I live in Manhattan in New York, and roads are very bad here. Every street has potholes and bumps. To my knowledge, I have never bent or damaged a rim. But maybe I have and I just never realized it. Sorry if this is a newbie question but how do I tell? What are the signs? Can I tell by looking at the rim? Just see if the spokes are the same shape? Or look "inside" the rim, at the round surface behind the spokes? If a rim is bent, can I feel the difference while driving immediately after hitting a pothole?

 

A tell-tale sign of a bent/damaged rim is chassis shaking and/or steering wheel vibration at moderate to high speeds (e.g. >40 mph).

 

If you can't see a dent in the rim, and it's holding air, then check it at high speed. If there is no vibration at hwy speeds, then your rim is probably fine. If you feel some vibration, or there is a slow air leak, then you may have a bent rim. Be sure to look at the inside of the rims when the car is up on the lift.

 

If you can't see a dent in the rim, and it's holding air, then check it at high speed. If there is no vibration at hwy speeds, then your rim is probably fine. If you feel some vibration, or there is a slow air leak, then you may have a bent rim. Be sure to look at the inside of the rims when the car is up on the lift.
[/quote]Right, a bend might be confined to the inside. I had a pretty badly bent rim once, on the inside, that caused no ill effects so I left it alone.

 

I developed a vibration in the steering wheel, and the dealer confirmed that one of my front wheels was slightly bent. However, the vibration turned out to be warped brake disks which were replaced and cured the vibration problem.
I looked at the wheel but could not see that it was bent.

 

Good. If you don't notice negative driving affects/can't see a bend, then it is not bent.

 

Generally the first place to bend is the bead area, thats where the tire seats on the rim.

 

Sorry what is the bead area?
Is it the part that attaches to the spokes? Like the "lip" on a deep dish rim?

 

Sorry what is the bead area?
Is it the part that attaches to the spokes? Like the "lip" on a deep dish rim?
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Not the lip. It is, however, the part that attaches to the wheel -- see pic below. A tire's bead allows it to clamp firmly onto the wheel ...

 

Not the lip. It is, however, the part that attaches to the wheel -- see pic below. A tire's bead allows it to clamp firmly onto the wheel ...


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How many beads does a tire have?
And how do you locate them when you're looking at the side of your car?