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View Full Version : A deer hit my wheel rim and cracked it!


hellaGT
03-26-2010, 09:23 PM
I was in the left lane a few car lengths behind a pick-up that was in the right lane on the highway going 70-75mph. Heard a loud smack from where the pick-up was and saw parts of a deer flying toward me...

The big (torso) section was heading right for my windshield so I swerved out of the way to the left as much as I could. It ended up hitting my right rear wheel on my V2's

Later looked at the wheel and just saw a big fleshy blood mark covering half of my wheel and thought, "wow if it would have hit any part of the car's body it would have needed major repair, luckily it was the sturdy rim" then about a month later I washed my car and finally cleaned what was left of that blood stain off my wheel when I noticed a small hairline fracture in the paint. I thought it was just the paint flaking off.

Went to get my tires rotated and the mechanic said he noticed a crack in the one of the wheel spokes... it was a fracture and it went all the way around the back side of the spoke! That was right where the deer hit, tough son of a B...! Could have been gnarly if it were to have fully cracked. I'm rockin the spare doughnut now until I figure out what to replace it with.

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/03/DSC03125-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/03/DSC03126-1.jpg

https://sl-i.net/FORUM/images/imported/2010/03/DSC03127-1.jpg
98outbackpdx
03-27-2010, 04:12 AM
find out who the guy was that hit the deer and report it to his insurance and try to get a new wheel. since he was the one that "technically" caused the accident he is liable.
httrdd
03-27-2010, 08:50 AM
Can you weld that back or would that not be safe? I am sure someone has one that can sell you either on here or rs25.com. Just give them a sob story!
hellaGT
03-27-2010, 03:49 PM
I was told that the structural integrity of the wheel is compromised when cracked. Welding would not help since it would still be the weakest part. I think these wheels a very rare so finding one to replace might be hard. I'll check the wheels over at rs25.com
ouch1011
03-29-2010, 01:19 AM
You must have really nailed that thing.

That might be weld-able. A good weld is just as strong as the metal surrounding it. A professional wheel repair shop could tell you though. A wheel that rare is worth repairing if possible.
hellaGT
03-29-2010, 02:07 AM
I'd like to think that thing really nailed me lol. That's what they all say but the other guy hit it first!

I'll see if a good weld would fix it.
chaksq
04-03-2010, 12:33 PM
Correct me if I am wrong but it is a bad idea to drive a Subaru around on a donut wheel for too long. It will screw with the differential since the wheel diameters are different.
sleepysideways
06-01-2010, 04:49 AM
Correct me if I am wrong but it is a bad idea to drive a Subaru around on a donut wheel for too long. It will screw with the differential since the wheel diameters are different.

that is true with any car if the donut is placed on one of the drivetrain wheels. you can even it out and put another donut on the other side :lol:
jey
06-02-2010, 06:29 PM
that is true with any car if the donut is placed on one of the drivetrain wheels. you can even it out and put another donut on the other side :lol:

It's only a significant problem when you are dealing with viscous coupling limited slip differentials that use speed difference to do the coupling work. Most cars don't have this, but the manual transmission Subarus have VC center differentials. Putting two spares on the same axle will just make it worse.
nomad666666
06-02-2010, 08:37 PM
that is true with any car if the donut is placed on one of the drivetrain wheels. you can even it out and put another donut on the other side :lol:

It's only a significant problem when you are dealing with viscous coupling limited slip differentials that use speed difference to do the coupling work. Most cars don't have this, but the manual transmission Subarus have VC center differentials. Putting two spares on the same axle will just make it worse.

Yes this is true(what jey said) but you are f-ing up the differential (spider and side gears) one side wants to go faster then the other. Thats real bad its only made to do that on turns.... I screwed up a differential when I was 19 doing that cost me $250.00 for a used rear end for that car...