pot hole woes

[ur85q]

Turning onto the Wakehurst Parkway from Mona Vale Road (in the north of Sydney), I hit the mother of all pot holes yesterday. It made a hell of a noise, as if I'd hit a curb at high speed, and since then my R36 feels rougher to drive. It feels a little grainier on right handers (through the steering), and general driving seems a little rattlier than I remember.

Any pointers on what might be wrong? I'm due for my 1500km inspection back with VW and would like them to straighten out anything that's wrong with the car.

I went back today to see the pot hole, and it looks nasty ... kind of like a wheel rut / groove in the road that runs downward into a pretty decent upward step.

Does anyone know if the local council carries any responsibility to damage caused by pot holes on their streets?

[Silver dub]

Don't hold your breath with the council doing anything about it. My cousin used to work for the council and he hit a massive pot hole in his SRI and completely stuffed his rim and tyre. They would not do anything about it and he just had to wear it.

[dylan8]

They normally dont. I've looked in to simular things (speed bumps built to high/skinny and close together (damaging even stock height cars)) and they pretty much have a policy saying "at your own risk" to everything. But worth while trying.

[Rocket36]

Take photos of the pot hole, get evidence of the damage (i.e. receipts stating "repairs to damage caused by pot hole") and then send a letter of demand to the council responsible.

As for what's wrong, most likely just the wheel out of balance/alignment. You should have the tyre removed and the rim checked for damage (also check its balance without the tyre). There is potential damage to the strut too but if it was slowish speed, unlikely.

[ur85q]

Thanks guys - much appreciated.