Page 1 of 7 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 63

Thread: Bent my Steel Wheel and Lost a Hubcap

  1. #1
    Junior Member Dabullfrog91's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Greenwood, Indiana
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 8 Times in 4 Posts

    Bent my Steel Wheel and Lost a Hubcap

    Hey everyone,

    So this morning I lost a hubcap after hitting a pothole on the way to work. I was only doing about 35mph best guess. It happened in Indianapolis which is an absolute abyss of potholes right now. My questions are as follows:

    1. Where do I get a new hubcap for cheap?
    2. The tire is holding air, am I safe to drive on it?
    3. Just lip of the rim appears bent, can it be hammered out?
    4. If it needs repaired or replaced, how much am I looking at?
    6. Is the tire damaged? How do I tell?
    5. Any other recommendations?'

    ***I have steel wheels on a 2017.

    Thanks everyone!


    2017 Mirage ES CVT "Koopa Kart"

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    USA
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    460
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    175
    Thanked 100 Times in 66 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Dabullfrog91 View Post
    Hey everyone,

    So this morning I lost a hubcap after hitting a pothole on the way to work. I was only doing about 35mph best guess. It happened in Indianapolis which is an absolute abyss of potholes right now. My questions are as follows:

    1. Where do I get a new hubcap for cheap?
    2. The tire is holding air, am I safe to drive on it?
    3. Just lip of the rim appears bent, can it be hammered out?
    4. If it needs repaired or replaced, how much am I looking at?
    6. Is the tire damaged? How do I tell?
    5. Any other recommendations?'

    ***I have steel wheels on a 2017.

    Thanks everyone!
    Either ebay or here:
    http://car-part.com

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    USA
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    460
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    175
    Thanked 100 Times in 66 Posts
    and yes, some places fix wheels. It may be possible to straighten it. As far as the tire, feel the sidewall and make sure it doesn't have a bubble or bulge in that spot. They are tougher than you think but don't take a chance if it looks damaged. Put that tire on the back also, if you can.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Take a look at the tire where the rim is bent. Is the tire cut or gouged? Does the sidewall seem OK in that area (not bulging, etc)? You may want to remove the wheel to closely inspect the tire. Keep a close eye on it for a while. If you aren't comfortable doing any of this, take it to a shop you trust and pay them to do it.

    The tires on a Mirage (Dunlop Enasaves) are extremely light duty and they don't have a lot of meat in the sidewall. If the tire has been damaged, get it replaced.

    If the lip of the wheel is bent a little, that can be bent back into shape. But if the wheel was hit that hard, have a tire shop spin the wheel on a wheel balancer to make sure it's still straight. The cheapest source of a new wheel and/or hubcap is going to be eBay or a local auto recycler (aka junk yard).

    Now would be a good time to have your alignment checked. Even if your Mirage only has a few thousand miles on it, many Mirages aren't properly aligned from the factory.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  5. #5
    Get a block of wood and a big hammer. Sometimes you can straighten them pretty easily depending on where it's bent. I've done it many times, the gf hit a pothole(in her Optima) the other day:Attachment 11669 Attachment 11670 otherwise look at car-part.com look up wheels for 14-18' Mirage. They all interchange.
    Mirage videos:

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    SW, WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    7,401
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,106 Posts

    steel rims

    Quote Originally Posted by Dabullfrog91 View Post
    Hey everyone,

    So this morning I lost a hubcap after hitting a pothole on the way to work. I was only doing about 35mph best guess. It happened in Indianapolis which is an absolute abyss of potholes right now. My questions are as follows:


    ***I have steel wheels on a 2017.

    Thanks everyone!
    If you end up replacing the steel rim, I bought a pair from onlywheels.com last December. I used them to mount a pair of snow tires.

    They were $50 each (with free shipping). I believe they were shipped from Canada, but I got them within a week. They are 5.5" wide, and stock steel rims are 4.5". This was a non-issue. I had standard size 165/65r14 snow tires mounted on them. Since they are slightly wider, an upgrade in a wider tire size would fit on them better than the factory rims.

    Big plus - balanced easily, no clearance issues with larger front brakes on 2017/18 Mirages, & factory hub caps fit inside of them. I will copy & paste the rims I bought below.

    There may be better deals out there, but I know this steel rim will work on your 2017 Mirage for sure!

    Sorry about your wheel misfortune! Hope everything works out for you!

    https://onlywheels.com/wheels/steel-wheel-14?cid=1301

  7. #7
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2016
    Location
    Iowa
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    30
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    2
    Thanked 7 Times in 5 Posts
    Crescent wrench works great for straightening the lip, you will have to dismount the tire, don't try to do it in on bend, take your time and multiple little bends. If it's holding air I don't think a bent lip will affect the tire roundness.

  8. #8
    Junior Member Dabullfrog91's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Greenwood, Indiana
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 8 Times in 4 Posts
    Well good news everyone! I decided to take it into the shop. What I thought was going to be pretty bad turned out to just be the lip. I did not bend the actual rim at all and the tire's integrity is also maintained. I had them check the rim, the tire, the suspension, the balance, and the alignment. Everything checked out just fine and they went ahead and hammered the lip back into place. They didn't even charge me a dime. Talk about getting lucky. They said it was good I had steel wheels otherwise if you hit a bad enough pot hole with alloys it will crack the rim instead of bending it. They also said since my car is so light I probably got off lucky because a heavier car would have bent the rim more severely. Now, all I need to worry about is some hubcaps. I might get a whole set off amazon or maybe just another factory one. Anyone got some suggestions for some under $40 aftermarket caps?
    2017 Mirage ES CVT "Koopa Kart"

  9. #9
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Dabullfrog91 View Post
    I decided to take it into the shop.
    Everything checked out just fine and they went ahead and hammered the lip back into place.
    They didn't even charge me a dime.
    That's awesome. I always go back to places like that when it's time for real service.

    Did they do a 4-wheel alignment check on your car?

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  10. #10
    Junior Member Dabullfrog91's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
    Location
    Greenwood, Indiana
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    27
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 8 Times in 4 Posts
    It was at a Goodyear Tire service center. They have worked on all my stuff since I have lived in Indianapolis. They said everything checked out within the limits. I guess there is a range of acceptability for the alignment parameters.


    2017 Mirage ES CVT "Koopa Kart"

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •