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I have an 15" OEM Enkei alloy that has a slight bend on the inside lip. It's probably displaced 1/4" max, and is a smooth gentle bend if that makes any sense. If bent rims are repairable in general, then I'd guess this one is very repairable.
Does anyone have experience having this done? What is the price range I'm looking at? Cheaper to buy another one? Any shops to recommend?
Thanks!
Replacement may be cheaper than a repair I think Wheel America's minimum charge is $125.00 per wheel.
You will see 15" OEM cheaper here is an example - http://forums.dfwmiata.com/showthread.php?t=15114
Well, it turns out I exaggerated things with my 1/4" estimate. I took it by two wheel shops today over lunch, and both places said that it's not worth fixing. The 2nd place was going to send it off for repair, but called me back and said that a tire would seat and balance no problem at all.
I know that Miata's are sensitive to wheel imbalance, so I remain a little leery, but I'm going to going to leave it as-is for now. In the future, I've been assured that the rim is 'fixable' at whatever base price the repair shop charges. By the time I'm done cleaning them up, $100+ will be easy to stomach.
By 'cleaning them up', I mean that I'm polishing these wheels. I used the 'bent' one as a test specimen in case I screw up, but I like the way it turned out. This created the conundrum of getting a new wheel or repairing. The sunk effort is why I was looking to repair it.
Here is the set, with the one I'm working on in the foreground: I basically used a cheap drill with wire brushes to get the casting surface off, and in this picture, I've already sanded most of the spokes with 200 grit paper. I'll work down through sandpaper grits, then finish with an aluminum polishing kit I bought. The other three rims are stripped only.
http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/t...5/DSC00351.jpg
http://i622.photobucket.com/albums/t...5/DSC00352.jpg
Yes, a tire will seat and balance on a bent rim, but my money says you'll still feel it. You might try to coerce it back into shape with a mallet (or maybe a small sledgehammer with piece of wood to keep from scarring the rim).
How much time will you spend polishing each wheel? How much do you think your time is worth? I'll bet you won't be able to recoup that worth by selling the finished wheels.
I'm not a hater, but I would hate to see you waste your time on it. Used polished wheels are available at a reasonable price (I paid $125 a few years back) and I'd guess the factory finish will outlast yours.
No hate taken. My time is actually quite valuable, but I don't account for my personal time that way (or else I would just work 18 hours a day). They'll take a while to do, I spent about two hours on this one with quite a bit more to go, but the others will go faster since I was nervous and overly careful with the first one. I'm enjoying this project, and look forward to seeing them on the car.Quote:
Originally Posted by Darron65
Your finish will certainly outlast mine, because I won't have one. But I will always be able to cheaply repair scratches/rash and buff back to a perfect shine. The only penalty that I can think of is that I will have to buff/polish them regularly. Which, hell, it's my hobby car... I'm going to be polishing something anyway, right? :D
I'm suspecting this will be the case. I'll figure it out when I get there. The rim's repairable and I'm a sucker for a reclamation project...Quote:
Originally Posted by trickyrix
This will likely crack the rim. (BTDT. ::Rant:: ) If you want a cracked rim without the effort or hassle, you are more than welcome to the one that I made. ;)Quote:
You might try to coerce it back into shape with ... maybe a small sledgehammer with piece of wood to keep from scarring the rim.