How hard a hit before damage is likely?
 

Ok... so in a dumbass move, I cut a left hand turn (from a stop light) too close and clipped the curb at the end of the turn, hitting the driver side rear wheel pretty hard.

I figure that I was going about 30-40 kph (about 20mph??). Clipped the curb with a BANG! and it when I took a look, it had gouged out a chunk of the stock tire's rim protector and part of the wheel. (I ripped off the missing chunk of rubber, it was attached at both ends, but torn all the way through in between....but it looks like the protector did it's job...I think the wheel damage could have been much worse!)

Just wondering how hard a hit like that the rear suspension can take? I'm scheduling an alignment for next week, but I wasn't quite ready to start buying new suspension parts for the car until a couple years from now......

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Damn, that's rough...


There's no way of telling exactly how hard a hit will cause suspension issues or anything like that, that varies on the situation. Have you noticed any noise from that wheel or any noises that are out of the ordinary?

That looks like you barely hit it. I'd not be concerned about damage. Think about the amount of abuse a rally cars suspension will go through and be OK. Granted its beefed up a bit but its not hugely dissimilar. Had there been a decent amount of damage on the rim I'd be concerned about alignment but probably nothing else, as it is I'd say you're fine.

yea, I figured that there are hundreds of variables... i figure in my case, it's like hitting a big pothole.....

No noises or anything out of the ordinary.... My butt doesn't feel like anything is shaking more or less than before.... so I'm hoping that it's just cosmetic and that I only need to source one wheel and tire from someone! I guess only an alignment will tell.... and a quick run of the wheel on the balancer to see if it's been bent.

Yea, it looks like I barely hit it, but it was an awful loud BANG when it happened.... and you know....new car syndrome make a lot of things worse than it is....

I'd really only be concerned with the alignment. Take it to a good tire shop and have them check the specs..

I hit a curb going 1-3mph and my sidewall and wheel had similar damage. I ended up replacing both since I didn't want to risk a sidewall blowout

Do you feel any sort of vibration when you're driving? If not, you're totally fine.

Nope...none.. you're probably right, but I'm going to get an alignment and balance done just to put my mind at ease....

An alignment will reveal whether or not something is all jacked up or not.

Yup, I hit a big pothole doing 70 and everything was fine, just put the toe on the drivers side way out of whack

Lol I remember I got on a curb on a snowy day once just like you did. But I didn't notice any damage at all!! I thought maybe the car raised on me.

At least it was the stocker wheels and not a 500+ wheel! One way to look at this ;)

Is your wheel slightly cambererd inwards? Might want to check out camber plates etc....I took a hit standing stationary at robots....the dude hit the side of my left rear wheel at about 40km/hr....had damage to my left rear suspension....

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Based on how you hit it, I would suspect that the toe on that wheel might be off, but nothing else. Had you hit the left side in a right turn it would probably have been worse.

I bet the car side stepped to the right a bit when you hit it, which would've absorbed a lot of the energy of the impact.