Wheel curbage...fml

[Rat3d ///M]

How do members on here (who daily drive their M3) deal with wheel curbage? Is it just an unfortunate event that is bound to happen sooner or later, or can it really be prevented through careful driving?

When I bought the M3 a few weeks ago, all 4 wheels were pretty much mint. Maybe a couple small nicks here and there, but nothing that I could really speak of or that you would notice without looking at each wheel less than 6 inches away.

In the passed 3 weeks, I have curbed my front passenger wheel twice. First time was the first weekend I had the car. Took it to the car wash, and when driving in I was too far to the right. The car slipped off the rail and took a nice 2 inch chip off the powder coat right on the edge. After being pissed at myself, I went and bought some black BMW touch up paint just so it was less noticeable and so it wouldn't chip anymore. It isn't noticeable from more than a foot or two away, but is definitely there (it helps hide it because the wheels are black, so I have that going for me I guess).

Then today, some asshole was sitting in traffic at a 4 way stop and was way too far in the middle of the road. I tried to get around him to get out of the intersection, but got a little too close to the curb and took 3 or 4 nice little nicks out of the same wheel (small nicks, but noticeable nonetheless). Living in Europe, it is hard to avoid it. We have narrow streets and people can't drive for shit.

Is this just something that is bound to happen (especially in Europe) or am I a moron for curbing my wheel twice in 3 weeks? Humour me, and tell me that it happens to everyone.

[s85e90]

I gotta say it's you. I haven't curbed wheels in a loooooong time. Maybe some times it may be unavoidable but what you just stated seems to be driver error. Maybe be more careful?

[bimmerfrk]

Damn dude its an M3 not a monorail, chill with the curbs.

[Slalom]

Originally Posted by s85e90

I gotta say it's you. I haven't curbed wheels in a loooooong time. Maybe some times it may be unavoidable but what you just stated seems to be driver error. Maybe be more careful?

Not sure where you are located, but I fee the original poster's pain. Driving in Europe is not as easy as driving in North America. Granite curbs are everywhere, I rarely saw a chamfered curb as is found here. No matter how careful you are, eventually you will have some curb rash. If you can live with it, great. If not, there are repair places and kits.

One of my winter rims was damaged by the dealer during an oil change. He promised to fix it over the summer. He did not now I will be paying $200 since I only noticed it after I left Switzerland.

[s85e90]

Originally Posted by bimmerfrk

Damn dude its an M3 not a monorail, chill with the curbs.

this made me

[burtonsbs5114]

Sorry to hear about your wheels, I would just say be more careful.

When I bought my car, I also purchased wheel and tire insurance. It covers light (curbing) damage and also heavy damage. If I ever curb mine, I just bring them back to the dealer, if they can fix it great, otherwise a new wheel for me .

[Sebringjetta]

Originally Posted by bimmerfrk

Damn dude its an M3 not a monorail, chill with the curbs.

lmfao !!!!!!!

[Slalom]

Originally Posted by burtonsbs5114

Sorry to hear about your wheels, I would just say be more careful.

When I bought my car, I also purchased wheel and tire insurance. It covers light (curbing) damage and also heavy damage. If I ever curb mine, I just bring them back to the dealer, if they can fix it great, otherwise a new wheel for me .

Wheel and tire insurance is an option in NA (I had it on my E70) but it was not available in Switzerland - not sure about Germany here OP is located.

[Edward]

It's really not a big deal. I really dislike curb rash and won't ever let it live on any of my wheels, but it's not anything to stress about. A decent wheel repair place can refinish the edge of the rim in a matter of a couple hours. I curbed one of my ZCP wheels 50% of the way around the entire rim on a curb I didn't know was there pulling out of a parking spot someone else parked my car into. I paid $125 or so to have the thing refinished. I've had multiple others repaired on my last E92. It's just money and a bit of time to fix it...well worth it.

[whats77inaname]

How does one avoid curbing?

First and foremost, never do this:

Originally Posted by |||||||||

Took it to the car wash

Hand or bay washing only. Auto car washes = setting yourself up for failure.

[Mvy]

I noticed Pilot super sport tires seem to come over the rim a bit providing some rubber protection, reducing the risk of rashing(but increasing the risk of sidewall damage). Hankooks were recessed so made it much easier to make this mistake.

[obe100]

Originally Posted by |||||||||

......"and people can't drive for shit."

hmmmm.......

[roastbeef]

stop driving poorly.

[V8FunNaturally]

1. European streets = granit curbs and pedestrian sidewalks. North american roads almost never have curbs or sidewalks. The sides are just grass or dirt. Which sucks except when driving a car.

2. automated car wash ? mistake.

3. I did a european delivery for my m3 and inevitably curbed one wheel downtown a european city while parallel parking the car in a narrow street next to a high curb despite being extremely careful. When the car was shipped to north america to my suprise the entire wheel had been replaced under european delivery insurance The cost of the new wheel was even in the documents

don't be hard on yourself, in europe it happens easily.

[Edward]

Originally Posted by sunsweet

North american roads almost never have curbs or sidewalks. The sides are just grass or dirt. Which sucks except when driving a car.

Strong generalization. I'm in the US. First of all, I have yet to see a road without a curb unless I'm in the canyons here. Secondly, I don't even think people hit curbs typically while at speed. You hit curbs slowly maneuvering around crappy parking spots and trying to parallel park on curved streets etc.

[V8FunNaturally]

Originally Posted by Edward

Strong generalization. I'm in the US. First of all, I have yet to see a road without a curb unless I'm in the canyons here. Secondly, I don't even think people hit curbs typically while at speed. You hit curbs slowly maneuvering around crappy parking spots and trying to parallel park on curved streets etc.

You're right on your 2nd point, curbing most of the time happen at inches per hour speed when trying to get into a tight spot parallel parking * which happens x10 more in europe *.

About curbs, i've lived in both continents. In europe there are curbs absolutely everywhere. Here unless you are getting into downtown areas, most roads have no curbs and i've driven in many states.

[tinman831]

Originally Posted by Edward

Strong generalization. I'm in the US. First of all, I have yet to see a road without a curb unless I'm in the canyons here. Secondly, I don't even think people hit curbs typically while at speed. You hit curbs slowly maneuvering around crappy parking spots and trying to parallel park on curved streets etc.

Agree. Curbs are everywhere in the US. The only places that don't have curbs are more rural country roads where there aren't even sidewalks.

Hitting a curb is purely driver error. It might as well be another car or child there. You have to be aware of your surroundings at all times. I'm not trying to be hard on you OP, as I have curbed my rims plenty of times and even ran head on into one with my bumper when I was driving around in neighborhoods house hunting.

[burtonsbs5114]

Originally Posted by sunsweet

About curbs, i've lived in both continents. In europe there are curbs absolutely everywhere. Here unless you are getting into downtown areas, most roads have no curbs and i've driven in many states.

Not sure where you are driving in the States, but aside from rural, country roads, curbs and sidewalks are pretty much everywhere. Some areas of the country will have the 'high degree angle' curbs, which are sweet, but I would say most places have the standard curb.

[STooK]

I know some of you folks are lucky enough not having to parallel park but in NYC it's a way of life. I bought my M3 without a single curb rash and so far in my 6 months of ownership I haven't added any of my own. I keep in mind that the M3 is slightly wider so I try to give myself some room when parallel parking. Usually the tilt down feature on the passenger mirror helps a ton and if I'm parking on the drivers side then I open the door to check to make sure I'm not too close.

I've curbed every single car I've driven except this one so far. In my previous cars I didn't care as much but I make sure I'm super careful in my M3.

[YolkyPalky]

I would say chill with the over-anxiety over meaningless chit like this. You bought an M3 to drive, so drive it and drive it well! I am so over nicks, chips, scratches, and dings. In fact, I consider them a badge of honor for driving an M3 like it should be driven. I will eventually fix them, when it's time to sell and upgrade to the next model, but until then, I've learned not to get worked up about a ding here, a paint chip there, it's a losing battle you will never win, and like I said, I've learned to consider them badges of honor!

[Edward]

Originally Posted by YolkyPalky

I would say chill with the over-anxiety over meaningless chit like this. You bought an M3 to drive, so drive it and drive it well! I am so over nicks, chips, scratches, and dings. In fact, I consider them a badge of honor for driving an M3 like it should be driven. I will eventually fix them, when it's time to sell and upgrade to the next model, but until then, I've learned not to get worked up about a ding here, a paint chip there, it's a losing battle you will never win, and like I said, I've learned to consider them badges of honor!

Last E92 I had, someone keyed it and my wheel cracked from a pothole and wouldn't hold air. I spent money buying a new oem wheel and paid to have an entire side of my car resprayed to take care of the key mark. Also put brand new Michelin PSS's on the car. Car was pristine again despite being 2 years old. Then I rolled it and totaled it about two weeks after the work was done.

Makes me hesitant to give a sh*t about the small stuff. Someone gave me a tiny ding on my current M3 and I'm like lol ok, what's for lunch?

[byroncheung]

Originally Posted by burtonsbs5114

Sorry to hear about your wheels, I would just say be more careful.

When I bought my car, I also purchased wheel and tire insurance. It covers light (curbing) damage and also heavy damage. If I ever curb mine, I just bring them back to the dealer, if they can fix it great, otherwise a new wheel for me .

Hi burtonsbs5114 just curious how much it costed you for the tires / wheels insurance?