Wheel Straightening

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 18:38
Wheel Straightening - TheGentlemanThug

So, my Civic has two small distortions in one of the front wheels. Whilst there's only a slight wheel wobble at high speed, it's something I still want to get sorted. The garage claim that it's rare for a wheel to crack but it could happen nonetheless. In that case the wheel can be welded, which I'm dubious of.

Have any forum members had a wheel straightened or welded? What were your experiences like?

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 18:51
Wheel Straightening - Manatee

I wouldn't have a cast wheel straightened. Bending causes hardening. Bending it back causes more hardening. Next time it gets a bang it is more likely to break than bend again, even if it doesn't break while being straightened.

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 19:42
Wheel Straightening - Bolt

I wouldn't have a cast wheel straightened. Bending causes hardening. Bending it back causes more hardening. Next time it gets a bang it is more likely to break than bend again, even if it doesn't break while being straightened.

No one I know would try to bend cast as it usually cracks or snaps off, imo best to replace the wheel!....

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 21:11
Wheel Straightening - bathtub tom

OP doesn't state if it's a steel or ally wheel.

Do any model of Civics have steel wheels?

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 21:46
Wheel Straightening - Falkirk Bairn

>>Do any model of Civics have steel wheels

Depends on the age of the Civic owned by the OP - certainly base models before 2006 had steel wheels.

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Tue 16 Oct 2018 22:01
Wheel Straightening - TheGentlemanThug

My bad, it's an alloy.

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 00:08
Wheel Straightening - Andrew-T

There are plenty of places specialising in alloy wheel refurbishment, who claim to effect repairs. Try one of those, such as The Wheel Specialist (I have no connection other than as a customer) for advice.

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 00:13
Wheel Straightening - Manatee

There are plenty of places specialising in alloy wheel refurbishment, who claim to effect repairs.

And they will all tell you that if you want them to straighten a cast alloy wheel it might crack.

Edited by Manatee on 17/10/2018 at 00:14

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 12:14
Wheel Straightening - TheGentlemanThug

I've found a garage who are, apparently, the only one in the county who have access to the correct machinery to straighten alloy wheels. This could of course be sales speil.

Having just spoken to Honda, they want close to £450 for a single wheel, which isn't too surprising considering that Cox Motor Parts have similar prices. The person I spoke to did suggest trying the garage I'd already made an enquiry at, so that's rather reassuring.

Think I'll give them a try and cross my fingers.

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 12:44
Wheel Straightening - nick62

In my experience most "alloy wheel refurbishment" establishments just use bodyfiller to repair curb damage and re-spray the wheel (without removing the tyre - they just deflate it).

Surprisingly some OEM alloys are not overly expensive, (but Honda have always been dear). Worth asking at the dealers. I paid about £150 for a new 18" VW wheel about 3 years ago.

Edited by nick62 on 17/10/2018 at 13:06

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 13:19
Wheel Straightening - Andrew-T

In my experience most "alloy wheel refurbishment" establishments just use bodyfiller to repair curb damage and re-spray the wheel (without removing the tyre - they just deflate it).

No. I don't know about the bodyfiller, but I had a set of four small alloys refurbed by my nearest Wheel Specialist (Ellesmere Port) and the tyres came off, wheels recoated inside and out, tyres put back and balanced for £60 each.

The wheels weren't out of shape though, which certainly makes a difference.

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 13:21
Wheel Straightening - retgwte

there maybe some dodgy places

but the good places are correctly repairing with metal

indeed I seem to remember some videos on youtube of it being done

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 13:20
Wheel Straightening - retgwte

that is BS

there are several that I know of

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 13:19
Wheel Straightening - retgwte

I had an allow wheel damaged (car was driven at about 30 mph into a kerb)

There was about a 3 inch hole in the corner, and the wheel was slightly bent

I imagined it would be not be repairable, but took it to a large wheel refurbishment place in Birmingham

They took about a week, but the repair was undetectable, and it lasted another 2 years with nothing to report until I sold it

Replaced the tyre with a new one at the same time (apparently a lot of people dont bother, and that would seem to be a bigger risk if the wheel has been damaged why risk it on that tyre)

I would add that they were doing wheels for Bentley/Ferrari dealers etc too, so were obviously trusted (this was not just me getting hoodwinked I know this to be true)

Helps if you have a full size spare so can do without the wheel for a while...

A lot cheaper than a new alloy

Good luck

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 13:22
Wheel Straightening - jc2

Put them on the back!

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 16:13
Wheel Straightening - Galaxy

My friend who owns a Jaguar XF was unlucky enough to hit a large pothole that was filled with water in the dark. This caused an immediate deflation of the tyre and, when he took the wheel into a tyre shop to get the puncture repaired, they discovered that the pothole had, in fact, also cracked the wheel.

He was away on holiday at the time but, on his return he made some enquiries and found a specialist who was capable of repairing damaged alloy wheels, so he took his wheel there and left it with them.

Apparently they drill a hole at the end of the crack in order to prevent it from spreading, weld the crack, clean it up on a lathe and then powder coat, refit the tyre and balance the wheel. When he got it back it looked just like a brand new wheel. It's been back on his car for at least two years, now, and I know he's had no further problems whatsoever.

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Wed 17 Oct 2018 16:24
Wheel Straightening - madf

One of these might fit?

tinyurl.com/y7ta2zts

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Thu 18 Oct 2018 14:56
Wheel Straightening - TheGentlemanThug

None of them are the same style unfortunately.

Galaxy, good to hear about your friend with the XF. It's not so much the straigthening that concerns me, it's the possible welding that does as I'd be suspicious that welding a wheel would compromise its safety. Sounds like that garage did a cracking job though.

JC2, I did think about that as it would certainly get rid of the wobble, but I'd just be moving the problem elsewhere. Although the bends are very minor, I don't know what impact they'd have on the suspension or anything else; I'd guess not much, but that's the problem, it's a guess. The distortion has also been noted on the MOT history and I'd rather it didn't follow me around.

I've decided to go with the straigthen. Given that Honda suggested the same garage I'd already enquiried at and that the damage is very minor, I'm optimistic that the wheel won't crack.

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Thu 18 Oct 2018 15:39
Wheel Straightening - jc2

And then put them on the back-that's where I'd put the repaired one!

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Thu 18 Oct 2018 15:59
Wheel Straightening - Gerry Sanderson

Plenty of vehicle dismantlers on the web where a seconf hand practicallynew wheel can be obtained faireky cheaply

dvd

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Thu 18 Oct 2018 16:32
Wheel Straightening - Bolt

Apparently they drill a hole at the end of the crack in order to prevent it from spreading

If a welder knows his job they wont worry about drilling a hole, once you've learnt how to weld alloys its rare you get it wrong...

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