The damage pot holes do...

[2_Dang_Fast]

OK, let's start that I'm new here and have been dropping in on threads to figure out what's good and what's not so before pulling the trigger. I've kinda narrowed it down and am now gonna start tossing out questions as they randomly come to me.

So the question of the day, after having a pot hole the size of a water buffalo swallow my beemer the other day, what has damaging pot holes done to your suspension, did you end up swapping parts out, or was the quality of your undercarriage enough to take it like a man?

This is a concern to me because I live in SatanVille (L.A.) where anything less in size then a V.W. is not considered a nuisance and therefore will remain unfilled until Jay Leno trashes a Billion $ Bugatti and then, begrudgingly, it will be dealt with.

[dcdoug]

A fellow member of the Capitol Area Cobra Club broke a shock in half hitting a pothole on our New Year's Day cruise. Bilstein shock on an FFR. Broke like a matchstick. I have heard they have an issue with breakage.

[*13*]

Try to avoid!!!!! A Cobra sits pretty low at at least the Oil Pan, Side Pipes & Bellhousing. I try not to hit a pot hole if I see one or try to straddle any debris I see laying in the street.

What Cars do you have in mind at this point?

[Got the Bug]

I've heard that in California, you can file a claim if you experience damage to your car due to a pothole. Never tried it, but I know that the guy who covers the traffic in the San Jose Mercury (Mr. Roadshow) has answered a bunch of question on the subject.

[Trueoo7]

OK... not a cobra but a 99 Honda Accord. (daughters car)
1 Blown tire - 2 bent rims.... $130 for tire, put bent rims in rear
Bent the passenger side upper and lower A- arms back, $495 to straighten, $80 to align
Broke front and side motor mounts, $1050 (Honda Dealer)
Passenger side rear bearing started to make noise $200
Driver side upper bushings went bad, may or may not be related $125

She drives a little more careful now !!

[Excaliber]

Hit one on my motorcycle, bent/cracked the rear wheel, flat tire, got a tow. $435 just for the RIM!

[Gunner]

Not a Cobra, but several years ago we were on our way to the airport for a family trip at oh-dark-thirty. There had been a tremendous rainstorm overnight but it had stopped, so no one thought anything of it. Just before the freeway onramp I hit a real headbanger of a pothole from a washout, and thought, "uh-oh..."

My wife was right behind me in a Volvo with 19-inch 40-series tires. The pothole (which I later looked at - it had a slope down into it leading to a 3-inch sharp curb on the exit) shredded both tires on that side and cracked one rim. She continued onto the freeway (not much choice) and drove it two miles to the next exit on disintegrating rubber. The low-pros concealed the damage in the dark and on a smooth highway... for a while.

That was just the beginning of a fun, fun day getting 8 people across the country...

[Ron61]

Our pot holes around here are legendary as some small vehicles get lost in them.

But the only damage I have ever had is knocking the front end out of alignment and that was when going slow and trying to avoid any pieces of pavement that may still be laying around where the street used to be paved. I had my Cobras suspension very well built up and with the 12 way adjustable shocks was able to adjust it for these streets until I got out to better ones then I would take a few seconds and adjust it back.

Ron

[mdross1]

Our roads have deteriated so bad in places around here,avoiding them is a must.Some of our roads like so many of you are almost impassable.Frontend repair is the norm,it's unavoidable.

[Ron61]

Have any of you watched the TV show "The Crumbling Of America?" It really shows just how bad our highways and infrastructure is. The last time they paved the street that I live on was in 1969.

Ron

[*13*]

Ron, I see you are a facebook'r. Join the group "Infrastructure In Peril". You're encouraged to post pictures to raise awareness of our horrible streets & utilities condition. Sorry for the thread hijack.... Back to potholes

[2_Dang_Fast]

Originally Posted by *13*

Try to avoid!!!!! A Cobra sits pretty low at at least the Oil Pan, Side Pipes & Bellhousing. I try not to hit a pot hole if I see one or try to straddle any debris I see laying in the street.

What Cars do you have in mind at this point?

Those are both points that I live by as the beemer is a couple of inches lower from a Dinan Stage 3 suspension kit, unfortunately, we all catch one sooner or later.

Don't know if you saw that video of Leno driving the MB up on Mullholand Dr. but you can get an idea of what the streets are like out here... and this is in an area with multi million dollar homes - I'm in the low rent district of Burbank. I think Jay even mentioned that that stretch of road hadn't been repaved since 1980!

What I'm thinking is either a SPF or BDR as they both seem to retain value and are companies that believe in high attention to detail. You guys here at the club seem to really through respect their way so I'm thinking that's a good way to go. Now if I can find the right deal...I'm a real cheap bastard and won't pounce till I feel right about it.

[Excaliber]

You guys here at the club seem to really through respect their way...

Uh, not all of us feel that way, but mostly we don't want to start a fight over it (again...).

[*13*]

I've seen every inch of Mullholland from a bicyce, several times. It's pretty bad but far from the worst. Try Beverly blvd from silverlake to Beverly hills. Might as well be driving Belgian cobbles

[Gunner]

Originally Posted by 2_Dang_Fast

What I'm thinking is either a SPF or BDR...You guys here at the club seem to really through respect their way...

As Excaliber put it, we don't want to start another maker fight in this thread. Suffice it to say that everyone makes their choice for various reasons and very few owners ever diss their own make. Most owners tend to promote their choice as 'better than the others' even when the judgment is questionable.

One thing to look at carefully and keep in mind is that there is significant cost stratification among the makers, so "best" tends to mean "best at X price point." The arguments can get blurry - and silly - if you aren't aware of the sometimes apples to oranges (or apples to horse-apples) comparisons.

[2_Dang_Fast]

Yea, the valley side of life is just nasty street wise. I almost wish I was still a kid on a skateboard or bike so I could enjoy where trees have pushed up sidewalks into perfect jumps. This town has gone to crap which is why I'm trying to figure out whose components are just a little flimsier then others and whose are bulletproof.

I didn't mean to offend anyone individually or any manufacture by stating my preference in machine.

If you have some insight and don't want to post for fear of touching off WWIII feel free to PM me.

[*13*]

Best thing to do is ask brand specific questions. "which is better" usually means "grab the popcorn & a comfortable seat"

those both sound like good choices. Doing your homework will net the perfect match for you. We all have different reasons for owning these cars

[Randy Rosenberg]

Originally Posted by Got the Bug

I've heard that in California, you can file a claim if you experience damage to your car due to a pothole. Never tried it, but I know that the guy who covers the traffic in the San Jose Mercury (Mr. Roadshow) has answered a bunch of question on the subject.

My wife hit a pot hole on 101 in San Mateo, and we filed a claim with the State (I forget which agency) for the damage. However they denied the claim saying that they will only cover the repair to our vehicle if it was damaged by "the pothole" and if we previously reported "the pothole" to them to fix. Their position is that I needed to give them an opportunity to fix the pothole after reporting it. If they failed to fix it, and THEN it caused damage, then they would pay the claim. B*llsh*t, if you ask me - what a waste of energy of us to file such the claim.

[Excaliber]

Some have sued the State of Hawaii for damages from pot holes, some have won their case. It's a battle with no guarentees of victory at the end.

I didn't bother to file a claim for my motorcycle, just to much hassle.