I ran over a pothole the otherday, and the pressure in my right rear tire was low enough to cause the rim to puncture the sidewall, so i had to get a new tire. Now only when i accelerate quickly, the car wants to jerk left a little, and it feels floaty when i shift at higher speeds. Is this because of the new tire (the old tires have about 60% tread left) or are there potential suspension problems. I'm going to get it checked out soon but i was wanting to get some feedback so i could discern the problem beforehand. The new tire isn't the same brand or rating as the other rear tire, if that helps. Thanks.

 

Many problems here.

1. Never replace only one tire. You need both sides.

2. Never mis-match tire brands/models on this car. Instant handling issues.

3. Check the tire pressure. Most times I get my car back from a tire shop it has 40 psi of pressure in there. Big no-no. Should be 32psi.

Check your tire pressure more often and you can avoid this.......if you can't avoid the potholes. I hate those things.

-Hockey

 

Having a different tire on one side different from the other is not a good thing and it's even worse if the tread depth is vastly different. Different depth of tire on the rear would create a slightly different wheel/tire radius and would likely explain the odd driving characteristics you are having.
Are you saying you only hit the pothole with one tire (the rear). I find it hard to believe that you did not also run into the pothole with the front tire on that side as well. If so, you may have bent something both front and rear. Get the alignment checked all around. If something is bent badly enough, aligning to spec may be difficult without some major work.

 

I hit a pothole in my 97 BMW M3 a couple years back. It popped the tire and bent the rim. This was on the freeway in the middle of town in Albuquerque, NM. We complained to the NM dept. of transportation and they paid for the wheel/tire. They paid full price ($500 for wheel, $250 for tire) so you might want to check with the DOT in your state to see if they will reimburse you.

 

thanks for the help everyone. I would have never put a different type of tire on the car, but i had to be 300 miles away the next morning (and it was on a sunday..this was the only tire i could find in my size anywhere) for an important meeting. I might just call the DOT. Oh well, perhaps this is a sign to finally suck it up and buy those ssr professors....only time will tell

 

WOW,
the state replaced your wheel and tire simply because you got a flat from a pothole????

Damn, i am moving to where you are. try pulling that in chicago and you'll get laughed at, then your car will get booted.

 

haha, you have to be very "persuasive"

 

The lower control arm bends very easily on this car, I've seen three to date from curbs and potholes. There are small circular dots on the control arm for referencing, you can measure them out with a ruler. A quick test is to see if the distance between the back of the tire and the fender is different from side to side.