You guys are killing me. I got the first 5 door Viggen delivered to Washington D.C. back in October of '99, and within a couple of months I hit a pothole hard on the right front. The dealer put it up on the rack and showed me by spinning the wheels that all were bent. I also didn't think I had hit anything, and sent a formal protest to Saab HQ about this and other problems. They sprung for half. Question is, has anyone gotten saab to buy their third set of wheels after the second set bends?

One thing to keep in mind if you are in a pothole prone area is to keep your tire pressure at the upper end of the recommended inflation range. Since keeping mine at 35 psi instead of 32, I have hit thingS that I thought sure would bend my previously straightened rims and they were fine--this of course also reduces handling and has caused just a trace of extra wear in the center of the tire.

The long gory story...

Naturally, in less than two weeks after getting the new wheels I plowed into an unmarked speed bump that was obscured by a shadow trying to beat a light and bent them all. I took them to Ye Olde Wheel Shoppe outside of Baltimore, who did a brilliant job of straightening them for about $105 each, and the straightened rims have been more durable than the originals. The guy who runs the place is known throughout the DC area.

As to why they bend...
Because of front wheel drive and the need to fit all of that stuff between the hubs, our wheels have the spokes on the very outside edge of the wheel as opposed to a Mustang wheel, where the spokes are closer to the center, accordingly the inside edge of the rim is basically unsupported and mushes pretty easily. The guy who straightened mine said that the wheels were actually reasonably strong and that he sees the same thing on all kinds of low profile tire cars: BMWs, Mercedes, etc. The thing about the Viggen is that the steering is so sensitive and finely balanced, you can feel the littlest imperfection. Stretches of road that I always thought were perfectly smooth I now realize are a little washboardy, and if the bend in the rims accentuates this, the rim feels like a worse problem than it is.

FYI The Wheel Shoppe guy said the wheels on the Chrysler Sebring convertible make ours look solid as a rock.

posted by 165.247.9...

• All four Viggen wheels bent!!!, CPS, Thu, 9 Aug 2001 19:57:05
  • Re: All four Viggen wheels bent!!!, Mark, Tue, 4 Dec 2001 09:36:21
  • Re: All four Viggen wheels bent!!!, YellowJacket, Fri, 10 Aug 2001 11:30:15
    • Re: All four Viggen wheels bent!!!, Arnold, Sat, 11 Aug 2001 14:10:37
      • Re: All four Viggen wheels bent!!!, Gary, Mon, 17 Sep 2001 23:27:25 <-- Viewing This Message
        • Re: All four Viggen wheels bent!!!, jay, Sat, 29 Sep 2001 00:33:56
  • Re: All four Viggen wheels bent!!!, Dave C, Fri, 10 Aug 2001 00:14:13
    • Ummm... not quite., pmr, Fri, 10 Aug 2001 07:01:16
      • Replacing Viggen Rims, Jim D, Sun, 12 Aug 2001 10:17:32
      • Radius = Moda? Is this correct?, brian@saabcenter.com, Fri, 10 Aug 2001 20:48:23
        • Thanks. n/m, brian@saabcenter.com, Sat, 11 Aug 2001 11:09:39
        • Moda R1 is the same, it just doen't have the polished finish.n/m, tm, Sat, 11 Aug 2001 01:12:20
        • Yes, it's correct, George D, Fri, 10 Aug 2001 21:30:13
      • Re: Ummm... not quite., Dave C, Fri, 10 Aug 2001 19:17:53

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