I'm a huge clod. I took a left hand turn yesterday that turned into a left-ish tangent and the front right wheel of my 06 WRX wagon met a curb at about 5mph. This was my first snow with this car after driving an Outback for 6 years with Nokian tires on it. Needless to say, this car performs a bit differently with stock tires that are are old and worn (5/32" left). So, new tires on order! Nokian WR G2s. However, my alignment is now a out about 5 degrees and I can hear a light wum-wum-wum-wum noise when driving. Does anyone have any ideas as to what I may have bent or broken? Thanks!
Bent rim? Your best bet is to have some one check it out. I'm sure one of our fellow members would do it.
My first Impreza met the curb at least once every winter and thish one time at "The Ring" but that's not important right now. Wheels and struts will bend. Give your wheel a visual inspection if haven't already done so. Look at it from the front of the car to get a picture of how bent the wheel is and if its still safe to drive on. When you get to the alignment shop tell them what happened and have them figure it out for you. It's much easier to look at suspension bits on a lift rather than under the car on a garage floor.
I'm going to bring it in for the new tires later this week. I can have the shop look at the wheel and suspension to see what the extent is. They also do alignments so I can get things straightened out too. Any advantage to getting this figured out before the new tires go on? I really hope it's not a bent wheel! These are the factory 17s, and although there was a scuff, it didn't look bent to my eye. The noise while driving reminds me of when a wheel bearing went on my Outback. There was no vibration, but it would make a noise at speed, which was exacerbated in turns. Thanks for all your replies!
