Your unofficial guide to surviving potholes
More than the obvious financial impacts, potholes are a major safety hazard since they can result in losing control of a vehicle or trailer, which can lead to an accident.
Potholes beat up the suspension in your vehicle, accelerating wear and reducing the life of all engaged components. Potholes also damage your tires permanently, even if you don’t suffer a blowout immediately.
Wheel damage is also likely, which can lead to air leaks, tire wear and other issues.
Pothole strikes don’t always result in an immediate blowout.
Inspect your vehicle, and especially its tires, regularly.
Pothole-related blowouts usually result from a tire being split open, crushed or gouged.
In this situation, neither a mobility kit nor a run-flat tire will help. If you have a pothole-related blowout and no spare tire, your trip is likely over.
Minimize inevitable pothole impacts by applying as much hard braking as possible before the impact to reduce your speed, but release the brakes at the last moment to help mitigate damage.
CAR BUYING TIPS
Skip optional upsized wheels (with low-profile tires) where possible. Bigger wheels typically come with thinner tires that can be damaged more easily by pothole strikes.
The thicker and more balloon-like the tires, the more cushion they provide. In many cases, this means skipping the optional “sport” package for the vehicle you’re considering.
Pickup shoppers may wish to opt for the off-road package, if available. This typically adds thicker, heavier-duty off-road tires with thick sidewalls — as well as tougher suspension components.
During ownership, be sure to follow your vehicle’s ‘SEVERE’ service schedule for inspection and maintenance that relates to its steering and suspension.
VEHICLES TO AVOID
Performance crossovers: They’re big, they’re heavy, they’re tall and they usually ride on paper-thin low-profile tire side walls that can’t take much abuse.
Performance cars: These mostly use sporty tires with thin side walls. The low ride height can result in further damage to the vehicle’s body.
Luxury flagship sedans: Same recipe as above. Modern luxury flagships tend to be big, heavy and ride on massive wheels with thin tires. In my years of reviewing cars on Sudbury’s roads, I worry most about pothole damage in vehicles like this. Repair costs for these pricey rides can also be stratospheric
RECOMMENDED CARS
For a combination of ride quality that stands up nicely to abuse and resistance to tire blowouts during severe pothole strikes, here are some of my favourites.
Tough SUVs: Jeep Wrangler, Toyota FJ Cruiser, Nissan Xterra, Toyota 4Runner.
Each of these vehicles typically ride modestly sized wheels wrapped by thick, plump tires. Each comes with a suspension system designed to take a beating. You’re less likely to have a blowout, and on many surfaces it feels like the pothole (not the vehicle) is getting the lousy end of the deal.
Subarus Impreza and Crosstrek: Some model grades ride bigger wheels with thinner tires that you may be best to avoid, though the suspension system underpinning these machines turns in ride quality and comfort that stands up nicely to abuse. Where many smaller vehicles can feel like they’re crumbling beneath you, I consistently find Impreza and Crosstrek to feel tougher and more durable than the norm.
Most pickups (and especially the Frontier and Raptor): Pickups are built to tackle rough surfaces, take a beating and pull heavy things. The Ford Raptor adds a trick suspension that’s designed for offroad desert racing and taking sick jumps. Factory-installed off-road tires are thick, beefy and provide lots of cushion. The Raptor is my all-time favourite vehicle to drive on pothole-riddled roads. The Nissan Frontier is a pothole-defeating champ, too.
Crossovers: The Honda CR-V, Hyundai Tucson and Jeep Compass do an above-average job of feeling dense, durable and comfortable on decaying roads that can typically cause ride quality to fall off a cliff.