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Old 6th June 2011, 16:27   #61
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Re: Safari Alloy Rim Damaged

Quote:
Originally Posted by sundeepg71 View Post
On a closer look i realized that the Alloy rim had taken a hit and had got twisted at one place with a crack right in the middle, thank god tyre did not deflate.

I checked out at few dealers in Chennai for Rim Repair but all places they are suggesting to replace with a new one.

Would like suggestions for Repair, and also still wondering how this could have happened as it was quite unusual for me as it happened for the first time in my last 13 years of highway drving.
sundeep, it is better to replace the alloy wheel than repairing it.
I am not sure if the alloy can be repaired and even so whether it will be reliable in high speeds.
This could have happened due to metal fatigue or an inherent defect which got a direct hit causing damage.
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Old 22nd August 2011, 10:29   #62
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

My 8 month old, 19k run Tjet has been put to paces with some really aggresive driving. While it has always been fun driving the car on highways with good speeds (generally 120-140), the flip side has been that the car has managed to hit quite a few potholes/unmarked speedbreakers etc.

I had been getting a wobble in the steering between 80-100 kmph and took the car to the service centre for a check. And my worst fears came true - only that they were worst than what i expected. All 4 alloys have bent :( While 2 are reasonably ok, the other 2 are noticebly bad.

Fiat's alloys are 98 PCD, 16 inch (Tjet) and i will blow a hole in my pocket of almost 50k if i change all 4.

Hence i want to understand what secondary damage can be caused if i drive the car with bent alloys. Like i said there is a slight wobble at 80-100 and thereafter, there is no issues. I have put the bad alloys on the rear and reasonably better on the front.

Would appreciate any inputs i get on this issue i am facing.

cheers
vinay
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Old 22nd August 2011, 11:27   #63
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

vinay first off, bent alloys can be fixed.Not recommended though, however considering that you have 4 of them bent and the atrocious price for a set of 4, I think its best you get them fixed. Check this thread (Repair Alloy - Is it possible?) , the last time I checked it was about 400 bucks per alloy.
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Old 22nd August 2011, 12:54   #64
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

Quote:
Originally Posted by vinay_ss View Post
My 8 month old, 19k run Tjet has been put to paces with some really aggresive driving. While it has always been fun driving the car on highways with good speeds (generally 120-140), the flip side has been that the car has managed to hit quite a few potholes/unmarked speedbreakers etc.

I had been getting a wobble in the steering between 80-100 kmph and took the car to the service centre for a check. And my worst fears came true - only that they were worst than what i expected. All 4 alloys have bent :( While 2 are reasonably ok, the other 2 are noticebly bad.

Fiat's alloys are 98 PCD, 16 inch (Tjet) and i will blow a hole in my pocket of almost 50k if i change all 4.

Hence i want to understand what secondary damage can be caused if i drive the car with bent alloys. Like i said there is a slight wobble at 80-100 and thereafter, there is no issues. I have put the bad alloys on the rear and reasonably better on the front.

Would appreciate any inputs i get on this issue i am facing.

cheers
vinay
Vinay,

Repairing an alloy is not advisable. Removing the bend would weaken it structurally. If its only one wheel you can do it and use it as a spare wheel.

Put the reasonably OK alloys in front and see if the wobbling still exists.
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Old 22nd August 2011, 12:58   #65
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

Can't Vinay ditch the alloys and switch back to good old steel rims?
And all 4 bent?? You are into rallying or what?
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Old 22nd August 2011, 21:23   #66
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

I had the same situation as Vinay. All four alloys were found damaged (2 were very slightly damaged - not visible unless you spin it on the machine). I knew about a couple of them for some time and had shifted them to the rear. Now I can admit that I do not show mercy while negotiating potholes (the FIAT makes you oblivious to them). Now I'm not going to bash FIAT for the OE alloys coz I can't be sure if its my demanding usage or some quality issues at their end.

However, the situation demanded urgent action a few weeks ago when I found the steering vibrating at moderate speeds. Found out that the front left alloy had a crack, not just a bend. Immediately called some friends and asked them to enquire about Punto stock OEM alloys in their vicinity. Fortunately, found 5 unused alloys (if I believe the dealer) at a known tyre shop near to my place, and in a momentary fit, bought all 5 rims.

Although I was told by the service center as well as the tyre shop that all the rims can be repaired at a cost of 2-3k. I have past experience as well of one such repair and it held out very well (still using the rim 40k kms after repair).

@Vinay: You can take a punt on repairing them. If it doesn't work out to your satisfaction, I think it will be best to pick up a set of aftermarket rims (98 pcd only) since the OE ones are prohibitively expensive and going by the way the Jet sells, you surely won't find them anywhere else.

Last edited by nkapoor777 : 22nd August 2011 at 21:25.
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Old 23rd August 2011, 05:32   #67
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

All,

Thanks for the responses and help. My comments -

I would think i would rather replace than repair the alloys, since i generally do a lot of highway runs and good speeds (very very tough to keep the tjet below 100 For now i have moved the slightly bent alloys to the front and the more beaten alloys to the rear.

I would also see if i could "source" the OEM alloys at a price lower than the dealer price, though this is an uphill task for sure. In a worse case scenario, i plan to do an EMI scheme of 1 alloy per month for next 4 months !

Also, i am not a rally driver (though i wish i could be one) and this has been the result of some very aggressive driving including night drives over this monsoon season. The trips to Goa i think have been the cause, since there were a lot of broken patches which come up suddenly and the car took a beating. I also literally flew over a couple of unmarked speedbreakers and later repented big time.

My wife comments that my driving has completely changed after i bought the Tjet. But its not been a wise thing, considering the damages to the alloys - frankly i thought the alloys are built stronger and didnt anticipate this kind of damage in 19000 kms in 8 months !

My only worry on which i would require some inputs - does use of alloys that are bent cause any secondary damage - lets say for instance damaging the bearings or faster tyre wear or any other such thing ? For now, i do not experience any wobble on the steering.

cheers
vinay

Last edited by vinay_ss : 23rd August 2011 at 05:35. Reason: additional question raised in the edited mail
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Old 29th August 2011, 12:22   #68
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Re: Safari Alloy Rim Damaged

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jidousha View Post
sundeep, it is better to replace the alloy wheel than repairing it.
I am not sure if the alloy can be repaired and even so whether it will be reliable in high speeds.
This could have happened due to metal fatigue or an inherent defect which got a direct hit causing damage.
After a lot of search for repair / 2nd hand one ; I ended up in buying a new alloy .. but realized later that i could have gone ahead with normal disc to save on cost ( as it goes as a spare only ) ... any opinions ??
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Old 4th September 2011, 17:49   #69
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

Quote:
Originally Posted by nkapoor777 View Post
I had the same situation as Vinay. All four alloys were found damaged (2 were very slightly damaged - not visible unless you spin it on the machine). I knew about a couple of them for some time and had shifted them to the rear. Now I can admit that I do not show mercy while negotiating potholes (the FIAT makes you oblivious to them). Now I'm not going to bash FIAT for the OE alloys coz I can't be sure if its my demanding usage or some quality issues at their end.

However, the situation demanded urgent action a few weeks ago when I found the steering vibrating at moderate speeds. Found out that the front left alloy had a crack, not just a bend. Immediately called some friends and asked them to enquire about Punto stock OEM alloys in their vicinity. Fortunately, found 5 unused alloys (if I believe the dealer) at a known tyre shop near to my place, and in a momentary fit, bought all 5 rims.

Although I was told by the service center as well as the tyre shop that all the rims can be repaired at a cost of 2-3k. I have past experience as well of one such repair and it held out very well (still using the rim 40k kms after repair).

@Vinay: You can take a punt on repairing them. If it doesn't work out to your satisfaction, I think it will be best to pick up a set of aftermarket rims (98 pcd only) since the OE ones are prohibitively expensive and going by the way the Jet sells, you surely won't find them anywhere else.

i am facing exactly same with my linea alloys. three of them are bent. one less but two heavily bent.

cant we claim insurance for the bent alloys??
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Old 5th September 2011, 11:34   #70
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

Quote:
Originally Posted by vinay_ss View Post
All,

My only worry on which i would require some inputs - does use of alloys that are bent cause any secondary damage - lets say for instance damaging the bearings or faster tyre wear or any other such thing ? For now, i do not experience any wobble on the steering.

cheers
vinay
The usual problems are steering wheel vibration, uneven tire wear and unnecessary wear and tear on the suspension. The last one is a tad bit expensive to recover from . You might wanna consider straightening the alloys for now and later splurge on a new set when you have the money.

Last edited by rjstyles69 : 5th September 2011 at 11:38.
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Old 6th September 2011, 01:42   #71
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

Quote:
Originally Posted by car-dent View Post
i am facing exactly same with my linea alloys. three of them are bent. one less but two heavily bent.

cant we claim insurance for the bent alloys??
AFAIK you can claim. But I think it will be tough to get the surveyor to approve the same.
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Old 11th May 2013, 20:14   #72
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

One of the alloy in my corolla has been damaged. The tyre repair shop guy told that it has very minute hole, from where the air is escaping. It is very small, and is almost invisible to the naked eye. Is there a way to fix this?
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Old 11th May 2013, 21:29   #73
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

Quote:
Originally Posted by kpzen View Post
Repairing an alloy is not advisable. Removing the bend would weaken it structurally.
Well, it all depends. It's really up to the skills of the workshop. In most of Europe and the USA alloys get repaired all the time. When I lived in the USA I had the alloys on my Jaguar XJR fixed several times over. You think Indian roads are bad, you should see some of the potholes on American roads.

I don't know if there are specialized shops in India but here's some links that show some info on repairing alloys:

To quote one of them:

QUOTE:
Have you ever bent a wheel on a pothole or raised manhole cover that made your whole car vibrate? Ever had a mechanic tell you that alloy wheels could not be straightened, and that you had to spend $500-$600 on a brand new wheel? Unfortunately, this happens all too often. However, it is simply not true that alloy wheels can't be straightened, as many specialty workshops and refinishing companies have been straightening wheels for more than 20 years now.
UNQUOTE

Again, I don't know what's available in India, but here's some international reference material on what you can and can't do on alloys:





http://www.wefixalloys.co.uk/2012/03...anʼt-fix/

http://tires.about.com/od/wheel_safe...aightening.htm
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Old 12th May 2013, 20:35   #74
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re: Are alloy wheels prone to damage & can't be repaired?

Hi All,

I live in chennai and due to salt water my swift's alloys (middle part) has started rusting (the logo of the brand and surrounding) ,can you please suggest me a place where the alloys can me refurbished?

Thanks
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Old 12th May 2013, 21:24   #75
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Quote:
Originally Posted by joshguy View Post
Hi All,

I live in chennai and due to salt water my swift's alloys (middle part) has started rusting (the logo of the brand and surrounding) ,can you please suggest me a place where the alloys can me refurbished?

Thanks
Is this proper rust or some kind of hard deposit around the logo, because even I live in namma Chennai and my alloys have this hard deposits around the logo. Planning to go to 3M for help.
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