[Na] how many times?

saracelica

saracelica

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saracelica
Was walking around neighborhood today and saw a woman driving one of those to Toyota Prius with a flat tire. She had her hazard lights on at the slowly driving. She had no where to go since it's sort of heavy traffic areas. She looked at me like "I don't know what to do" so I looked back and shrugged.

Got me thinking how many times can the wheel go around on just the rim before it bends the rim? I reckon it matters if its alloy vs steel but still. Is it better to stop in heavy traffic or drive to safe area and risk bending the rim.
 
The last time I had a flat was because I clipped a curb. The stock GMC cast alum wheel was bent. It cost me $1K for a replacement tire and wheel by the time it was done. Personally I'll pull over. If traffic warrants I'll wait to change the tire. Better yet I'd call for roadside assistance and dabble on the phone while somebody else changed the tire. Odds are that Prius was eligible for roadside assistance. Toyota's good about that.
 
A couple hundred feet shouldn't damage the rim (and probably not even the tire.) If you get a flat on a long bridge or tunnel, you might have a problem.
 
Sac Arrow said:
A couple hundred feet shouldn't damage the rim (and probably not even the tire.) If you get a flat on a long bridge or tunnel, you might have a problem.
Click to expand...

It's much more a function of road surface than distance.

One pothole in that couple hundred feet will finish off the rim. It's amazingly easy to bend these things. A sharp turn will likely take them out as well, as the rim can't slip on the edge like a tire can.

A non run-flat tire run directly on the sidewall will not last long before it's toast.
 
...must a man look up
Before he can see the sky ?
 
saracelica said:
Was walking around neighborhood today and saw a woman driving one of those to Toyota Prius with a flat tire. She had her hazard lights on at the slowly driving. She had no where to go since it's sort of heavy traffic areas. She looked at me like "I don't know what to do" so I looked back and shrugged.

Got me thinking how many times can the wheel go around on just the rim before it bends the rim? I reckon it matters if its alloy vs steel but still. Is it better to stop in heavy traffic or drive to safe area and risk bending the rim.
Click to expand...

It doesn't bend the rim until you hit a curb, it will destroy the tire and eventually scrape up the rim. You can drive hundreds of miles on the rim if you have to. Rims are fairly cheap.
 
If the bead of the tire stays seated to the rim, I'm riding it (at a severely reduced speed) until I can get to a paved surface to do the repair, the tire be damned. If the bead has jumped off of the rim, I'll re-weigh my options. It really depends on how much the replacement value of the wheel is....in my case, about $100 at a scrap yard. I am not stopping in a high traffic/speed area.

Watch below to see how much abuse a steel wheel will take before you are stuck (or on fire).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unwujSVpZwA
 
Yep, I drove a long way in the desert on a rim. The tire no longer existed when I pulled in the station. Got a used replacement rim and used tire he had for $100, done. There are some advantages to driving cheap cars with plain wheels and tires.

Where it will get interesting is with electric cars that combine the motors into the wheels. Those will be expensive to ruin.
 
I guess growing up on a farm made me a tire freak. I'm always checking air in my tires and my kids tires when they come or pointing out to someone "hey, your tires look low."

I'm amazed at what I find sometimes.

Our niece in Arizona was complaining about her little BMW riding rough and I checked her tires. Some nimrod had almost 60lbs. in one tire, the other three were over inflated but not that bad. After I set it back down to 32 all around she was a happy camper.
 
Our business is the repair and restoration of alloy automobile wheels.

You bend 'em, we mend 'em.

We're saving the baby wheels....

Oh, and we dig potholes....(rimshot).

I got a million of 'em.....
 
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