michelinman

Well, hate for this to be my first post on the forum, but I hit a curb last night and am seeking advice. The curb was one of the high curbs where the stones stick straight up, not a rounded or angled one.

I was dumb enough to shift hard after redlining first and the tail came out (it was really cold last night). I hit the curb with the front drivers side wheel. All suspension parts on the drivers side seem to look the same as the passenger side. The alignment does not visually look to be off spec and the car drives straight, even under braking.

Unfortunately, the frame got nicked; the bottom most part of the frame that the plastic undercarriage is bolted to is bent backwards a good 3-4 inches. It does not visually look like the bend goes past 10 inches and am hoping that is the case (pics below).

I will go to get a 4 wheel alignment to confirm that the suspension is OK, but any thoughts on how I should address the frame damage? The only bad thing seems to be that the undercarriage is deformed and will not bolt onto the frame correctly.

Thanks in advance for any input.

james0933

Hmm, any noticeable movement or shift of parts aside from that one corner?

Honestly, I wouldn't bother with the alignment place. Most places will adjust your car to conform to the numbers on the screen and not take the frame into consideration.

I've seen worse hits than that on the lower core support of the s2000 and most of them drove straight.

Do yourself a favor and take it to a frame specialist. If you dont know who, call up your local body shop and ask who they go to. The specialist will be able to get your car on a rack and tell you what's been shifted and how many millimeters. The charge usuall 100-$150 an hour and I don't see this taking more than a couple.

michelinman

There were no other parts that were noticeably shifted. It seems that the tire hit the curb, then the car skipped and hit the frame. I think that part of the frame took most/all of the hit.

Thanks for the suggestion, I will start looking into a good shop that can look @ the frame now.

jsenclosure

lol you're perfectly fine. if you look at most s2k that part is bend in from hitting a curb or parking too close. that's not the frame fyi, that's the radiator support.

aresk3b

Normal alignment at shops won't even bother about the chassis, they just turn the dials till it matches the computer reading.
So basically you need to see how it behave on braking and twisting.

If you see it driving straight, I wouldn't bother.

but if you see your car behave weird or you cannot live with that bent part on your soul, take it to a body specialist.
They have chassis machines that could shift it back where it belongs.

ghettocrxsi

If it really bothers you that piece is just spot welded on and you can buy a new one have it spotted on and replace in just a few hours. Very easy fix.

michelinman

So I got an alignment done and had new tires put on (I was due for a new set anyways); the shop had to straighten out the wheels as they were bent. Should I be worried about the wheel bearings or anything like that? I feel a good amount of vibration now but I cannot tell if it is because the road surface is inconsistent and I am not used to the new tires, or if there is something wrong with my suspension. Anyway to determine if this the vibrations are due to the bearings and/or other suspension parts?

BlakeNFR

If your wheel is bent find a new one. Shop's can't "straighten" a wheel.