DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Here's what happened . I've know since the December holiday that I had a bend in my passenger side rear wheel... felt the slightly bumping ride on the way home for the holidays and I found the bend on the inside of the rim.

OK. I expected that would happen sometime. The bend looked pretty bad so I called up Will and ordered a replacement that I could put on and then just get the original one repaired if it was possible. Thought it would be good to have one on hand anyway since there is obviously a time lag with ordering many JDM wheels like my Piaa's. While I was at it, I went ahead and asked Will to get me one for the front as well to use as a spare (I need the high disk because of my big brake upgrade).

Fast forward to last week. My replacement wheels are almost here from Will, I've got a new tire ready in the garage and am feeling good that it will be all taken care of. I took my GS into the dealer for my 60K service and some other minor stuff. I tell them about the bent wheel in case they take it for a test drive and notice the bump. I get a call from my service guy who tells me ALL my wheels have a bend in them . They pulled up on a rack when I went to pick it up so that I could see the damage, pictures below. Ugh, shoot me now.

I can only think of one event (while I was driving or in the car, at least) that might have caused this... because ALL the wheels have the same type bend on the inside of the wheel (and only that one bend). I came down a road to an intersection and found a car burning furiously in the road in front of me, with police blocking the intersection. They directed me (and other traffic) over a small curb and median to head back the other direction. At the time it didn't feel like it was too big/bad of a bump. But it's the only thing I can think of that would have possibly bent all four of the wheels in a similar manner (vs potholes).

Anyway... I'm going to put the two new wheels on, send two of the bent ones to get fixed, then the last two. I've done a search for other 'bent wheel' threads here and found two references for places that fix rims.

http://www.wheelcollision.com/
- and -
Wheels of America, 888-434-9746, will repair any wheel for $109, www.fixrim.com

My questions:

1) Any positive or negative experiences folks here might have had getting rims fixed at the places above (especially if you have 2 piece rims like my Piaas)?

2) Any other recommendations for places to get them fixed

3) Anyone with similar bends in their wheels that can comment on how successful efforts were in getting them fixed. Any caveats?

THANKS

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Pictures below, no tire bulges are evident yet indicating stress.

bravo261

iTrader: (1)

ouch. i'm sorry, that's horrible. good luck on getting good feedback and a proper fix

mcgong

ohhh:eek: sorry to see that bro.

TurboSC

I have SLIGHT bends, not that bad on 2 of my Racing Harts.. I did not see any difference in tire wear, or performance. Maybe it is because it is a 3 piece rim? I would get it fixed though.. That sucks bro..

http://rise.gamester.net/m5sale/HPIM0097.JPG bend in rim..

cyclemax

Dave:

That damage looks consistent with a curb corner. The deformation of the rim is very localized.

Have you considered contacting the insurer of the PD that ordered you to cross the median?

400DGRZ

iTrader: (2)

Sorry Dave. Man I won't be crossing any curbs or medians in the future.

JacobT

Dave,

From my understand, 1 piece cast wheels are stronger than 2/3 piece wheels. I had 3 sets of multi piece JDM wheels before, they all got bent evantually. I even had set got internal bent which the mounting surface was not streight due to thin spokes. That's why I got 20" one-piece cast rims with big thick spokes now

PAULGS430

Hey Bro. Whas up Dave. I have always admired your car & your choice of tasteful mods. Cool *** car site too.Well anyways dude. I know exactly where your coming from. I just recieved my Altstadt Lubecks 19's like 3 mths. ago. I bent my rim outside & inside rim going over railroad tracks too fast. I just forgot that I had 19's w/low profiles. So I just sent out my frt. driver side rim out to Wheel Collisions in Bath, PA. I know HOTLEX400 CL (NY)member who say's they are great at repairs & refinishing of rims. I packed her up carefully & shipped it out (THUR) today. & they should be getting it FRI. Bath,PA is near Scranton PA. & very well known co. that does professional work. I asked them on the phone about the process. My lubecks are multi-piece so they take it apart & heat up the rim & use a pressure hat form to bring the rims back to shape. They then polish the lip & then they reapply a clear coat.
I am concerned about how good the work will really turn out but, I 'm gonna give em a try. HOTLEX400 sent them 4 BLITZ 19's w/polished lips & they came back awesome. I'm hoping mine will be the same. Hey let me know who ya use & how your rims turn out bro. I have never had to get rims repaired before so I'm curious.
Paul

Manaray

Jacob - Actually, 1-piece cast wheels have a tendancy to CRACK rather than bend like most true 2/3-piece wheels...I've personally done it ...that's their downfall...the strongest is a 1-piece forged wheel...or a 2/3 piece with TRUE forged lips (I don't know anyone who makes that...maybe Work?)

Anyways, once the wheel is cracked, well you're screwed pretty much...at least with bends, many of them, you can bend back and in the case of most 2/3 piece wheels (and a local manufacturer), you can have them repair/replace it.

I also keep my tires inflated a bit higher than 32 pounds...usually around 40-42 pounds...a ride is a little bit stiffer but it lessens the chance of bending your wheels...most of the people that I've seen with bend lips usually had their air pressure too low (maybe trying to compensate for the rougher ride? Dunno...)

BananaGS

I sent my wheel out for curve scratch repair before (it IS NOT the same, just like a repainted car)
they machined the wheel, overything looks great, exept the clear coat/the paint they used is sux, next time, I will tell them not to clear coat the lip, I am gonna polish them myself.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Anh,

Who did you use to fix your wheel? Overall it sounds like you were pleased with the machine work, just not the cosmetics, right?

Thanks
D

aldo23

Wheels of America, hmmm, are they based in Miami, if they are do not send them there. They fixed one of my Bersaglio rims a yr back. Before starting, the tech advised me that he cannot match the metal that's used in Japan. Regardless, I got it fixed, and when I got it back, the lip looked great. But after the wear-tear of driving, I started noticing the tire loose it's polish. Mind you, it was a polished lip. I ended up buying some product(supposely the best for rims) but i never got it back to its original shine. Make a long story short, they suck(the miami 1 that is)....

garnet92

Dave – I feel your pain – well, 25% of it anyway. I bent one Altstadt Lubeck (like PaulGS430) and had to have it repaired. The Altstadt’s are 19” 3 pc with polished lip. The repair was flawless, you couldn’t tell which wheel was damaged or where the bend was unless I pointed it out. I just say this to indicate that they can be successfully repaired. Your bend(s) look just like mine did – about the same length and depth.

I had mine repaired by Wheel Technologies here in Dallas, but they have locations all over the country. They mostly deal with dealers but do provide services to retail customers as well. Their flat-rate price is $125.00. Just thought that I’d offer another alternative. Their website shows the repair procedures and it’s pretty impressive – probably same as any other quality operation. Check it out at wheeltechnologies,com.
I used them ‘cause they were recommended by Sewell Lexus and Davenport Motors, both of whom I trust.

Another thing to watch for – whatever I hit that damaged the rim also damaged the tire cords as well. The repair dude pointed it out as soon as they removed the tire. So, I had to buy another (expensive) tire – expensive accident. I hope that your tires haven’t also been damaged – but check them out thoroughly.

retrodrive

Sorry for your misfortune Dave. I am in the similar situation after the accident. One of my wheels will need a replacement and another 2 wheels I need to fix.

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Thanks guys and appreciate the feedback and alternative places. Keep 'em coming, the more informed decision the better.

BTW, I didn't mention it in my original post, but those bends are ALL on the inside of the rim, not on the polished outside lip. So maybe they won't have to do anything to the lips or clearcoat; I'd hate to have those screwed up.

I'm not sure if I want to have the two worst wheels (drivers side IMO) or the two least-damaged wheels fixed first. I'm leaning towards the least-damaged because I'll have the best shot of getting four straight wheels back on the car again fastest (just in case the worst-damaged ones can't be fixed). However, that's the riskier approach - keeping driving on the worst-damaged ones... most likely to have a blowout or other tire issue. Oh well, they haven't blown out in the last two months, why now .