[e90feen]

hey all,

so last night i was taking a tight turn, only to find a huge raccoon and mind you that I was going pretty fast, so i swirved out of the way and not only hit, but HOPPED the whole curb and i was also on an angle. my car would VIBRATE like crazy when i would go under 20 km/h.. i took some pics but they dont do it justice, the yellow e brake with a exclamation mark is on.. notice in the pics that the driver and passenger front tires are pointing in opposite directions. I couldnt drive the car home so i left it at a friends near by.. what do you guys think, is it possible to have bent the frame?!

[e90feen]

btw, the steering wheel is turned a turn and a half to the right in the pics , so my allignment is for sure out of commission.

[OnlyTruth]

Frame should be ok, but control arms bushings might be torn. tow it to a suspension specialist to inspect. Judging by the wheel damage the impact was severe, I am surprised there is not bubbles on tire, probably the rim took the whole hit

[Kiefermeister]

Ouch man. I have my 300zx TT in the garage since hitting the curb just like you last month...wasn't a racoon, but a freakin grandma driving slow. I tried driving it off with a spare, but the entire assembly moved about in the wheel well, and saw the suspension arm was snapped, and other parts were bent...for me, the repair will be at least the entire right suspension. Of course I managed to screw up my new 19s in the process. Best of luck to you, and I would definitely lift and look carefully at all suspension/attachement areas.

[itsbrokeagain]

quite a few things bent it seems. tension rod, lower control arm and possibly the tie rod ends...could have even damaged the rack..

[e90feen]

so whats the worst/best case scenario? i know its vague and stupid to ask considering you need to see and inspect the vehicle to tell, but ballpark figure, what does something like this run? and is it possible to damage the frame from a hit like this? thanks alot guys, shoulda invested in winter tires, been driving for 8 years and this is my first accident :S.. had to learn the hard way

[e90feen]

so whats the worst/best case scenario? i know its vague and stupid to ask considering you need to see and inspect the vehicle to tell, but ballpark figure, what does something like this run? and is it possible to damage the frame from a hit like this? thanks alot guys, shoulda invested in winter tires, been driving for 8 years and this is my first accident :S.. had to learn the hard way

[tofu-]

time for coils and m3 suspension parts?

[orionredwing]

Well, since I curbed my wheel and ended up with the same results, I can speak from experience. Um, actually my passenger side wheel was rotated even worse than yours.

For me, I bent my front upper & lower control arms (or is it called tension rod & control arm? I forget the technical term, but it's 2 pieces per front side, 4 parts total). It was the perfect opportunity for me to upgrade to the front m3 bits. The M3 bits are the exact replacement parts I needed, with nothing extra. Worked out perfectly!

No, don't worry, chances are you didn't bend the frame. Your car is just misaligned obviously. The vibration is from misalignment and bent control arms.

In fact, my wheels weren't even bent or deformed, so hopefully yours is still ok. But from now on, I recommend opting for a roadforce balance when you replace your tires.

Lastly, don't freak out. Just see it as an upgrade opportunity like I did. I was actually planning on switching to the M3 bits anyways, so I just treated it as an 'early' upgrade. As for the cost, check out HP Autowerks website. Hmm, I forget the labor as Harold installed & aligned my car too (1.5 hrs?). Lastly, worst case - if the car still vibrates at speed, try a roadforce balance. If it still vibrates, then time to replace that wheel.

Good luck! Don't worry, and Merry Christmas.

P.S. After the upgrade, don't freak out from the 'looser' steering feel. NO, your steering column is not messed up. it's just that with the m3 bits, your car understeers a lot less, so the steering response will feel 'looser'. don't panic Hmm, I think that's everything I was paranoid about after I damaged my car like yours, hehe.

PM me if you need more advice or info. Chances are I won't check this thread again for awhile due to holidays.

[e90feen]

how do u like the m3 control arms? is there a substantial difference? inevitably i need to replace the rim so thats a given, time for an upgrade anyways... thanks for your words or wisdom btw lol, merry xmas to u too

[e90feen]

oh and did you go oem?

[The HACK]

Wow. Whoever said the wheels might be fine? That first picture didn't seem so fine to me. I would at least replace that wheel.

Also, this might be monday morning quarterbacking, but RUN OVER THE ANIMAL. Please. When small animals suddenly appear in your path, you have two choices. hit the brakes, hard, in a straight line, or run over them. Don't try to swerve around them. It seems cruel, it SOUNDS cruel. Heck, it IS cruel. But instead of trying to save a life here, you may be putting others in danger. It's the lesser of multiple evils.

[raceyBMW]

Unbelievable that the bead still held and the tire still holds air.

Good luck, sounds like you have some suspension parts to replace most likely...highly doubt you bent the subframe.

[e90feen]

it was the best case scenario at the time, i agree with you tho, there was black ice on the roads too and im not sure if you get that where your from but its not pleasant

Originally Posted by The HACK

Wow. Whoever said the wheels might be fine? That first picture didn't seem so fine to me. I would at least replace that wheel.

Also, this might be monday morning quarterbacking, but RUN OVER THE ANIMAL. Please. When small animals suddenly appear in your path, you have two choices. hit the brakes, hard, in a straight line, or run over them. Don't try to swerve around them. It seems cruel, it SOUNDS cruel. Heck, it IS cruel. But instead of trying to save a life here, you may be putting others in danger. It's the lesser of multiple evils.

[ScaredOnce]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Also, this might be monday morning quarterbacking, but RUN OVER THE ANIMAL. Please. When small animals suddenly appear in your path, you have two choices. hit the brakes, hard, in a straight line, or run over them. Don't try to swerve around them. It seems cruel, it SOUNDS cruel. Heck, it IS cruel. But instead of trying to save a life here, you may be putting others in danger. It's the lesser of multiple evils.

That is great advice. I always try to impart that on others. I've seen so many near misses because people try to swerve around a freakin critter.

Other than dogs (I just love dogs. lol), I'd smack it and not care. I you swerve to miss a raccoon, and hit my car.... if we're both okay, I'm going to choke you with your seatbelt before the EMTs arrive...


ETA: Black ice is scary. There is some skill and awareness that people in snowy areas have to also considered. Just glad the OP is okay and it's only some busted metal. Can be fixed...

[Juan.sidarta]

You must be thinking.. "Should have ran over that bloody raccoon!" GL

[e90feen]

thats exactly what im thinking... damn critters! on the bright side, im going all out, coil overs, 19" bmw 162's, m3 rep bumper... kinda excited lol

[ttam]

From the looks of it, as others have said, your frame should be fine.
Something similar happed to me as well. I had to switch out both control arms and i replaced the knuckle and wheel bearing. As for the rim, I was lucky that it wasn't in the condition that yours are in. I had Son Tran repair it.
Total cost for everything was around 1.5k including alignment, parts, and labor.
Let me know if you want pictures of my old control arm. I still have it around to remind me that I shouldnt drive like an idiot.

[ttam]

Heres a link to the pics of the control arm and the knuckle

View post on imgur.com

[nightfx]

Originally Posted by The HACK

Wow. Whoever said the wheels might be fine? That first picture didn't seem so fine to me. I would at least replace that wheel.

Also, this might be monday morning quarterbacking, but RUN OVER THE ANIMAL. Please. When small animals suddenly appear in your path, you have two choices. hit the brakes, hard, in a straight line, or run over them. Don't try to swerve around them. It seems cruel, it SOUNDS cruel. Heck, it IS cruel. But instead of trying to save a life here, you may be putting others in danger. It's the lesser of multiple evils.

I aim for those fuckers.

[ErvGotti]

My experience hitting a curb about just as hard as you did ended up with more than just replacing control arms. I hit black ice and ended up hitting a curb about 20MPH, and bent up my control arms.

According to the insurance adjuster and BMW dealership who is repairing the damage, BMW specs call for the whole steering section to be replaced and not just the control arm. Totaling close to $6k in parts.

Now I would have thought that this was the dealership trying to scam money out of my insurance company, but after talking with the insurance adjuster he said him and a tech actually looked it up and found it in their repair manual where it says what had to be replaced.

So IMHO take your car in to the professionals instead of just going on what members say on here. I'd rather have my bimmer fixed to spec. Trust me I though it would just be a spimple control arm relacement and my wheel didn't look any near as bad as yours does.

[gunsekun]

yes last time I ran over a racoon.. I put it on reverse so he is 100% dead