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Wheel/Rim problem...please help...

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Old 06-04-2002, 09:05 AM
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Default Wheel/Rim problem...please help...

I purchased Simmons 3 piece wheels last year and let them sit in my livingroom til this past spring when I could afford tires....Now the problem.

I took the car back to the place I had the tires mounted to check on a leak the passenger side rear had. It turned out to be the only good news of the day! It was the valve stem...

I decided to have the balance re-done since I had put about 2600 miles on them and thought I might have thrown some of the stick-on weights. It seems that not one or two...but ALL the rims are out of round! Like egg shaped! The front of the rims (the part that shows) seems OK but the back of the rims (inside the wheelwell) seems to wobble up and down!?? The guy doing the balance said that he could not get them to balance since he would mount them on the machine one way and get them balanced but then rotate the wheel a little and spin them again and it would show out of balance again.

I have only had them on the car for a month and a half! About 2600 miles on them...and I am VERY careful about what I hit.

Is this common with 3 piece wheel designs?

Could the person who mounted the tires bent the rims with the tire machine?

Could I have forseen this sort of thing with a test before I mounted the tires? I put the wheels on the car and spun them looking for anything out of the ordinary and to check back-spacing.

Needless to say I am getting pretty hacked off thinking about this!

What should my next step be?....besides checking with the sponsor that sold them to me.....

Thanks for all replys!

Jeff
Old 06-04-2002, 02:19 PM
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Default Re: Wheel/Rim problem...please help...

If you put 2600 on miles on them while they were bent you would have felt that!!!

My guess is they bent the rims while remounting them. I would try to take it up with them otherwise, I suppose you could have the rim taken apart and rewelded with a new back half.

<small>[ June 04, 2002, 02:20 PM: Message edited by: YOOFORMULA ]</small>
Old 06-04-2002, 05:39 PM
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Default Re: Wheel/Rim problem...please help...

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Originally posted by LS1pilot:
<strong>Is this common with 3 piece wheel designs? </strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">the spun aluminum outer halves of 3 piece wheels are typically weaker than cast/forged one piece wheels. Did you verify they were true before the initial tire mounting? If the tire shop hit the rims, there will be marks.

I would find a wheel repair shop and get a free quote. Polished aluminum is easy to repair (no paint or chrome to redo) and they can probably do it in an hour or two.



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