HELP

[850CSi]

Okay, I was being an idiot today and experimenting in the snow when I took a turn too hard, tailed out, and slammed my left rear tire sideways into a curb. No visible damage done to anything but the rim and tire. The rim lost a good part of its outer trim, the tire seemed to be somewhat bent out of shape. TPMS didn't go off, so I'm assuming the tire, while the sidewalls might have been damaged, didn't lose any/much air. The tire IS a runflat.

I took it out for a longer drive and noticed that the steering is off-center (i.e., when I center the wheel, the car drifts to the right). Someone please tell me I didn't mess up my suspension...

Could a messed up rear tire account for off-center steering?

I'm taking it to a mechanic tomorrow.


I feel like a moron because this is the last thing I need right now.

[93JC]

Sounds like you fucked up your car good, Farris. Your steering isn't off-centre: whatever you did to the rear wheel is pushing the car to the right, such that you have to constantly turn the front wheels a little to the left to keep it straight.

For your sake I hope it's just the wheel and a misaligned suspension.

[850CSi]

Yeah, that's what I meant with the off-center thing.

Shit.

[Rupert]

It could have jarred the alignment, but that seems unlikely.

Shit is right...

[etypejohn]

Okay, I was being an idiot today and experimenting in the snow when I took a turn too hard, tailed out, and slammed my left rear tire sideways into a curb. No visible damage done to anything but the rim and tire. The rim lost a good part of its outer trim, the tire seemed to be somewhat bent out of shape. TPMS didn't go off, so I'm assuming the tire, while the sidewalls might have been damaged, didn't lose any/much air. The tire IS a runflat.

I took it out for a longer drive and noticed that the steering is off-center (i.e., when I center the wheel, the car drifts to the right). Someone please tell me I didn't mess up my suspension...

Could a messed up rear tire account for off-center steering?

I'm taking it to a mechanic tomorrow.


I feel like a moron because this is the last thing I need right now.

I don't know what kind of car you are talking about but in any case it sounds like you have hit the curb hard enough to knock the rear suspension out of alignment.   You might have bend one of the rear suspension components.  Even if its a solid rear axel there are still things to knock about and bend.  Depending on the type of suspension you have this could be expensive.  The good news, if there is any, is that this might be covered by your collision insurance coverage.

You will probably be at the mechanics by the time you read this, but you might put on the spare or switch the rear tires from side to side.  If the problem goes away (doubtful) it's the tire or wheel, if not it's the suspension.

[JYODER240]

If you're lucky you'll just have to replace the wheel and tire then get an alignment. Just last week someone brought in a GS350 with the same problem(they slid into a curb). It messed up the lower half of the suspension and it needed replaced.

[Champ]

Thinking bent control arm.

Does the tire visibly look like it used to (position wise, not talking about the curb rash)?

[TheIntrepid]

I don't know what kind of car you are talking about

2006 BMW 325i 6MT

[VTEC_Inside]

My money is on a bent arm as well.

[Raghavan]

Wait, could your rear driveshaft and possibly the differential be messed up? It sounds like a huge hit if you're missing part of your rim.

[Champ]

Wait, could your rear driveshaft and possibly the differential be messed up? It sounds like a huge hit if you're missing part of your rim.

Probably not.

[Raghavan]

Probably not.

Ok.
I was just wondering because if everything got pushed righward like that, if that'd mess up the drivetrain components.

[MrH]

My money is on a bent arm as well.

Ditto.

[VTEC_Inside]

Ok.
I was just wondering because if everything got pushed righward like that, if that'd mess up the drivetrain components.

Because of the independent rear-end and CV type drive axles there is probably quite a bit of play before you'd have to worry about hurting the differential.

Also consider that a curb impact is going to push in on the lower portion of the wheel. The force would want to give the wheel some positive camber pivoting around the wheel center line not pushing in on it.

[850CSi]

Okay, here's the deal. I went to the stealership today and had them check it out, figuring they would know the car better than anyone.

They put it up on a lift and gave it a visual inspection, the service rep said there was nothing wrong with the suspension from what they could see (although he did remark that it can be a little hard to tell because 'some of the parts are curved'). The service rep told me that they couldn't test the car's alignment because the left rim is messed up and probably bent in. They wanted to replace the rim and then test the alignment, which I'm not willing to do because they charge an outrageous amount of money for that (the estimate was over $700, I can get a full set of slightly used wheels/tires off of e90post for less than that). He claimed that the rim and bad alignment could be more than enough to cause the car to drift (what do you guys think?). I drove it at highway speeds today and nothing felt unusual other than the steering correction I had to make. The rep did remark that they've gotten "a little lucky" with some of the E90s, he said a similar case came in a couple of weeks ago and there was no significant damage.

Now, my question is this: I know nothing about suspensions. How much assurance does a visual inspection provide? If something was really messed up (be it a control arm or the camber pivoting, etc) would it show?


What do you guys think the best course of action is? Should I take it to an independent mechanic and see what they say, or should I just get a new wheel and hope that all the car needs after that is an alignment?


Thanks for your help guys.

[850CSi]

Thinking bent control arm.

Does the tire visibly look like it used to (position wise, not talking about the curb rash)?

Yeah, I can't tell the difference.

[VTEC_Inside]

Sounds like the dealer is just trying to make some money off of you.

Although not impossible, I find it hard to believe that their mechanics couldn't have just peeked under another car on the lot to get a quick visual reference of where the arms should look like.

I also think their reason for not being able to do an alignment is kinda lame. The rim would have to be pretty darn destroyed for them not to be able to mount the sensor. Alas, it may have told them nothing anyway depending on how bad the rim really is.

You should replace the wheel just to be on the safe side for starters. It could be one pothole away from cracking in two now for all you know. Then like you figured, get an alignment done. Even with a bent arm they might still be able to bring it into spec.

[MrH]

Can't you jack it up and see if it looks off?  I mean, you should be able to atleast tell if there's major damage or not.

Also, if the dealer wasn't such a dick, and it was true the wheel was too fucked up to check to see if anything is off, they'd offer to swap a new wheel on just to test it.

Sounds like you went a horrible dealership.  Try another BMW dealership and an independent shop and see what they say.

[Champ]

Lol I was about to say put the spare tire on then go back in, but yours doesn't have a spare - correct?

Also surprised they didn't have an extra wheel somewhere to mount just to try aligning it.

It's possible it could be just a little bent but who knows.  You will have to pay attention for a bad wheel bearing in your future.

[850CSi]

They told me something about having to take a wheel off of another car in order to test it which I find a little hard to believe, but whatever.

[Champ]

They told me something about having to take a wheel off of another car in order to test it which I find a little hard to believe, but whatever.

Well that's what they would have to do to get a spare wheel if they didn't have one....

If you have seen how alignments are performed you would maybe better understand.  I haven't seen your wheel, but if you try to use a damaged wheel the sensor may not sit correctly thus you would be aligning the wheel not the suspension.

[850CSi]

^That's basically what the service rep told me.

[Champ]

^That's basically what the service rep told me.

You can't fault them for not having a spare wheel sitting around

Since you will need a new wheel regardless, I'd look for one yourself, buy it then bring it in to them and say: here is a wheel - can you remount my tire then check alignment please to see that nothing else is wrong.

[850CSi]

You can't fault them for not having a spare wheel sitting around

Since you will need a new wheel regardless, I'd look for one yourself, buy it then bring it in to them and say: here is a wheel - can you remount my tire then check alignment please to see that nothing else is wrong.

I think that's what I'm going to do, but at an independent shop. The stealership charges an outrageous sum of money for an alignment.

[850CSi]

Would a damaged control arm be something you can easily spot visually?

[Champ]

Would a damaged control arm be something you can easily spot visually?

Not necessarily .

[JYODER240]

Sounds like a good time to pick up a set of these:

[Raghavan]

Sounds like a good time to pick up a set of these:

[850CSi]

Haha, I wish. Those are sweet.

[the Teuton]

Talk to Crosswire.  He drives his car pretty well, so when he wore out his driveshaft bearing, the local BMW dealer wanted to charge him $300 for a little rubber bearing about the size of a hockey puck. The BMW dealerships are ridiculous because their customers are generally more affluent and ignorant when it comes to parts.  BMWs are image cars to most people. 

That being said, that kid has more sets of BMW rims and tire packages for his car hiding around than I've ever seen in one place in my life.  Can I recommend going on a BMW enthusiast site and checking out 5x120 wheels that will fit your car?  I'm not sure how quickly you can get them all before you have to go back to school, but it never hurts to look.