Pothole blowouts with 21" wheels

S

scottej

Member
Has anyone with a FX50 or FX35LE with the OEM 21" wheels and the low profile 265/45R21 tires had trouble with potholes blowing out their tires?

My son has a VW GTI with low profile 225/40R18 tires and blows a tire on a pothole about every two months here in New York City.

I am close to buying a FX35 Limited Edition, but I am wondering whether, with the way the streets and roads are these days in NYC, it would be better to go with a FX with 18" or 20" wheels.

I have also heard that the ride with the 21" wheels is rough and the road noise is substantially higher than the 18" wheels.
 
Bigger rims + less rubber on tires(low profile) = more road impact harshness & road noise

If your looking for a quiet softer ride go with the 18" rims. If looks are what you prefer go with 21" rims.



I live in NY so I'm use to driving here so I'm pretty good at dodging potholes and dipping in and out. I have the 20" rims and the ride isn't too noisy or harsh at all. It's like Euro spec kind of firm but slightly softer.
 
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1st gen fx35 265/50/20 wheel setup has been the most reliable setup on a car that i ever had, the car has hit curbs, potholes ans etc. and never popped a tire. bent rim and etc. Ive seen so many german manufactured cars, rims bent and so more..
 
I'm in nyc & always running up and down the belt pkwy, van wyke, bqe & fdr as well as our crappy roads in general and I have 22's with 30 & 35 series tires. they are fine really except for the harsh winter season when it snows, freezes up and then pothole season begins. from the time of the first big snow up until the spring when all the major potholes are finally filled in it's pretty bad if you do a lot of driving and from now on I will def switch to a 20" or 21" winter wheel once pot hole season starts again.

I winded up bending up my 22's one February in a particularly nasty bout with potholes on the belt. one thing to keep in mind is the tire sidewall on that vw your talking about are really low profile and much less rubber than the 21's on an fx which will have a whole lot more sidewall than that. I know several guys who run the 21's all year round and survive but I can't say it's not a good idea to have a separate set of dedicated winter wheels really either. this will give you the best of both worlds but the 21's aren't so bad, I've honestly even considered getting a set of the 21's even to use as a winter wheel as they would still be much better than my 22's. the 21's do have a pretty decent amount of rubber and I really haven't heard of anyone having any pothole issues even with the 21's...

now if your the type who doesn't care about aesthetics or handling much at all then of course the 18's will without a doubt provide the most impact protection & most comfortable ride, but then again you could buy a hummer instead and have even more too, so it's all relative. the sportyness of the 21's is awesome & they can survive even nyc winters for the most part but it wouldn't be bad to have a separate set of dedicated winters too if that's an option you'd consider
 
no problems with my 21's....when i put on aftermarket 22's on am making them my winter set......(turbocad...i cant wait to see them man!!)
 
I was afraid the color you picked for your 21's was a little too light at first but they look sick, your going to like them I think. gotta get them balanced tommorow :)
 
a medium grey metallic, it's a 2012 fiat color, not your typical dark wheel look but dark enough for some contrast, looks really nice
 
Thanks for all the replies. This helps my confidence that I won't be at the tire shop all the time. Now I need to confince my wife that she will not be stuck on the road by herself every month, but isn't that why there is Infinity 24Hr Roadside Assitance for 4 years?

My tire guy says the Bridgestone OEM tires are not any good for the snow and ice. He will sell me a set of snow tires cheap from the FX50 his dad turn in. How many people are swapping the tires on the OEM wheels versus having a second set of wheels for their winter tires?
 
For winter tires, it is much nicer top have them on another set of rims dedicated for winter use.
 
Hi guys, noob question: why are the bigger wheels sportier? I mean what's the phyisics of it? And what do they do - corner better, or allow for a faster acceleration? I am stock right now, and I wonder if I should spend the money for bigger wheels ( I admit they look better) . Cheers and thanks!
 
Bigger wheels give you a wider stance for better handling , the tire profile is less on the bigger wheel so there is less tire squirm which equates to better handling. Bigger wheels also look much better. The ride is somewhat firmer with bigger wheels. It depends what you want.
 
Thanks, I get the part with the squirm, but why would they give a wider stance? Don' t they have the same width, just bigger diameter?
By the way, do you have snow yet in Kincardine?
 
They don't necessarily give you a wider stance unless you use spacers which many people do. That pushes the tires away from the wheel wells and thus wider stance and better handling. The down side of bigger wheels is that they are typically less forgiving because there is less rubber between the wheel and the road and therefore less shock absorption.
 
even though larger wheels are considered more "sporty", the truth is performance is actually much better overall with the smaller wheel with a shorter tire. performance as far as acceleration, stopping & even overall handling will be much better with a lighter weight and smaller 18" wheel instead of a much heavier and larger 21 or 22" wheel. the bigger wheel is more sporty *looking*, but not the best as far as actual performance goes.

the problem is higher unsprung weight & higher rotational mass are both bad for performance, but a tiny wheel on a big vehicle will just look stupid, so larger diameter wheels are used to look right proportionately

the reason for big wheels is big vehicle, it would just not look as good with a 18" wheel and shorter tire, tall 18" tires will give excessive sidewall flex. best performance would be a light weight 18" wheel and a shorter tire. smaller diameter tire will also increase the gear ratio slightly & give better acceleration because of that too but would really look odd unless lowered a whole lot, even then they will look too small visually

the best balance of looks and performance is to try to get a relatively lighter weight bigger wheel. cheap very heavy big wheels are real performance killers and very heavy wheels are also much more prone to pothole damage too. a decent not too heavy bigger wheel is the best compromise of looks and performance. you are trading off a little performance for beauty most consider it a worthwhile trade off.
 
I have 21" wheels right now and thy are going to be my winter setup. Up here in Boston there are many potholes Nd I have hit many potholes granted never in the winter since I just purchased these rims a few months. I have not encountered any issues with the potholes I have hit. Now the 22" rims I felt more of the impact in the summer then I have with the 21"
 
ifxdit said:
Thanks, I get the part with the squirm, but why would they give a wider stance? Don' t they have the same width, just bigger diameter?
By the way, do you have snow yet in Kincardine?
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no snow here, I would much rather have a white Christmas.
 
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