alright I managed to nail a huge pothole at about 40mph, It was unavoidable seeing as that is was on a little hick road and the car coming toward me gave me little to no room, it was lucky I got it down to 40. Anyway almost immediatly after nailing this pothole I can feel and see the steering wheel shaking as well as feel it in the pedals. Its worst at about 50 with it smoothing out over 60 and just in the pedals before 45...............To the question, I put 18's with low profs on my ls a while ago... should I take it to the dealer or just go to a local shop for the fix, right now I am leaning toward dealer even though I am assuming I will have to pay... But someone told me I shouldnt even let them know it happened as they may try to use it against me later.......................

all opinions are welcome, what do u think.


one more question, has anyone ever gone after the town or highway dept. to pay a bill like this. I had a couple guys give me this advice today and I am actually considering it. People bitch about this road all the time and actually it is quite unsafe in the condition it is in.

 

First check to see if you've lost any wheel weights ( if it had any in the first place ), also check to see if you can tell if the rim is bent. Like you said you'll probably have to pay so if you have repair shop you're comfortable with that might be the way to go, no sense letting the dealer know something that might bite in the rear down the road. JMO

Al

 

you might want to put the stock wheels on there, i am pretty sure puttin new rims on there and getting it realigned will ruin your warranty
id throw the stockers on there

 

get it aligned with the 18s at any firestone
the toe will be a bit off with the larger wheels so best to align the total package

 

hopefully the alignment he already got has a warranty, or he has lifetime alignment

if not, that sucks

 

nope no alignment was needed, I threw the new rims on myself, got them re-balanced after shipping and they were perfect..... Until I drove them through that frickin canyon.

 

That sucks.. I feel for you.. Out here in NJ, there are potholes littered all over the highways, especially in the winter.

I hit a 6" deep hole in my Cavalier, I was scared shitless seeing it coming I thought it was going to break my car apart or rip the oil pan off. It sounded like a car crash. Thankfully, it really didn't do much besides make a hell of a loud noise and knock my alignment out!

The pisser is my alighnment gets knocked out regularly every few months out here. The roads are terrible. I already think I have a gentle tug to the left in my SS. But the roads are so uneven and tilted, I can't even be sure!

 

If at all in doubt, go get an alignment check. It should be cheap enough and is much better than prematurely wearing out your tires.

 

Just go buy a private island and pave all new fresh roads and buy a new cobalt to drive on them....

lol no seriously just go get an alignment.... not that expensive

 

The last alignment I got, I paid $60 for. Is that a good price or a rip? I didn't bother to check around.

The Pirellis won't last long enough to unevenly wear anyway! hehe

 

all right good news... I don't need a front end alignment. The shaking steering wheel was just from the two inch dent I found on the inner lip of my rim when I woke up and found my tire to be flat. Well atleast it didn't blow out on the highway. New rim is on its way because this one is fu****. I mean completly destroyed, I will post pics soon. I dont know how it held air as long it did. Its really against every law of physics that this thing held together. My cobalt looks real good with that stock 15" aluminum wheel on the back with 18"s all around.... tight man.

It looks like someone took a bite out of my rim, no joke. I really didnt think it was possible to bend it as much as I did.

 

I had a friend in Pennsylvania that hit a pot hole and got 2 flat tires on the driver side. He called the city the next morning and then went out late that afternoon to take some pictures of the pot hole only to find it already filled! When he called the city again they basically said "what pot hole?" Without something like video proof, how could you prove it was that hole in particular that damaged your wheel and not a hole from a different city? My friend didn't get any results, and unfortunately in your case, I doubt you will either. Sorry to hear about your rim, I've gotten a bent rim from a pot hole myself, I know how much it sucks. At least mine were cheap 13's ('89 Mazda 323, 89 hp, woohoo!)

 

I don't plan on getting anything from the little town where this happened, it was in shelby NY. My rim was worth more than there yearly road repair budget. I've already talked to the towns highway superintendant. (some guy in a room playing online poker all day) and he told me since there had been no prior "written complaints" I was sol. I did manage to get him to put up some barrels and a sign that says "fallen shoulder" since he doesnt know when the will be able to fix anything. The conversation was quite heated and I was pleased to see that he actually did anything at the end of the day. I manage shelridge country club in wny and I was just glad that some of the guests that come to play the course can maybe avoid the crap the I have to go through now. Something like that can ruin your day and even leave a bad impression of the club. "its a great course, but you have to drive along **** roads in the middle of nowhere to get there" yea thats the way to get new members

 

LoL, I'm in the wrong line of work! Are there any particular college courses or degrees that you need for that position?

 

well, id rather have to get a $60 alignment, than a $300 rim

 

yea me too, trust me. I will probably still need the alignment when the new rim comes in next week. It was either be sarcastic about it or cry. It will probably be about $500 all said and done. Needed a new tire too, it was damaged also. But my tint fine was only 80.00 bucks so there is some good news, I guess. rough month for my cobalt, or atleast my wallet

 

Well, at least it was just a rim for ya. I hit a huge car sucking pothole with my Cavalier in Detroit that killed the lower control arm, bent the strut, and knocked it out of alignment. Needless to say, after 2 g's in repairs, it still never ran right. That's why i have the new Cobalt.