jbbnet

Ok. I seen this online but i wasn't sure how good it is. It looks similar to equipment i've seen elseware. Take a look. Its all you need to straighten your wheels. Does anyone know if it works??

http://hometown.aol.com/truwheel/

From the website: "The WHEEL STRAIGHTENER is designed to repair most bent Steel & aluminum wheels. Bent steel and Alloy wheels no longer need to destroyed. Our equipment for repairing a bent rim is easy to use and is a low cost investment to any automotive shop. Alloy wheel repair is becoming a great new industry with more and more cars now coming equipped with alloy wheels. Many Salvage yards, Hub Cap & Wheel centers and used wheel dealers now use this type of equipment. Our system will straighten most bends and dents commonly caused by bad roads and curbs. The system can be used on both sides of the wheel as shown below. Heat ( Propane Torch) must be used with alloy wheels.
(A Black & Decker WorkMate or similar clamping bench is recommended with this system.)
* The bench and propane torch are not supplied. "

jbbnet

this is what you get for $550.00

jbbnet

looks like it's going to cause way more damage to the outside. I don't believe it would work with most larger wheels with the big lips.

Grimpy

Looks like it would be able to handle more than a 3" lip.... however I wouldn't take the chance...

SoCalSC4

It would make sense that you'd need heat to straighten aluminum rims. This isn't always a great thing, as it can 'harden' the aluminum and cause it to be more brittle. The difficulty with this is that next time you hit a pothole with the repaired wheel, the wheel will be more likely to crack than bend.

With a bent wheel, usually air pressure is maintained for a limited time, or even indefinitley. A cracked rim can mean a catastrophic failure of the wheel, with sudden & complete loss of air pressure: not a good thing at high speeds.

For a truly high-performance or track-oriented car, replace the wheel, or replace the damaged rim piece if it is a modular wheel- (most Japanese wheel manufacturers will not supply individual rim components, unfortunately).

strongsail

That thing is basically a no-name made-in-taiwan portapower kit that you can buy for about $150, and a couple of pipe fittings and the aluminum blocks, nice margin there, plus absolutely heat will make the wheel brittle, I have watched a pro wheel guy at work and he does it all cold, heavy hammer and a big soft drift on a bench die, spin & check, beat some more, spin, etc. - some big bends can be pushed out part way, but the final steps are all hand work, pay a pro to fix it