Oops...

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nconti13
SLE Member
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Posts: 98
Joined: Thu Jan 30, 2014 9:03 pm
Year and Trim: 2004 SE 140,000 miles

Oops...

Post by nconti13 »

The other night I was driving home from school. Earlier in the afternoon it had snowed and the roads were a little slicker than usual, which wasn't really a problem. I had learned to drive in New England weather basically, so a little snow and ice isn't a big deal to me. Most of the main roads were cleared and salted anyways. So I get through most of my 45 minute commute without any issue.

When I turned onto the side street before you turn onto my street, my town decided not to bother salting or sanding the roads at all. Silly me decides to take the corner onto my street a little too fast, hitting the brakes while mid corner... next thing I know, the Bonneville is sliding into the island with foot-high curbs at the end of my street. My front driver's side wheel hit the curb pretty hard.

I was able to limp it down the street no problem, get out and see how much of an idiot I was, and see that the rim that hit the curb was bent, chewed up a bit, and the whole wheel was out of alignment...Luckily my mechanic is about 5 minutes down the street from my house. I limp the Bonnveille over there with my dad following behind me in his truck. Thankfully, Jason, my mechanic, was still there working on his truck. I let him know what happened, and he says he will take a look at it in the morning.

So now onto the damage.....Turns out I bent my rim, trashed the tie rod ends and the boot, and possibly bent the strut and screwed up the knuckle....The tie rod and boot were taken care of, and the strut was adjusted as much as it could be to compensate for the bend. She drives fine now, pulls to the left ever so slightly, so I will probably have the strut replaced over the summer. Any recommendations on what type of strut to get? Also, since one of my rims is trashed now and I cant find a replacement (I have MB Motorsport Viper rims, seems as though they are discontinued..) I may also end up getting a new set of rims for her over the summer as well. When I get closer to getting the rims, I'll start another thread asking for opinions on rim styles.

So lesson learned, don't attempt to be a rally driver in a bonneville when near a huge curb :banghead: :btruestory:
-Noah
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nos4blood70
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Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 6:11 pm
Year and Trim: 2003 SLE
Location: Chicago, IL

Re: Oops...

Post by nos4blood70 »

Oh man.. That sucks! But oh well, sounds like she will at least get some cool new shoes. The struts don't matter as much, just make sure the swap the factory springs onto the new struts. The car will sit obnoxiously high in the front with the replacement springs.
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 250k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 101k miles
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dadofone2011
Posts like an LG3
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Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2014 8:28 pm
Year and Trim: 2002 Galaxy Silver SSEi
Location: Boonville, Missouri

Re: Oops...

Post by dadofone2011 »

glad to hear you're able to fix it
Tyler

2002 Galaxy Silver SSEi "Silver Shadow" 181, xxx miles- DD, tinted taillights, 10000k HID low beams, GXP strut brace, carbon fiber overlays, GXP door bezels and vents and Aeroforce Interceptor Gauge, cleared corners, drilled and slotted rotors, painted calipers, Intense Stage 1 Performance package, smoked door reflectors.
2001 Galaxy Silver SE 119, xxx miles- RIP
2007 White G6 Economy 96, xxx miles- Wife's car, carbon fiber inserts, tinted windows.
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