Wheel bent!!!! what do i do?

[air-cool-me]

ok so when i put new tires on the car they said one of my 7x16's is bent! it could still be ballanced out to 0


so how will this affect the cars handling? will it at all?

can i get it bent back into shape?

how much is it worth now?

can anyone point me to cheap track wheels?

i wont touch it if it cost muchos $$s i cant even afford good tires for it!

heres a pic

[scottb]

Call Al Reed. He'll be able to advise you on what to do about the bent wheel. He's often able to true them.

[Joe Bob]

Hmmmm, bent and it balances? Sounds like horsecrap to me.....go see another wheel guy.

[GeorgeM]

One of the wheels on my wife's Corrado was also slightly bent and balances out okay. I balanced them myself on a new machine. As long as it's not too bad, it is possible.

[K.B.]

There are a number of places that can straighten bent wheels - particularly alumium. Costs can go from $50 to $1000. Sometimes it takes a little heat to get them into tolerances. Do a search in your area - maybe call a few dealers to see who they use for this service.
Ken

[Por_sha911]

Seems to me that heating a wheel to straighten a bend can't be good for the overall strength of the wheel.

[rotorhead]

A qualified wheel repairer should be able to straighten your wheel. From what I understand the Fuche being made from a solid aluminium billet means that it is one of the few wheels that can be confidently straightened. From all reports Al Reed is the man.

[Kevin Stewart]

The problem with straightening a wheel is it should be absolutely true Zero, many people that striaghten them feel that 20-40 thousands OOR is ok, but actually its not on a Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Audi etc, these cars are very prone to vibrations, some years ago even hre felt that 40 thosands was ok, its not, check on the BBS used board thats a pretty common wheel and you should be able to pick one up cheap, you can polish it or have someone else do it, Kevin

[gr8fl4porsche]

7x16's are cheap and readily available - replace it if it bothers you.

[scottb]

Rotorhead: Judging by your screen name and avatar, I'm guessing you're a fellow helo driver. True?

[Randy Webb]

BTW, Fuchs are forged, not billet.

[rotorhead]

scottb: yep once a rotorhead... always a rotorhead. I had a couple of thousand Huey hours with a mix of helo types before I was seduced away to fixed wing. You actually have your own Bell 47! now that is cool. I haven't strapped into cockpit for 10 months since returning from Saudi Arabia. I am a (dis)respectfull businessman now!

What sort of flying have you been doing?

Randy: Thanks for the correction

[89911]

Although never using them, I have heard good things about this place http://www.wheelcollision.com/

[K.B.]

I guess the heating is done only in the more extreme cases. Like if a wheel is damaged in an accident - it beats throwing it away! Don't kow If I'd want to use it for a race vehicle though. Most aluminum wheels that have been around a while are out of tolerance to some extent. If your wheel takes a lot of weights when balanced that would be a clue.

[GeorgeK]

The Factory actually had rather poor tolerances for Fuchs runout and out of round, something like 1 or 2 mm.
My rim repair guy (any good repair person) straightens them better than new.
A Fuchs, uness it is cracked in the center part, can be straightened. I have seen (and used) wheels that were like used Kleenexes before straightening.

[Joeaksa]

Rotorhead,

Your PM (personal mail) option is disabled. Can you please email me when you get time at: joeaksaATattglobal.net (remove the AT and replace with @)

Was flying in Saudi as well...

JoeA

[scottb]

Rotorhead: What Joe said, except the Saudi part.

sib100 AT earthlink.net

And, yes, I realize this picture is off-topic, but it does have an air-cooled flat six!

[dvkk]

Originally posted by Kevin Stewart
The problem with straightening a wheel is it should be absolutely true Zero, many people that striaghten them feel that 20-40 thousands OOR is ok, but actually its not on a Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, Audi etc, these cars are very prone to vibrations, some years ago even hre felt that 40 thosands was ok, its not,

This is false. Porsche's own spec on straightness is 1.0mm. They have proven it works on thousands of cars.
There is no way to get any wheel to "absolutely true Zero". Every wheel you measure will have some runout.
How accurate do you think the tread of your tire is?