Hitman1970's tale of tire drama

[Hitman1970]

I had a wonderful start to my week. I was heading down I-65 South near exit 251 on my way from Hunstville to Fort Rucker, AL for some simulator training. There was a pretty bad rain storm going on and the traffic was slow and heavy.

I hit a pothole going 65 MPH in the second lane from the left of a four land stretch.

The TPMS immediately went off. I pulled on the side of the highway. I saw visible damage so went to put on my donut. Oh wait, I have that fix a flat compressor thingy. So I tried that. I managed to get some air back into the tire with this system. I was blaming it on the rain pretty hard right here.

I called Onstar and asked for a Nav download to the nearest Pontiac dealership. 2.3 miles to Crown Pontiac-Nissan in Hoover, AL. I hobbled the vehicle to the dealership. The Nav worked great by the way.

After inspection of the tire by the techs here is what had happened to the inside of the rim. Forgive my cheap Verizon cell phone pictures.







24 hours and $1079 later I am the proud owner of one Goodyear Eagle GT ($262) (There was no matching Potenza within a days journey of here), one replacement rim ($594), and a four wheel alignment job ($89.95). The rest was the fee for mounting, shop stock used, and tax. I did get a $50 credit for a turned in core. Woohoo.

The service was fine, but they were pushing Nissan hard due the shutting down of Pontiac. Like a G35 or G37 with low profile tires would not have met the same fate in the same conditions.

I had to rent a car, Pontiac G5 from Enterprise to finish my trip to Rucker for training. Other than no cruise control I was pretty happy with it. I saw 41 MPG on the instant for several extended flat runs. Impressive. Lots of hard plastic on the door. I like to rest my left elbow on the door and it got sore after a while.

I will take a photo of the car when the weather clears up and I can giver her a proper wash.

On the positive side, no other damage occured to the vehicle. I am thankful that I have a job where this just sucks and does not mean that I will miss a mortgage payment or go without food or anything.

I called my local dealership today to put a steelie donut on order for me. Hopefully, that comes in before hell freezes over unlike the splash guards and rear sensor package I ordered as well.

[cdp326]

OOH as soon as I scrolled down and saw the pic of the dent I didn't want to see the cost for that big wheel. Didn't expect it to be tire and wheel drama. That sucks.

If the nearest dealer wasn't so near, would you have called OnStar/roadside assistance instead of trying to use the fix-a-flat compressor in the rain?

[Hitman1970]

Originally Posted by cdp326

OOH as soon as I scrolled down and saw the pic of the dent I didn't want to see the cost for that big wheel. Didn't expect it to be tire and wheel drama. That sucks.

If the nearest dealer wasn't so near, would you have called OnStar/roadside assistance instead of trying to use the fix-a-flat compressor in the rain?

Yes I would have. All roadside assistance could have done differently would have been to tow me to the dealership.

[likearock00]

Sorry to hear that Hitman. Nothing more to say other than it just plain sucks! Could be alot worse though. I'm glad you got it all fixed and you didn't injure yourself or your baby in the process!

[68haywagon]

Can you claim that on your insurance and get reimbursed?

Mike

[F14CRAZY]

dang sorry to hear. Low profile tires are awesome except they aren't that forgiving

[Hitman1970]

Originally Posted by 68haywagon

Can you claim that on your insurance and get reimbursed?

Mike

I called USAA. I have not got an amount yet but I will be lucky to get about $275 or so. I have a $500 deductible and they do not pay for tires. That leaves me with a potential coverage of $275 to $300 give or take. I have had no claims in the sixteen or so years I have been with them. If they raise my rates over this I may change companies.

It isn't the end of the world but it still sucked at the time it happened.

dang sorry to hear. Low profile tires are awesome except they aren't that forgiving

This was an expensive physics lesson to say the least. I still love the added handling benefits of these type of tires.

[mikmak]

Sorry to see that Hitman. An expensive lesson alright. I'm surprised that you you'll get so little back on your insurance. My tyres come with free accidental damage insurance and they only cost about $120/corner or $220 depending on vehicle. Even more annoying (for me at least) is having a different tyre (with different life) one on corner. You should really get another to match (but yeah, that's another $262).

[Hitman1970]

Originally Posted by mikmak

Sorry to see that Hitman. An expensive lesson alright. I'm surprised that you you'll get so little back on your insurance. My tyres come with free accidental damage insurance and they only cost about $120/corner or $220 depending on vehicle. Even more annoying (for me at least) is having a different tyre (with different life) one on corner. You should really get another to match (but yeah, that's another $262).

It is annoying but being trapped for another day three hours from home was a big no-go from the start. All I can say to that is I need to let a couple of months pass minimum before I can get that past the house commander. I can get three more Goodyear's on base for $200 each no tax. The $262 was the at the dealership price.

[shadams]

Dang dude, you shoulda just kept the original and gotten it fixed. Most places that repair wheels do it for around $100. Then you could have gotten another tire and had a full size spare. The other thing is there are tons of factory wheels on ebay for the G8 that would work much better then the steely they are going to poke your eyes out with.

Anyway, sorry to critique your every decision. I know how much that must have sucked to be at an unknown place in need of help. I almost was in the same boat yesterday as I moved over slightly to give an oncoming car a little more room and saw a HUGE pothole on the edge of the road just in time.

Oh, I have USAA as well, and I asked them about rate hikes when my truck got broken into and I had to make a claim, also again when it got hail damage. Any comprehensive claim you make will not raise your rates, only collision. I dont believe it will affect you one bit.

[JBsZ06]

Don't feel bad...

I had a rock get stuck up on the A arm... and between the wheel...I was pulling out of a parking spot and it cracked the rim...

One in a million shot.. but it cracked the rim from the inside pushing through the rim to the tire.

First year of ownership too..

Still you got one hell of a cool car.

[Hitman1970]

Originally Posted by shadams

Dang dude, you shoulda just kept the original and gotten it fixed. Most places that repair wheels do it for around $100. Then you could have gotten another tire and had a full size spare. The other thing is there are tons of factory wheels on ebay for the G8 that would work much better then the steely they are going to poke your eyes out with.

Anyway, sorry to critique your every decision. I know how much that must have sucked to be at an unknown place in need of help. I almost was in the same boat yesterday as I moved over slightly to give an oncoming car a little more room and saw a HUGE pothole on the edge of the road just in time.

Oh, I have USAA as well, and I asked them about rate hikes when my truck got broken into and I had to make a claim, also again when it got hail damage. Any comprehensive claim you make will not raise your rates, only collision. I dont believe it will affect you one bit.

You make a great point about attempting to fix the tire and retain it as a spare. Live and learn. Time was the most important factor to me. As that is a commodity too I paid for it.

[nota]

Commiserations and curse the low profile tyre!

Originally Posted by Hitman1970

one replacement rim ($594)

Gulp thats AUD$680 and not especially cheap for a regular OE Holden rim, eg

[johnnyl321]

glad you didn't get hurt....btw, did you buy any kind of tire/wheel hazard insurance when you bought your G8? we've been selling it here for about a year now and it's one of the more popular aftermarket items. seems like a lot of people don't realize the cost of a wheel and tire nowadays. especially when you get those larger ones.
i'm glad you didn't hurt your baby too.....

[zete]

I'm surprised they had a rim in stock. But that just sucks. Glad the car overall is ok. I had the same thing happen to my 04 CTS, but they were able to fix it -- it wasn't as bad as yours, nowhere near as bad. But it still cost me a new tire, $100 in repairing the wheel, etc. I was out about $600 after all was said and done. I complained to the city but they said it wasn't their fault. Oddly enough I thought roads were their fault. Go figure.

The "maintenance" on roads in North America worsens every year. Some of the roads around Ottawa look like they were imported from Kabul. It's pathetic. All those taxes and we get holes that can swallow cars. Hmmm. I wonder if the city figures if enough cars are swallowed the hole will disappear?