wheels reapair, where to go?

[s13koupe]

I have 2 Racing hart c5 3piece 18x9.5 and the lip is damage pretty bad. Anybody know where I can get it fix? Do RacingHart sell the lip alone?

[sw20>>s14]

look up a thread that i started not too long ago, good info and links...you could get really good results by just googling it too.

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

I don't know if you guys have a Wheels America out there but STAY AWAY.

[KiDyNomiTe]

I don't know if you guys have a Wheels America out there but STAY AWAY.
why do you say that?

They did a great job on my wheels, and also on my friends wheels.

Price is kinda high but no other local places that I know of, and I am definately not gonna ship them.

[ZK]

I don't know if you guys have a Wheels America out there but STAY AWAY.

I've heard mixed reviews of them. They seem to do a decent job on most wheels but one the biggest complaints is with shiny polished dish wheels that have clear coat come out with a matte finish instead of the high gloss clearcoat finish it should be.

[tomenugen]

if it's a bent lip, expect to pay about 100-120.

[KiDyNomiTe]

if it's a bent lip, expect to pay about 100-120.
$75 @ Wheels America.

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

Well here is my story then:
I have a set of 3pc wheels that I bought cheap because they where all messed up and needed refinishing. No bends or anything, just scraped and beginning to corrode a bit and the paint was flaking off. I took them there and they said maybe, we will see what we can do. They had a problem with the fact that the wheels have a rolled lip. Sure enough, they said no way. Wheels America told me there was no way to fix these because they where not perfectly balanced, and the rolled lip made it impossible to fix. Besides that the guy told me the corrosion went all the way through the metal and needed to be cut out which was not possible on these wheels.
So I took them to another shop that had a good rep. I did not initially because I knew they where going to be more expensive based on a phone conversation, and they where hella far away. I drove down there and they looked at the wheels, gave them a spin on their balancer gizmo and said no problem. This shop was telling me ( I understand their opinion is biased ) that Wheels America just puts the wheels on a lathe and cuts the lip off, and re-welds new metal on then cuts it down, then paints over the whole thing.
They did start on one of my wheels, and they took the polish off the wheel. All that was left was the matte finish described by ZK. Looks like they just sanded it down while it was spinning and that they don't actually polish the metal.
I get my wheels back on Thursday I will post pics then.

[ZK]

So I took them to another shop that had a good rep. I did not initially because I knew they where going to be more expensive based on a phone conversation, and they where hella far away. I drove down there and they looked at the wheels, gave them a spin on their balancer gizmo and said no problem. This shop was telling me ( I understand their opinion is biased ) that Wheels America just puts the wheels on a lathe and cuts the lip off, and re-welds new metal on then cuts it down, then paints over the whole thing.
They did start on one of my wheels, and they took the polish off the wheel. All that was left was the matte finish described by ZK. Looks like they just sanded it down while it was spinning and that they don't actually polish the metal.
I get my wheels back on Thursday I will post pics then.

Is this wheel techniques?

Let me know how it turns out. I am possibly going to redo my wheels. The wheels are old and the polished lip is all scratched up and spiderwebbing on the surface (corrosion?)

[kingsol]

i'm also interested how they turn out since i need to get my wheels done.how much did they charge?

[s13koupe]

OK, here is the pix of the wheels, are they fixable at all? These are too nice to get rid of it, I rather spend 300-400 bucks to get them fix and use it on my s14.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/kimluu/P1060008.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/kimluu/P1060007.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/kimluu/P1060004.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/kimluu/P1060005.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/kimluu/P1060006.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/kimluu/P1060009.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v475/kimluu/P1060010.jpg

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

Oh damn those are jacked. Well, Wheel Techniques where I took my wheels would say they are fixable. I know because the owner of the shop was laughing that Wheels America could not fix my wheels and was showing me some rims that he was going to fix that where WORSE than what you have there! Hahaha I saw it with my own eyes. Yeah those wheels are nice, but plan to spend more than that at a reputable shop that is going to do good work.
ZK: yes Wheel Techniques www.wheeltechniques.com
Kingsol: $750. Very expensive. Depending on what needs to be done to your wheels most likely less. What they are doing for me: disassemble, fix and polish rim, hot tank clean, re-finish and powder coat centers, new bolts, and re-assembly including sealant. That is a lot of labor so thats why it cost me so much.

[kingsol]

geeze... that's a lot. remember to post the pics. geeze... that's a lot.

was yours a 2 piece?

[tomenugen]

yea...wheel techniques...i recommend that place, i had a bent rim once and they repaired it for 120. they lag a day or two, so you have to constantly call them. other than that...AWESOME job.

[AN89HATCH]

on my mesh wheel that i bent, wheel techniques tried to charge me 270 bucks to fix just a little bent lip, forget that.

[KiDyNomiTe]

I'll take my chacnes with wheels america again. 75 for just lips, 100 for lips and repaint (you can repaint any color). 1 day turn around.

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

Ok so after a week of Wheel techniques dicking me around and promising that they would be done blah blah just blowing smoke up my ass. I did finally get them back today and they do superb work. I am just really pissed that they did not do a damn thing with my order all week even though it was supposed to be finished last week. Whatever, I am over it.
Here is a link to pics:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=7980239570&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT

Yeah, on ebay the same day I get them back! Sucks for me. It never even occured to me that the bolt pattern might not be what I was told they where. Oh well, they are really nice wheels so hopefully the bidding will go up at least close to what I have put into the wheels, but I am not counting on it.

[kingsol]

sucks about the miscommunication, but the wheels look pretty good, also you might want to put up the sizes.

do you have any before pics, and are the centers black.. they look a bit dull

[SpeedMonkeyInc]

I wish I did have before pics, I just never took any. I did put up the sizes, its in the title. And yes the centers are black, I had them done a "satin black" or semi gloss because flat looks like I did it my self and gloss looks to lux-sedan for me.
Anyone know what the hell kind of car uses a 120mm bolt pattern? I think BMW does.