New steel rim out of balance?

Weathered · 29th April 2010, 20:37

Last weekend, I picked up 4.5J Esteem steel rims (4 nos.) to replace the existing steel rims on my Zen from Essar Automotives, an authorised distributor for MGP on Siddiah Road. I had decided to upgrade from stock MRF tires to 155/65 R13 Yokohama A Drives and also bought the same from Shankar Enterprises, New BEL Road.

During the new tires and rims install at Shankar Enterprises, while balancing the wheels, the mechanic found one of the rim to be 'out of balance' and asked me to exchange it. He said the rim probably has some manufacturing defect. I could see this new rim & tyre combo was wobbling on the balancing machine, unlike the remaining 3 which were balanced without issues, with some minor weights.

I called up Essar and the guy on the phone was not willing to accept the new rim would have any issue, after all its from the Company itself and all these years he never heard of a new one having a problem. I said, if it was a defect in manufacturing, he could as well send the rim back to Company for which he says they would not accept it. Tire mechanic says its not unusual and at times seen such thing happening on brand new cars. I asked him to explain the issue to Essar guy over the phone and both stuck to their points and sharing each others experience!

Finally, the Essar guy has asked me to come over tomorrow evening for an exchange provided the rim has no tyre/nut or wrenching marks, which isnt the case since the new tire was mounted on the rim. His argument is he cant sell that rim to someone else if there are visible marks, as he is very sure it should not have a problem. I was like, why would you want to resell if its having an issue for which he argued its not at all possible for the rim to be faulty.

I being in the middle of all this don't understand who is right since I have a very limited knowledge about rims and tires. So I wanted to know if anyone else has gone through something similar for a brand new steel rim and provide any advise on my options, if he decides not to accept it back and give me an exchange.

humyum · 29th April 2010, 23:18

Yep, New rims can definitely have a problem. They can be out of center too. Had a similar experience with a new rim taken from a Maruti Show room. Got it replaced free from them.

Stick to your guns and throw the rim back at the guy you got it from. Take him to a balancing guy near his shop and prove it to him that the rim is defective.

nitrous · 29th April 2010, 23:25

Or shoot a video of the wheel running on the balancing machine.
And show it to him.

Weathered · 30th April 2010, 23:52

Got the rim exchanged today evening, had to explain them about the wobble (video clip helped). Looked like the store guy repacked the rim and he reiterated that Maruti wont accept it back, once shipped to these guys. Anyway, thats his problem, replaced rim is fine. Time to sample the ride on new rim & tires combo

Thanks guys!

aargee · 1st May 2010, 08:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weathered

Looked like the store guy repacked the rim and he reiterated that Maruti wont accept it back, once shipped to these guys.

No wonder you'd have a long debate; its a loss for him unless he manages reselling this off to another unsuspecting customer. Good that you bought out this point here in the forum.

ard1955 · 17th March 2019, 10:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Weathered

Last weekend, I picked up 4.5J Esteem steel rims (4 nos.) to replace the existing steel rims on my Zen from Essar Automotives, an authorised distributor for MGP on Siddiah Road. I had decided to upgrade from stock MRF tires to 155/65 R13 Yokohama A Drives and also bought the same from Shankar Enterprises, New BEL Road.

During the new tires and rims install at Shankar Enterprises, while balancing the wheels, the mechanic found one of the rim to be 'out of balance' and asked me to exchange it. He said the rim probably has some manufacturing defect. I could see this new rim & tyre combo was wobbling on the balancing machine, unlike the remaining 3 which were balanced without issues, with some minor weights.

I called up Essar and the guy on the phone was not willing to accept the new rim would have any issue, after all its from the Company itself and all these years he never heard of a new one having a problem. I said, if it was a defect in manufacturing, he could as well send the rim back to Company for which he says they would not accept it. Tire mechanic says its not unusual and at times seen such thing happening on brand new cars. I asked him to explain the issue to Essar guy over the phone and both stuck to their points and sharing each others experience!

Finally, the Essar guy has asked me to come over tomorrow evening for an exchange provided the rim has no tyre/nut or wrenching marks, which isnt the case since the new tire was mounted on the rim. His argument is he cant sell that rim to someone else if there are visible marks, as he is very sure it should not have a problem. I was like, why would you want to resell if its having an issue for which he argued its not at all possible for the rim to be faulty.

I being in the middle of all this don't understand who is right since I have a very limited knowledge about rims and tires. So I wanted to know if anyone else has gone through something similar for a brand new steel rim and provide any advise on my options, if he decides not to accept it back and give me an exchange.

So this has been a regular cause of concern since time immemorial, I guess. I got two 12" rims for my Alto yesterday from an XL Auto Spares, Anna Nagar, Chennai. I took it to my regular Tyre store near Mount Road and tried getting it fitted. The Tyre technician said the rims are "jumping" meaning the it's not a perfect circle, is bent and there is some manufacturing defect and he asked me to get it replaced. Then I took it back to Anna Nagar (where the store is) and these guys own a Tyre shop also named "XL Tyre point". The owner asked his technicians to do the balancing. They did it and accepted that it was indeed jumping and told their owner the same thing. The owner quickly went to them and said you shouldn't look for a bend like this (The wheel balancer had an extended rod sort of thing with a small wheel attached to it and kept it on the inner part of the rim) and said the rims are perfectly fine and blamed the Tyre (I have Michelin XM2 145/80/R12) which was installed on this car a week back. He said the Michelin Tyres have greater tread depth and it gives you that visual impression of it not being perfect (the jumping) and he said it shouldn't be a problem while driving.

I left home after that, But I still had my doubts and wasn't completely happy. What are the long term implications of this rim not being a perfect circle? Suspension damage? Wheel bearing damage? Frequent alignment issues? Should I go fight this back and get proper ones? Help, please!

ard1955 · 18th March 2019, 20:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by ard1955

So this has been a regular cause of concern since time immemorial, I guess. I got two 12" rims for my Alto yesterday from an XL Auto Spares, Anna Nagar, Chennai. I took it to my regular Tyre store near Mount Road and tried getting it fitted. The Tyre technician said the rims are "jumping" meaning the it's not a perfect circle, is bent and there is some manufacturing defect and he asked me to get it replaced. Then I took it back to Anna Nagar (where the store is) and these guys own a Tyre shop also named "XL Tyre point". The owner asked his technicians to do the balancing. They did it and accepted that it was indeed jumping and told their owner the same thing. The owner quickly went to them and said you shouldn't look for a bend like this (The wheel balancer had an extended rod sort of thing with a small wheel attached to it and kept it on the inner part of the rim) and said the rims are perfectly fine and blamed the Tyre (I have Michelin XM2 145/80/R12) which was installed on this car a week back. He said the Michelin Tyres have greater tread depth and it gives you that visual impression of it not being perfect (the jumping) and he said it shouldn't be a problem while driving.

I left home after that, But I still had my doubts and wasn't completely happy. What are the long term implications of this rim not being a perfect circle? Suspension damage? Wheel bearing damage? Frequent alignment issues? Should I go fight this back and get proper ones? Help, please!

So took the car to XL Tyre point once again, today in the afternoon. Went and again complained about the "jumpiness" in the rim. Long story short, after the initial hesitation, he agreed to replace the rim. Stock had to come from somewhere else. XL Tyre point fitted the tyre themselves but I wasn't too happy with the way the balancing was done. Took it to tyrestore, double checked and found excess weights were used!

They said this piece was good and had no issues! Heaved a sigh of relief and left the place.

So yeah, these people (Maruti spare part distributors) would initially refuse to replace. Just make sure you put your foot down and get it done. They will budge.

pganapathy · 19th March 2019, 06:00

The moment your tyres are very imbalanced, it speaks of a rim out of shape. More than likely, it means a manufacturing defect on a new rim. Assuming there is no damage to the rim itself, it can be balanced out by weights, but that is only practical with minor wobbling. The greater the wobbling, the more out of shape the rim is. I would suggest getting it replaced, especially since it is new.

29th April 2010, 20:37	#1
Weathered BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 79 Thanked: 49 Times	New steel rim out of balance? Last weekend, I picked up 4.5J Esteem steel rims (4 nos.) to replace the existing steel rims on my Zen from Essar Automotives, an authorised distributor for MGP on Siddiah Road. I had decided to upgrade from stock MRF tires to 155/65 R13 Yokohama A Drives and also bought the same from Shankar Enterprises, New BEL Road. During the new tires and rims install at Shankar Enterprises, while balancing the wheels, the mechanic found one of the rim to be 'out of balance' and asked me to exchange it. He said the rim probably has some manufacturing defect. I could see this new rim & tyre combo was wobbling on the balancing machine, unlike the remaining 3 which were balanced without issues, with some minor weights. I called up Essar and the guy on the phone was not willing to accept the new rim would have any issue, after all its from the Company itself and all these years he never heard of a new one having a problem. I said, if it was a defect in manufacturing, he could as well send the rim back to Company for which he says they would not accept it. Tire mechanic says its not unusual and at times seen such thing happening on brand new cars. I asked him to explain the issue to Essar guy over the phone and both stuck to their points and sharing each others experience! Finally, the Essar guy has asked me to come over tomorrow evening for an exchange provided the rim has no tyre/nut or wrenching marks, which isnt the case since the new tire was mounted on the rim. His argument is he cant sell that rim to someone else if there are visible marks, as he is very sure it should not have a problem. I was like, why would you want to resell if its having an issue for which he argued its not at all possible for the rim to be faulty. I being in the middle of all this don't understand who is right since I have a very limited knowledge about rims and tires. So I wanted to know if anyone else has gone through something similar for a brand new steel rim and provide any advise on my options, if he decides not to accept it back and give me an exchange.
	() Thanks

29th April 2010, 23:18	#2
humyum Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 2,752 Thanked: 5,431 Times	Yep, New rims can definitely have a problem. They can be out of center too. Had a similar experience with a new rim taken from a Maruti Show room. Got it replaced free from them. Stick to your guns and throw the rim back at the guy you got it from. Take him to a balancing guy near his shop and prove it to him that the rim is defective.
	() Thanks

29th April 2010, 23:25	#3
nitrous Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2004 Location: UAE/Lon/Madras Posts: 6,965 Thanked: 325 Times View My Garage	Or shoot a video of the wheel running on the balancing machine. And show it to him.
	() Thanks

30th April 2010, 23:52	#4
Weathered BHPian Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 79 Thanked: 49 Times	Got the rim exchanged today evening, had to explain them about the wobble (video clip helped). Looked like the store guy repacked the rim and he reiterated that Maruti wont accept it back, once shipped to these guys. Anyway, thats his problem, replaced rim is fine. Time to sample the ride on new rim & tires combo Thanks guys!
	() Thanks

19th March 2019, 06:00	#8
pganapathy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Bangalore,Coorg Posts: 1,088 Thanked: 765 Times	Re: New steel rim out of balance? The moment your tyres are very imbalanced, it speaks of a rim out of shape. More than likely, it means a manufacturing defect on a new rim. Assuming there is no damage to the rim itself, it can be balanced out by weights, but that is only practical with minor wobbling. The greater the wobbling, the more out of shape the rim is. I would suggest getting it replaced, especially since it is new.
	() Thanks