bought wheels a long time ago. didnt really do my research cuz they werent the strongest (they arent porcelain but if i had to do it over again i would look for stronger alternatives), they looked simple and clean and i got them for a great price.
i cracked and slightly bent one, thanks to wonderful buffalo roads, and basically put them up on a shelf for 2 years.
i finally got around to fixing them. i welded the crack, it came out great. i bead blasted them to get ready for their new finish. they only thing left to do was get the bend pressed out.
this is a problem i guess due to the fact that there is a channel that runs around the circumfrence of the wheel. this channel collapsed slightly…so the wheel while being an 1/8" out of round usually isnt a problem, but now the material is altered in more than one direction. this channel, and then of course the diam.
so unless i had a die that could fit in the channel while i press and work the bend out, the wheel will always have a bit of a wobble. not a big deal, since i think i can get it close…but i would hate to spend money on tires to always have this annoying wobble (even though they didnt wobble that i remember on the car :shrug:)
the other option is to send the wheel back to the comany i bought from and pay 199.00 to get a new outer put on. only problem is i dont want to send them money. i would rather send them viruses causing them severe stomach pains and uncontrollable vomiting. they were a terrible company to deal with and i would hate to give them any money at all.
so:
fix it myself and put the tire on the right rear just in case i cant get it perfectly round
send it out
scrap it
make it into a fancy crock pot and just cut my losses with the other 3 (build a trike maybe in the future?)
option E. See if you can find a used wheel in good condition for the set.
Do you still like these wheels, or are you considering a different set in the near future? If you’re thinking new wheels I’d say fix it yourself. No sense dropping a couple bills if you don’t plan to keep them long term.
finding them used would be next to impossible. these are custom made wheels.
also, the reason i am where i am is because they cannot be professionally fixed due to the reasons i stated. i already looked at that option and it is why i am considering fixing tem myself
the 1/8" Out of Round may not be a big deal. Probably won’t even notice it unless it’s oblong. But long term could cause stress fractures, especially if it’s a weaker wheel.
the 1/8" Out of Round may not be a big deal. Probably won’t even notice it unless it’s oblong. But long term could cause stress fractures, especially if it’s a weaker wheel.
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the 1/8 is deceiving. even though it is 1/8 on the diam of the lip, the channel is actually what has a bigger effect because there is more material involved. i took it over to fox on william today and when they spun it on the balancer you could see the imperfection was in the channel, not the lip.
i think i will just make a press to match the id of the channel and the id of the lip and just gnetly guide it out with a porta power. and before i mount tires or anything spin it on the balancer again to make sure it is close.
i am not too worried about stress fractures etc. the wheels are strong, just the spun outer rim is weak…and you know this cuz you have seen them so why bring that up?
I dunno, I may have to roll with the crockpot crew.
Just fix it to the best of your ability. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, then you’re going to have to buy wheels anyway, just unmount the tires and put them on the new wheels. Buying tires is going to happen regardless, right? :shrug:
yeah, no tires are on these at all. havent been in years.
i will push it out and see if i can get it to spin somewhat wobble free. if i didnt notice it before, anything i do to make it better can only help…and i will put it on the passenger side rear then i reduce my chances of caring even more.
but if i dont fix these i wont get new wheels or anything. they were just icing on the cake for having my car back up and running. not too concerned with getting the bling 18 on over just riding the decent light 17
My neighbor just had his manesium wheels straightened out for $70 bucks.(hopped a curb, gave the rim an oval shape) He took it to a local dealership, and they have a guy who comes around in a van with some truing machinery that will whip any rim back in to shape. I’ll see if I can get more details on it, but I’d image they’d have a place/person in Buff that specializes in the same thing.
then i reduce my chances of caring even more.