Front Left Mag Damage

[pygothian]

I noticed today when washing my car there is an approx 10cm gouge out of my front left mag, and a ~5cm sliver of rubber sliced off the side of my tyre.

I am the sole driver, and definately not hit any kurbs that I am aware of. I am at a loss to what has happened to my wheel.

Is there any known issues with the mags that come stock on the IS250 sports luxury ?

There is absoulutely no possible way this was caused by my driving as I would know if i hit a kurb or grazed something.

I'm in Perth. Anyone know of where I would go to have this sorted as I find it quite unsightly - also I am now concerned about the integrety of the tyre due to the large flap of rubber now grazed away.

Maybe this is an excuse to upgrade to 20" mags ;)

[last1]

More than likely, you've driven over something sharp without realizing the damage had been done. Even a steel can cause damage if driven over in just the right way.

The wheel can be repaired. Sand back the scratch till smooth, fill with body filler/putty, sand again, paint twice plus clear coat, letting the paint blend into the rest of the rim's colour, and polish. The hardest part will be to source the same colour paint as the wheel - have a "paint doctor" do it. If you do the job yourself, make sure you mask properly - paint will make it's way through the gaps in the wheel and onto everything else on the other side!

[Sapphire Cam]

Pygothian - without trying to sound like a 'nanny', Id get your tyre looked at by your nearest specialist tyre store right away. Any damage to the sidewall is potentially dangerous, and the risk of a blowout as you take a sharp corner is considerably increased.

When I did some advanced driving training at Sandown Park raceway a few years ago, the instructors could not stress enough the importance of tyre integrity, particularly the sidewalls. Whenever I wash the car, or wipe the wheels, Im always having a quick look/feel of the sidewalls for exactly that thing. You'd be surprised at the stress tyres are under on cornering. The lower the profile the more concentrated the stress on the sidewall is too.

[pygothian]

Pygothian - without trying to sound like a 'nanny', Id get your tyre looked at by your nearest specialist tyre store right away. Any damage to the sidewall is potentially dangerous, and the risk of a blowout as you take a sharp corner is considerably increased.

When I did some advanced driving training at Sandown Park raceway a few years ago, the instructors could not stress enough the importance of tyre integrity, particularly the sidewalls. Whenever I wash the car, or wipe the wheels, Im always having a quick look/feel of the sidewalls for exactly that thing. You'd be surprised at the stress tyres are under on cornering. The lower the profile the more concentrated the stress on the sidewall is too.

Thanks for the advice. I was quite concerned when I found it. The gash is about 0.5cm deep and about 4cm long on a 45 degree angle from the rim outwards.

Regards to the prior post by last1 about repairing the mag itself...It sounds a little outta my league. Think I'll have to get someone else to sort that out :)

Cheers guys