TheAce

Just picked up my widened rears from Vaughn Machine and was going straight to the powder coater's so they could do their thing.

Eric suggested NOT going the PC route on the OE Speedline wheel.

He said that the aluminum is thin in a certain area (not structural) probably to help lighten them. The problem arises when they bake the wheel @ 400 F for the second time in it's life... the first being when the OE finish was applied.

He said it can anneal and soften this area enough to make the wheel no longer Tru. The caveat to all this - he's only witnessed it on the corvette Speedline version which is wider (and getting wider still if he has them) but structurally very similar to the V.

Mmmmm.... I aint doin it.

raven154

iTrader: (14)

I have seen factory wheels crack in the middle of the spoke after powder coating. I've never seen it happen otherwise so I would say there is merit to his assumption.

That being said, looks like it's very uncommon. Seems there are a many more guys running them without issue. I myself have never powder coated stockers but have coated plenty of others with no issues myself.

TheAce

Vaughn said he's personally seen 3 customer's Speedline OE wheels ruined this way - all Corvette.

itsslow98

iTrader: (18)

Mine were powdercoated for 35k miles and never once had an issue. This is the first time Ive heard of it honestly. I would much rather have PC on wheels then paint.

00birdls1

I work at Ludlum measurements Inc in the paint dept. Painting radiation detection equipment. I dunno much about powder coating wheels but I do know with all the aluminum we bake and paint (we paint some pretty big things) we bake it twice sometimes 3+ times at 430F and it the aluminum never messes up or cracks warps ect. Just my .02 though

Fweasel

iTrader: (6)

My stock wheels are powder coated. I'm their second owner. No issues. Shitty roads here too. I plan on powder coating my GM accessory wheels as well.

voodoochikin04

iTrader: (3)

The OE wheels on my V were powder coated for 50,000 miles without issues.

LS BRAVADA

iTrader: (4)

Mine were powder coated two years ago. The powder coater was having issues with two of the wheels and had to powder coat them twice. No issues......

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

How is everybody prepping their wheels for powder coating?

barrok69

Heating aluminum alloys to 400°F shouldn't do anything other than make the metal warm. You won't start annealing the alloy until you hit temps around 1,000°-1,200°F when you near the melting point, which you should Never Ever reach when powdercoating.

gtistile

No issues to speak of here either...

NIKDSC5

iTrader: (10)

yeah, this is the first I have ever heard of powder coating wheels weakening them. I have 10 wheels in all and all are Powder coated. Been to the strip and track a bunch and see plenty of DD miles. Zero issue.

TheAce

First I'd ever heard of it too and there are certainly a thousand sets of PC'd V wheels out there with no (known) issues.

Vaughn Machine has some fast customers. 250 mph , 350 mph , 450 mph.... he never said the wheels failed , only that they don't remain perfectly tru . 'Perfectly Tru' is probably a huge thing in his world.

No , he doesn't have Speedline wheels going 450mph - but that's where his head's at.

I wanted PC over painting for obvious reasons BUT getting the EXACT color I want from the powder coater was not proving to be easy. Probably impossible.

My painter will mix the exact color I'm going for , test it out for me so it's exactly what I want. That's the only up-side for me on skipping the PC.

TheAce

Food For Thought :

How do you know your PC'd wheels are tru ?

What if they're not ?

Answer: Probably means nothing below 250 mph , all you PC'd wheel guys need to keep your speeds below that mark.

Not me suckers ! I'll have paint ! I can go as fast as I want...you guys can't.

NIKDSC5

iTrader: (10)

Identifying a wheel to be true is easy, so long as you go to a tire shop that knows what they are doing. A wheel out side of being true will not balance, and will continually show on the machine needing more weight. It can be out side of perfect true and balance, but at that point you need tires that are as true (good luck).

Good luck with that paint sucker, my PC will last longer! And let me know when you hit anywhere north of 200 in the V1!

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

From strictly a weight stand point sure you can.

That's why you need an experienced tire tech to spot a bent wheel....the inexperienced guys balance them out and think its all good.

TheAce

I think this is probably what Vaughn was alluding to.

In his world , any wheel requiring more balance weight than "optimum" (?) is a ruined wheel.

Luckily you guys don't live in that world.

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Cheap tires have a lot to do with it to.

NIKDSC5

iTrader: (10)

A modern digital balancing machine will show you a bent wheel. Via by saying it needs more weights in spots that continually change. It will never balance out. This is not to say an inexperienced tire technician may get it close and say "good enough," (.5 ounces) but the wheel will not be in balance. It will never come up snake eyes on the machine.

The machine is sophisticated enough to know that you cannot balance an egg.

But hey, don't take my word.

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

I don't know what to make of your words. Is it the shop or the machine?