I'm having a bit of a run of bad luck with the C5 at present, the latest being a puncture that couldn't be repaired.
I took the car to the nearest supplier (national chain) at first but, after they told me the puncture couldn't be repaired, they couldn't provide the tyre I wanted, after saying they could. They had removed the tyre from the rim, so had to put it back on again. I always check for damage to the alloys after tyres have been replaced, so I had quick look and couldn't see anything, so I proceeded to a local supplier, who I knew was likely to have the required tyre and would be much cheaper than the national chain.
After the new tyre had been replaced, I again checked the rim and couldn't see any damage, so off I went. However, later in the day, I was checking the tyre pressure and noticed that there is some slight damage on the extreme outer edge, where the finish to the wheel has been scraped off. It is very annoying, as I can't be sure whether it was done at the national chain, or at the local supplier. It is not something that could have been caused by kerb damage.
Is this something that is bound to happen, sooner or later, with alloys when tyres are changed?
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Reading your post, pretending I am a detective or an insurance investigator (I am neither!) I can't understand why, if the puncture couldn't be repaired by the 'National Chain", they had to put the tyre back on the rim! A local supplier fitted a tyre, you checked for damage and there wasn't any, later you checked your tyre pressure and there was damage. Perhaps you had kerbed the wheel? Overall, alloys are a cosmetic adjunct to a car, are easily damaged and don't do much for a family car. If the suspension is set right, the reduction of unsprung weight etc isn't going to be noticeable IMHO!
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Most alloys are heavier than the equivalent size steels;what you see on competition cars are magnesium wheels which are light-your family car will be fitted with wheels made of low-grade aluminium.
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Depends on the quality (price) of the wheels I guess. From an earlier post:-
MX5 steel wheels (I have a feeling these are an 'option'?) 18lbs
"standard" alloys 12.3lbs
Factory Optional BBS alloys 8.5lbs
All the above 14".
Virtually all aftermarked alloys are over 18lbs
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Reading your post, pretending I am a detective or an insurance investigator (I am neither!) I can't understand why, if the puncture couldn't be repaired by the 'National Chain", they had to put the tyre back on the rim! A local supplier fitted a tyre, you checked for damage and there wasn't any, later you checked your tyre pressure and there was damage. Perhaps you had kerbed the wheel?
They didn't have to put the tyre back on the rim I suppose, as they could have fitted the spare. That would have been better but it didn't occur to me at the time.
As far as the damage is concerned, it is right on the extreme outer edge of the wheel, not on the outer face of the wheel at all, so couldn't have been kerb damage. I could have missed it, either checking it at the national chain, or at the local supplier, if the damaged edge had been low down at the time. At the time I noticed it, it was right on top, and so easier to see.
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Is this something that is bound to happen, sooner or later, with alloys when tyres are changed?
Unfortunately I think it is ? I bought my own car after years of running company cars and I had to get some tyres for it a few months ago. I?ve been super careful with the wheels and there literally wasn?t a mark on them. I agonised for far too long about where to take the car (or whether to get then fitted by a mobile operator). In the end I settled for a highly recommended independent some distance away who advertise on their website ?we won?t damage your alloys?.
Well, they damaged mine ?a scrape/gouge across the surface, and the outer edge of the rims has the finish clearly damaged and looking flaky. They shrugged and said to get then refurb?d at their expense, but that?s a load of hassle for me and invalidates the warranty ? I considered demanding new ones but doubt that would be considered reasonable.
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There is absolutely NO REASON WHATSOEVER to damage your alloys when changing a tyre. All it takes is a little care (and maybe one minute more per tyre) by the tyre fitter. But as is normally the case, no one really gives a chuff. It makes me sick when this happens. Its basically bad workmanship.
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I'm in the process of getting all four of mine repaired by one of the high street tyre companies.
All four damaged on the inside, and two on the outside. Their line was "the machine has to grad the wheels somewhere" Yes but there is no need for the wheel to be damaged, afterall they managed to fit every tyre at the factory without damaging the wheel!!!
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Both 2cv wheels and the wheels on my trailer would not go on the machine.To see the kids struggling with tyre levers-I think it was their first time-was highly amusing.
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With tyre fitting machines at car assembly parts,humans are not involved.
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I'm in the process of getting all four of mine repaired by one of the high street tyre companies. All four damaged on the inside, and two on the outside. Their line was "the machine has to grad the wheels somewhere" Yes but there is no need for the wheel to be damaged, afterall they managed to fit every tyre at the factory without damaging the wheel!!!
They did admit to though and are prepared to repair the damage. The problem with my situation is I can't say which supplier caused the damage. I suppose I could approach the local supplier.
How long does it take to repair a wheel with this kind of superficial damage? The fact is that both of the front wheels have some kerb damage, so I am wondering if it is worth the bother.
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Yes thet've admitted that they have done it. The wheels were spotless and mark free when I took the car in, and I pionted out the damage the next day when I had cleaned off all the sealer/lubricant stuff (another gripe of mine, wht don't they clean that stuff off?). The marks are in a position where it couldn't be fobbed off as kerb damage, along with the fact that the original tyres had rim protectors and so did the replacements.
They need the car for a full day to get the wheels reapired at a place off site.
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The fact is that both of the front wheels have some kerb damage, so I am wondering if it is worth the bother.
Well in my case I decided it wasn't worth it, and my other 2 wheels were perfect. I touched up the scrape and I load wax onto the wheels as often as I can to try to protect the whole wheel, and particularly the rim where the finish is flaking after having gad a toll of some sort run round it.
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Most tyre fitters couldn't care less. If you find a good one then stick with him - although they do tend to play 'musical chairs' between the different companies in their area. A gripe of mine is when they use hammer-on weights on alloys.
A bottle of clear nail varnish (i.e. acrylic lacquer) kept in the glove box is good for touching up scratches. They come with a brush in the cap.
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In my case, it is worse than a scratch, as the finish has been removed down to the metal in one small area and it is down to whatever they use as undercoat/primer either side of this area, for about 4 inches around the circumference of the wheel. It is very difficult to see it, if the damaged area is low down on the wheel, as it is not on the face of the rim. However, I am concerned that it will now continue to flake off even more, now that it has been damaged.
I rang the local supplier this afternoon to tell them about the damage and they are prepared to look at it, to see if they agree that has been damaged there.
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Most tyre fitters couldn't care less.
The most gutting thing about my experience was that I really thought I'd found a good place.
It was almost clinically clean, didn't use power tools to remove or refit the wheels, they had the right length (ie short) valves, they stuck the weights on. To cap it all (and I really would have gone there regardless) they actually quoted lower than Costco for Michelin tyres (without me giving them Costco's price).
I've really no idea where to get my next set from :-(
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Well, I went back to the supplier this morning and it was a waste of time and effort. They insisted on removing the tyre again, as the chap who looked at the wheel with me said he couldn't see the damage very well and would need to remove the tyre to be sure of what he was looking at.
Because they found some corrosion on the inside of the wheel, he concluded that corrosion was the cause of the finish coming off around the edge. To me, it was an obvious abrasion mark and there was no sign of corrosion in that area, but he said that nothing on the machinery came in contact with the wheel, apart from the three rubber rests that the wheel rests on, when the tyre is being put on or taken off. Basically, his conclusion was that it was the nature of alloy wheels to lose the finish to corrosion.
On looking at the wheel after they replaced the tyre, I noticed some scratches and a little nick on the face of the wheel that I don't believe were there before, plus three or four small chips on the rim edging that looked new to me. So it looks like the wheel incurred some further marking whilst they were looking at it, or were done by the fitter. They are not likely to accept that though, so it is pointless pursuing the matter. I would have been better off staying away.
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About how much would it cost to have an alloy wheel refurbished? Can anything be done with kerb damage that has scraped more than just the surface off anyway?
New wheels are out of the question really, if some of the prices I have seen are anything to go by.
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"About how much would it cost to have an alloy wheel refurbished?" £30 to £60. Just got four 14" off an MX5 done for friend: £136 + VAT (plus £5 for each centre cap, which are £24 each to replace).
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Price above includes balancing, and removing and refitting tyres.
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Price above includes balancing, and removing and refitting tyres.
And let me guess, they managed to fit the tyres back on the wheels without any damage being induced?
Piont made.
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Can anyone recommend anything for touching up small chips to the finish on alloys?
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>> Price above includes balancing, and removing and refitting tyres. >> And let me guess, they managed to fit the tyres back on the wheels without any damage being induced?
You might have hit on the answer to tyre fitters damaging alloys: buy tyres online, and then take them to a wheel refurbisher to be fitted!
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