Championwheels repair question

stormin48061 · 05-22-2015, 10:06 AM

Some background. Bought the set from a fella in CA in Dec. Had curb rash on the wheels fixed shortly afterwards. Mounted them in the spring 3 wks ago and 3 held air and one leaked. Took the one into the shop - tire okay one small leaking area plugged and lip cleaned off to make sure it wasn't the lip. Remounted on car, and next day, down 50% air. Pulled it again and did the soap spray on the tires... no leaks but definately loosing air. Decided to see if it was leaking at the edges so sprayed the soapy mixture on front and back bead.. no leaks. Then thought it must be the rim and voila... hairline crack. Attached are pics of the where it leaks and the hairline to the left and right of the area where it leaks. Here's the question... can it be repaired. Local alloy repair shop says it's against company policy (safety etc) to weld rim area. Seller is says he's gonna contact HRE. Here's the rub, the lip of the wheel is not bent, so how does a hairline crack form on the lip surface? Would've thought if somebody bumped the rim hard to cause the hairline, the edge would be distorted? The rims are RGB5's. I've attached pics for all you tekky savvy to advise. Worse case I buy a new one?? These are 22's. Can it be fixed? I posted a WTB and a recent set sold back in Jan, so I missed out on getting a replacement. Thanks for reading and any help is appreciated.

WPOZZZ · 05-22-2015, 12:29 PM

If they are 3 piece rims, you should be able to get a replacement center or lip. How long and how much is another question. There may also be a problem with the seal ring between the halves. You can dismount the tire and run a silicone bead between the halves to make sure there are no leaks. I can't remember what silicone to use, but run a nice thick bead, smooth out and let cure for a day and remount the tire.

stormin48061 · 05-23-2015, 04:56 AM

thanks for the input... weekend bumperooo

petercory · petercory's Garage

Rim sections of modular wheels should always be sealed with a bead of silicone to eliminate possible air leaks!

stormin48061 · 05-25-2015, 03:38 AM

wheel is one piecer, fyi. Nobody on this holiday weekend???

Sicklyscott · 05-25-2015, 03:59 AM

I'd never weld up a cracked rim, if one area fails who's to say others on that wheel won't?

I've had a cracked wheel before, no indication of bends or anything. It was either a manufacturing flaw or a hit hard enough to jolt a crack.

If it's a 1 piece wheel find yourself a replacement.

DRACO A5OG · DRACO A5OG's Garage

Contact Pico Wheel in Chatsworth, describe you issue to the owner and he may be able to fix it up for you.

stormin48061 · 05-26-2015, 04:30 AM

thanks for the info, i will call them...

stormin48061 · 05-29-2015, 04:59 PM

one last bump for the weekend.. maybe it's something that is a rare occurence?

stormin48061 · 09-12-2015, 05:50 AM

well after months of trying to fix this, the wheel was called dead. For all you tekky that are interested, I'm informed that the leak migrated to a different spot after fixing as verified by tire mounting and H2O testing. They are chalking it up to porosity in the original casting. Quite intriguing as it now poses the question, that did this wheel ever hold air? I think that is what they are saying. Nevertheless, we are on the search for a wheel, so if anyone can help, it would be much appreciated. Thank you.