Went up to visit my brother in Detroit from Cincinnati and on the way up hit a pot hole half foot deep going about 30 on an off ramp. Cussing ensued and once I had gotten back on the highway, after filling up, the steering wheel had a slight vibration at speed as I had expected.

Now...these are SSR GT2s and I was wondering if it was possible to fix the wheel at a wheel repair specialist shop or if it's a lost cause and should just sell the good wheels separately?

Also.....is it possible that the alignment is just thrown off or that a balancing weight was lost?

Now I have to drive 4 and a half hours back to Cincinnati with a shaky steering wheel....woooooooweeee.

 

You really should have the wheel and alignment inspected before a long, high speed drive.

 

I wish I could but all the shops are either closed or can't fit me into their schedule but I'm not too worried about it. The vibration is very slight at 70-75mph.

 

I just checked the inside of the front wheel and it seems that it is intact which gives me hope though the anomaly could be invisible to the eye.

Hopefully it's just the alignment but I would still like to know if having the wheel fixed would be a worthwhile investment or just a waste of time/money. Anyone have any experience with this?

 

You probably knocked your alignment out of whack. Wouldn't hurt to have the wheel balanced/checked as soon as you can. In the meantime drive slowly.

 

Depends upon how bad the wheel is bent. See if you can get it repaired. Then keep it on the rear.

 

Wheel alignment won't cause the vibration in the steering wheel...you have bent the rim most likely....you will probably be able to repair it if it isn't too bad. Repaired wheels are always a bit of a gamble though,,and if you track your car...you should replace it.

You should also get a wheel alignment and tell them that you hit a pothole hard enough to bend a rim...that way they can check to see if anything got bent before they try and re-align it with bent parts...

 

Thanks for the responses guys. I really thought that the alignement could be affected by running into a pot hole or driving against a curb even if it is at low speeds or have I been wrong this whole time?

 

I was/will likely be...but it doesn't usually cause vibrations...that would be the bent wheel

 

That's not entirely true. I bent a lower control arm on my WRX and the shake was unbearable over 55mph. It was the tiniest of LCA dents too.