A 'Weel' Wheel Story

[Duane <drcollie@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

So I'm off to the NCC Chapter meeting two nights ago....bombin' down the
Fairfax County Parkway at a reasonable (?) speed in the early evening, when
I see an asphalt cutaway  right before a concrete bridge transition outta
the corner of my eye.   It went all the way 'cross the roadway and there
was no sign from the road crews that said 'BUMP" or anything like that. 

RUH-ROH!

Now, those of you who drive 40 series-tired cars know that THIS will strike
fear and loathing into the heart of any gearhead with aluminun wheels in a
BIG WAY.  >>>>PANIC<<<<<

I mash the brakes. BIG TIME 'n scrub off speed from 75 mph (reasonable?) to
about 35 mph and still get the dreaded and inevitable "THUNK-WHACK" that
followed. 

AAAAAarrrrrrghhhhhhh!!! CRAP.... CRAP!! ... CRAAAAAPPPP !!!!

Flashers go on, dome light goes on (as they do with any newer BMW that just
'thinks' its been in a collision) and I'm swearin', 'cause this is exactly
the same senario that caused me to bend not only the soft-as-butter M3 cast
stock wheels, but the cast BBS RX's I had previously as well.

And my $$$$$ Fikses are on the car. <sigh>

All the way to the meeting I'm adding up the cost of replacing outer rim
halves and swearing at the Virginia D.O.T. for designing this morbid little
game to purposely wreck havoc into the lives of sports car drivers everywhere.

So I get out to meet up with Pat "DA GEEEEZE" Donahue and first thing I do
is walk around the car. HA!!!! No bent wheels! I'm lovin' life!!!! FIKSES
RULE.  Up on the lift at home the next day, all are straight and true.

So boys 'n girls, moral of the story is when you go to buy wheels, look
twice at forged vs. cast.  Yes, they cost more initially. And yes, they are
not indestructable and wil cost as much or more to repair than cast wheels.
BUT - the other night if I'd have had cast wheels on my car I'd have had a
$ 400 repair bill to true up a set of bent wheels.

Sometime you eat the bear - sometime the bear eats you.

<...burp....> good dinner.

Duane Collie
RM3DR1/UUC/Bubba
National Capital Chapter

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