Wheel rims bent - 2006 Mazda5 - 17" rims

[Dogger]

Anyone having rims easily bent by potholes recently? I just replaced one and would you believe it, after 2 weeks on the vehicle, it also got bent when I hit another pothole. This is going to be an expensive winter if this keeps up even if I go the the wreckers to get them.

[frito]

We have a 5 and have not had the problem yet. It is a product of having a low profile tire more than the strength of the wheel.

I had a 91 gti with bbs wheels with similar rubber and bent 2 wheels.

Next year get 16 inch steel wheels and snow tires.

P.S. you should be able to get a nice original used set for 300ish.

[Dogger]

Thanks for the information. These are low profiles as you say but I didn't think that they were this susceptible to damage. This is the first time that I ever had bent rims and I have been driving a long time over many miles and types of roads.

[frito]

The 50 profile is not as low as some but it is 50% of the 205mm or 102.5mm side wall. So compared to say 45% of 225mm ( mazda rx-8) 101.5mm it is almost the same.

It is like many high performance tires and this does happen.

I thicker side wall (more protection) with a 16 inch rim will help in the winter.

[Dogger]

I think that will be the way to go. What is a good size winter tire for the 16" rims? We had a hard time getting steel rims in this area because of Quebec enacting mandatory winter tire usage this year. Shortage and demand for both rims and tires should have eased by now.

[MikesMazda5]

My fiance hit a good size pothole and blew out both right side tires and bent both both wheels. I called the Mazda stealer and priced new wheels. They wanted $580 a piece for the wheels and $180 or so for each tire. I took it to another place and got 4 aftermarket wheels and tires for $1,300. I have the 2 good wheels from the left side if anyone needs one or two.

[Henika]

Hey Dogger I notice that you're in Toronto. The pothole situation on the road is really bad right now. I hit a large one on the 427N over the weekend, and blew a tire. I don't think my rims are bent though. I'm ordering a new tire, and installing this weekend. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't increasing the psi on a lower profile tire help protect the wheels? I use to run 40psi when I was using my 19" 30 series tires.

You can try writing to the city for compensation.

[frito]

You could use either a 195/60/16 or a 205/55/16. In either case you need to make sure the tire has the correct load rating. With the 195 tire you will loose some of the handling ability but a narrow tire in general is better in the snow.

[Dogger]

Hi MikesMazda5, sorry to hear of your mishap. Your profile says that your Mazda5 is a Sport model which, I believe, has 16" wheels whereas the Touring (or GT in Canada) has 17" wheels. Otherwise i would consider taking a drive to your area because I do need one now and likely, before the end of this winter, maybe another.
PS - happy belated b'day.

Henika, your comment on increasing the PSI is a good one that I will have to consider. I think I will take friti's suggestion and go 16" with winter tires soon.

You are right about the pot holes in the GTA. The 401 in the east end express lanes by Brimley Rd. has a series of them and everyone is weaving around them to avoid them. I can see a whopper of an accident happening there if they don't fix them soon.

I am waiting for a response from York Region on my claim for the first rim. They can only say no.

Frito, thanks for your suggestions on size. As mentioned to Henika above, I think I will seriously consider winter 16" tires on steel rims. In any event, I need at least one replacement 17" rim now to replace the one slightly bent one. Thank goodness the new tire (Bridgestone Potenza G019) is OK but it along with the suspension are sure getting a work out this winter.

[MikesMazda5]

That would be incorrect. All 2006 Mazda5's have 17's on them. At least the US models did. 16's weren't even an option as far as I remember.

[MikesMazda5]

http://www.autosite.com/content/shared/articles/templates/index.cfm/article_id_int/1396


excerpt from this review of the 2006 Mazda5:


Mazda sells the 5 in two trims: Sport and Touring. Standard equipment on the $17,995 Mazda 5 Sport includes those spiffy 17-inch alloy wheels, power door locks with keyless entry, power windows (including those in the sliding side doors), power mirrors, air conditioning, cruise control, and a four-speaker stereo with a CD player and auxiliary controls on the steering wheel.

[antlind]

That would be incorrect. All 2006 Mazda5's have 17's on them. At least the US models did. 16's weren't even an option as far as I remember.

Canadian model specs were different. The GTs came with 17s and the GSs came with 16s. The same configuration options exists with the 09's AFAIK.
Anthony

[Dogger]

As Anthony mentioned, the 2 avail models for the MZ5 in Canada have different wheel sizes. Not only that, the designs were different for each model. Could you take a pix of them so I can compare them to mine and confirm their size as 17"?

Henika, I forgot to mention in my earlier response that I did not notice the damage to my rim until after the tire was removed. The exterior was fine and the damage to the interior side of the rim was only slightly visible with the tire on the rim. You might want to remove the damaged tire from the rim to confirm no damage to the rim if you haven't done so already.

[MikesMazda5]

Here is a link: It is the one where it says PERFORMANCE in bold letters.
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http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pagetuner.com/mazda5/wheel.jpg&imgrefurl=http://pagetuner.com/mazda5/&usg=__5E5TYRwK7IsZYucW_j2xWxNw0vc=&h=180&w=180&sz=9&hl=en&start=139&tbnid=wU5UZ7Qzv-uf8M:&tbnh=101&tbnw=101&prev=/images%3Fq%3D2006%2Bmazda%2B5%2Bsport%2BWHEELS%26s tart%3D120%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26sa%3D N

[MikesMazda5]

Will get pics of mine tomorrow, but as you will see it is that exact one.

[Dogger]

Great article on the Mazda5. Right down to the fine points and features. The rims do look like the ones I have. How much do you want for them?

[MikesMazda5]

Have to figure it all out. I have heard that shipping from the US to Canada gets kinda pricey.

[MikesMazda5]

DHL wants $270 for shipping. That is way too high. You might be better off locating someone closer to you.

[frito]

A tip on shipping wheels. Do not ship the in 4 boxes. Get 4 wheel boxes pad the wheels a bit and then stack the boxes. Tape it together really tight and voila - save more than 50% on shipping.

[MikesMazda5]

That was just on two wheels :eek:

[Dogger]

Got a great lead on a set of 4 wheels and got them yesterday. Thanks for all your help. All I need to do now is to keep a sharper lookout for potholes and increased my tire pressure (to 38 psi) for now.

[AO928]

Rotated my tires today and noticed that both right wheels are slightly bent from hitting a big pothole about a month ago. :(

Good news it that they seem to have affected the ride quality, but the knowledge that it's there...

[Dogger]

You are lucky that the bent wheels don't affect your ride. My bent rim not only was felt but heard also. Can't imagine what it was doing to my tire. Maybe you could see if you can get the 2 rims from MikesMazda5 in MO to get rid of the niggling knowledge of their presence.

[AO928]

Mike's are 2006. Mine are 2008. = different style. :(

[Dogger]

That's too bad but looking at the bright side, it is not affecting your ride. You might keep an eye on local auto recyclers for one. I got one at 1/3 cost of one from the dealer. They are few and far between and they don't stay too long. Pot holes are causing a run on them.

[aluminumpuppy]

I broke 2 of my factory wheels and bent a 3rd within 2 months of buying the car.
Put some 16" eagle alloys and 205/55-16"s on it and haven't had a problem since. Fortunately the wheels are common with a lot of other vehicles.

[Stamperman]

My wife hit a pothole full of water last year and really bent one wheel, and slightly bent the rear one. One tire was destroyed and also the rear shock. Keep your eyes open for oil puddles under the back of your car.

I ended up buying two wheels from someone somewhat fairly (70 miles) local who had the same thing happen. For $1,160 you can probably buy 4 new wheels and tires from tire rack. In fact this is what the guy did who I bought the two wheels from. He got 16" wheel with a taller side ratio to help keep it from happening again.

[Dogger]

I broke 2 of my factory wheels and bent a 3rd within 2 months of buying the car.
Put some 16" eagle alloys and 205/55-15's on it and haven't had a problem since. Fortunately the wheels are common with a lot of other vehicles.

I'm a little confused here. You put on 15" tires on a 16" wheel? I thought you had to put on the same same size tires as the wheel size. Putting on my 17" tires on my OEM 17" wheels was a tight fit. I can't imagine putting on 16"s on them.

[dima_rus]

how in the world did someone put 15" tires on 16" wheels??????? Educate me please

[aluminumpuppy]

how in the world did someone put 15" tires on 16" wheels??????? Educate me please

You're right, that would be a tight fit, (boom02) they are 205/55-16"s

[DoubleT]

Great!(bang) Today I hit a long huge ##$@*#**#! pothole on Keele N. before the off ramp to 401 east. Thought I was okay till I got home and saw the missing wheel cover on the front passenger's side of my 2008 Madza 5 GS. The steel rim has a small portion of the rim bent about 3" around. The new snow tires (3 months old including steel rims) look okay (it was getting dark) but I am going to take it in the shop for a closer look. 401 is so bad in shape I can't tell if the wheels are wobbly or the alignment is off.
I might have replace the one rim for sure. At least my alloy wheels and tires are safe in the crawl space.

[zoompastu]

In Portland Oregon in December we had the worst snow and Ice storm in quite a while. the wifes MP5 was berried to the point that you didn't know there was a car there. Deep ass ruts on I-5 too. I have ABS and the LSD on my ES so we used that car to get around. I put on Hankook I-pikes without studs and I was passing 4x4 every where but I was over confident and blew over train tracks ruted with 8 inches of solid ice at 35 mph and bent both front steel rims and bent something in the suspension too. And those Snow tires where a tall profile 185/65/14 damn weather

[Henika]

Great!(bang) Today I hit a long huge ##$@*#**#! pothole on Keele N. before the off ramp to 401 east. Thought I was okay till I got home and saw the missing wheel cover on the front passenger's side of my 2008 Madza 5 GS. The steel rim has a small portion of the rim bent about 3" around. The new snow tires (3 months old including steel rims) look okay (it was getting dark) but I am going to take it in the shop for a closer look. 401 is so bad in shape I can't tell if the wheels are wobbly or the alignment is off.
I might have replace the one rim for sure. At least my alloy wheels and tires are safe in the crawl space.

Hey DoubleT, write to the government to get compensation. Takes up to 8-10 weeks for them to investigate, and no guarantee compensation, but worth a try. Here's the detail below. It says 427, but I'm sure all 400 series highway is maintained by the provincial govt.

Highway 427 is maintained (idhitit)by the Provincial government. Claims for damages should be in writing (a detailed letter indicating the location, date, time and nature of the incident along with documentation such as estimates & bills to:

Ministry of Transportation
Management Board Secretariat
Risk Management & Insurance Services
700 University Ave., 6th floor
Toronto, ON M7A 2S4
Fax: 416-314-3444 (faxes must be followed by a mailed copy)

General Inquiry: 416-314-3445

[DoubleT]

Hey DoubleT, write to the government to get compensation. Takes up to 8-10 weeks for them to investigate, and no guarantee compensation, but worth a try. Here's the detail below. It says 427, but I'm sure all 400 series highway is maintained by the provincial govt.
The accident was on a city of Toronto road, Keele St. to be exact. My wife (a mediator) found info similar to yours H. and has phoned (don't know # off hand) some division of the city and got a file number and sent a detailed report by fax . Next I am photographing the pot holes and the damaged parts and sending a second letter with the bill from Madza. The cost was (pissed)$550 which included wheel alignment, replacement of one wheel bearings and steel rim. Oh yeah! I didn't replace the wheel cover which apparently will go on sale soon at Madza.
Once I get some pothole pics I'm gonna set up a Thread on worst pothole pics, whadda you guys think?

[DoubleT]

The accident was on a city of Toronto road, Keele St. to be exact. My wife (a mediator) found info similar to yours H. and has phoned (don't know # off hand) some division of the city and got a file number and sent a detailed report by fax . Next I am photographing the pot holes and the damaged parts and sending a second letter with the bill from Madza. The cost was (pissed)$550 which included wheel alignment, replacement of one wheel bearings and steel rim. Oh yeah! I didn't replace the wheel cover which apparently will go on sale soon at Madza.

An update to my accident situation. The City of Toronto first rejected my first fax (pics not included). My wife then sent the pics with another letter (email) after the first rejection followed by a phone call. The clerk after seeing the pot hole pics approved the repayment minus $20 bucks. The clerk said no way can the city win this one! You can fight city hall.

[Zoom5Zoom]

I am in ottawa and have 4 new 17 inch rims with new tires off a 2009 Mazda 3. PM me if interested..

1000 bux takes all 4 rims and tires.

[kmazda]

My fiance hit a good size pothole and blew out both right side tires and bent both both wheels. I called the Mazda stealer and priced new wheels. They wanted $580 a piece for the wheels and $180 or so for each tire. I took it to another place and got 4 aftermarket wheels and tires for $1,300. I have the 2 good wheels from the left side if anyone needs one or two.

HEY I NEED 2 TIRES.... HOW MUCH?

[pwgraff]

My fiance hit a good size pothole and blew out both right side tires and bent both both wheels. I called the Mazda stealer and priced new wheels. They wanted $580 a piece for the wheels and $180 or so for each tire. I took it to another place and got 4 aftermarket wheels and tires for $1,300. I have the 2 good wheels from the left side if anyone needs one or two.

My wife did the exact same thing and now I need a couple of rims. How much do you want for the two rims you have?
THanks