cost around $500 The tire is not loosing air from gash. Its more like a really bad indenture in it.

Public Comments

1. hitting a pot hole can cause this damage. not likely to be caused by balancing. i would replace as soon as possible and do very little driving on it.
2. This has happened to me several times. Yes, a pot hole can do that kind of damage to a wheel and tire. It happened on my Cadillac with 20's, my RX8 with 19's, and my Jetta with 18's. Dependent on how much damage is there, whether you should replace it immediately or not. Judging by what you have said, I would do so soon. Mine have never been so bad as to vibrate the entire car and the fact that you are loosing air says you should. Good luck.
3. yes sir a pot hole can do the damage your describing. and if i were you i would fix it as soon as possible or replace it . the belts inside your steel belted tire could be torn and could blow out at anytime and as you know murphys law it will blow at the worst time. so fix it now before you kill yourself or worse. someone else. to let yall know low profile tires are not for hitting holes. potholes will blow the tire and bend the rim everytime.most people put on the big bling rims and super low profile tires and then go drive like their in a damn truck and expect it to hold up like one. this is what confuses me the most about the human spirit. why?????