I made a post on here a while back about hitting a bump and bending my front wheels. I was able to get up to 80mph without any vibrating and I wasn't loosing any air pressure or anything, so I figured it wasn't really a problem. Well today I went to rotate my tires and noticed that the back wheels were bent too... not nearly as bad and I really had to look for it, but they are definitely bent. So I was a little ____ed, but just finished rotating them.

After I was done I tried to drive it and got a nasty grinding sound from one of my back wheels. After messing around with it i realized that the inside of the wheels that were on the front were bent enough to stick out and they were grinding on the back.

So now I'm not sure what I should do. I know that if I get them repaired it might cost as much if not more than just buying new wheels. Plus the more research I do on motegi the more I think that they are prone to bending. I am afraid that if I do get them repaired that it wiil just happen again. So I am thinking that I should just buy new wheels. Now I am not sure if I should get another set of 18s and use the tires I have, or get 17s and get tires with a little more sidewall so it doesn't happen again. Or maybe if I just get better 18s it won't be a problem. I really like the look of 18s, but i really don't want this to happen again.

What do you guys think?

Oh, and I am on 18" Motegi MR7 with 215/35 tires.

Thanks in advance for any help!

 

You gotta pay to play...You can pay a lot more for some stronger and higher quality wheels that are less prone to bending, but even the strongest wheels can bend.

 

What would you recommend? How can I tell if a wheel is higher quality?

 

You can tell that a rim is of high quality when you have to use your kids college fund to afford them!!

 

Forged and/or multi-piece wheels are much stronger - but their not indestructable. Super strong monoblock forged 15" wheels start at $200/ wheel.

Unfortunately with 18s, possible damage comes with the terrritory. If $$$ is an issue, go for 17s and run 205/45 or 215/40.

 

I have a friend with with a bend or two in 17" Motegi MR7s. It's a cast wheel and you're right- Motegis tend to bend easily.

Having overinflated low-profile tires contributes too. 9 out of 10 people inflate their tires to the max level written on their sidewall and that's typically too much. The tire sidewall becomes too stiff and then translates any shock to the wheel.

Forged wheels are much stronger. My 19s are forged and aren't bent at all. But at $359 a piece, they aren't exactly cheap.