Alloy wheel refurbishment

[shoes]

Can anyone recommend a decent local outfit for such a task? Not looking for anything fancy, but I'm bidding on a set of wheels on ebay (standard manufacturer wheels) but they have suffered with corrosion / flaking.

Thanks

 

[phildo]

I don't know what car you have and it might sound silly but try the main dealer. I know that Stafford Audi can sort out wheel refurbs from £50 which ain't bad at all. The wheels are sent up to the main Swansway group bodyshop in Crewe to get done.

 

[AA Silencers]

We've recommended several customers to Wheel smart based next to the old MG Hopton Garage on Sandon road. Not had any bad feedback so would have to assume they've always been satisfied. You can reach them 241121 according to their website http://www.wheelsmartrepairs.co.uk/contact.htm

Hope they can help out

 

[shoes]

I don't know what car you have and it might sound silly but try the main dealer. I know that Stafford Audi can sort out wheel refurbs from £50 which ain't bad at all. The wheels are sent up to the main Swansway group bodyshop in Crewe to get done.

It's an archaic 3 series, not sure I'd want to pay dealer price. Saying that, one of the wheels has a bent lip, so I'm going to see if thats actually repairable. If not, I'll keep it as the spare:

The others are all in this condition:

We've recommended several customers to Wheel smart based next to the old MG Hopton Garage on Sandon road. Not had any bad feedback so would have to assume they've always been satisfied. You can reach them 241121 according to their website http://www.wheelsmartrepairs.co.uk/contact.htm

Hope they can help out

Thanks for the info, I'm going to call them now and see what they offer me - they're only 5 minutes from where I live too which is handy!

 

[Miss Red]

I just had to get mine looked at....bloody potholes around here dented my wheel, according to man hes 99% sure its pothole damage and whole alloy needs replacing! and im looking at a £190 bill!!!!!

 

[AA Silencers]

Jeepers! What car is it? Who looked at the wheel, are they sure it can't be repaired? To be fair you do have to be careful repairing dented alloys. If they've stress fractured inside it can be v dangerous. Roads are a joke in places. The only ones without pot holes are the one festooned with speed bumps.

 

[Trumpet]

Heartily recommend Wheelsmart they soted out a really well 'dinged' alloy wheel for me recently for £60.00, bargain.

 

[shoes]

I just had to get mine looked at....bloody potholes around here dented my wheel, according to man hes 99% sure its pothole damage and whole alloy needs replacing! and im looking at a £190 bill!!!!!

£190 sounds like a standard alloy then (i.e. no aftermarket) - have a look on ebay, I'm sure you'll find one for less than half that - even if you have to spend £30 having it refurbed, it'll almost certainly work out cheaper.

 

[Miss Red]

Its a puma....i went to nat tyres, very nice man he tapped out best he could and said keep eye on it, if it goes down its a new wheel! It was on the inside of the wheel and he said its more than likely a pot hole because it was on the inside of the wheel not the outside.

Will defo look around online to see if i can get cheaper, thanks shoes.

 

[cushT]

Those are two piece BBS wheels from a 328i sport. To re furbish them properly they will need splitting & new bolts that cost a fortune! So you might find they are a bit more expensive than your average alloy wheel. The lip is polished alloy with a clear Lacquer on top.

They are a lovely wheel when in good condition.

 

[shoes]

Those are two piece BBS wheels from a 328i sport. To re furbish them properly they will need splitting & new bolts that cost a fortune! So you might find they are a bit more expensive than your average alloy wheel. The lip is polished alloy with a clear Lacquer on top.

They are a lovely wheel when in good condition.

Indeed they are! They do look lovely in good condition. I've got to get rid of the 18's on the car though, the cost of wheels + refurb + tyres will be less than tyres alone on the 18's.

Not to mention the car handles like shit on them - my other 328i runs 15's and an LSD and it handles much more nicely (admittedly with brand new coilovers too).

 

[cushT]

Yep, 18" wheels do compromise the ride on a 328. I once bought a set of cheap 18" replica MV2 wheels for my old 328, It ruined it! I managed to find a set of the original wheels soon after.

Slightly ot, Have you noticed the immaculate 328i sport in red with lovely polished BBS wheels, often parked opposite Knights bmw on the front of the Radford pub? It is beautifully kept.

 

[grumpystaffordguy]

I think I'd avoid those wheels shoes as they will cost a lot to be refurbished and they will no doubt go off again after a couple of winters. Nice wheels when they are in good condition though.

I have a mk4 Golf runaround and that came on replica 18" wheels and they weigh a ton! Its shocking how heavy they are. I have some 16" Leon wheels to go on instead which feel like they weigh half as much.

 

[shoes]

I think I'd avoid those wheels shoes as they will cost a lot to be refurbished and they will no doubt go off again after a couple of winters. Nice wheels when they are in good condition though.

I have a mk4 Golf runaround and that came on replica 18" wheels and they weigh a ton! Its shocking how heavy they are. I have some 16" Leon wheels to go on instead which feel like they weigh half as much.

Nah, they'll be fine

Seriously though, I really like the BBS wheels on the beemer - definitely going to get one kind or another. I have the BBS E30 Mesh wheels on my track car and they look (and handle) great. Want something a little bigger for the daily though - found a few sets of BBS 16 but getting the right tyres is difficult.

Ideally I want staggered 17's so I can smother them with contisportcontact 3's.

 

[shoes]

Yep, 18" wheels do compromise the ride on a 328. I once bought a set of cheap 18" replica MV2 wheels for my old 328, It ruined it! I managed to find a set of the original wheels soon after.

Slightly ot, Have you noticed the immaculate 328i sport in red with lovely polished BBS wheels, often parked opposite Knights bmw on the front of the Radford pub? It is beautifully kept.

I haven't seen that but I will do - I have a couple of E36's - one for fun one for 'work', so to speak. I'll pm you my details, add me on bookface, both cars are photographed on there.

Thing with the 18's is, they look really nice. Perhaps not my first choice in wheels, but they are momo GTs, pretty decant/light wheels in all fairness - but the handling is terrible. As I said before though, they're currently wrapped in cheap maxxis rubber which doesn't help much at all.

Smaller wheels, M50 manifold and the LSD off the track toy and it'll be just right

(I have an M3 Evo LSD in the garage waiting to go onto the fast one - just need a clutch kit and then I can do the clutch, gearbox, prop, diff and brakes in one weekend. Preferably a warmer weekend!

 

[cushT]

Another E36 fan here although you probably guessed. I think I'm on number 7 now.

18" wheels do look the part for sure, they fill the arches much better especially with a conservative drop. I've traditionally always uprated the suspension & wheels on my cars but my current one I'm trying to leave alone Will have to see how well that goes!

Back on topic, A friend of mine had a set of alloys re furbished at a place in Cannock. They did a great job & were around £300 if I remember right. It is located here: map Hope that link works! His were a standard silver finish.

Ta for the fb link, I'll look you up

 

[cushT]

No that didn't work!

This should

http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=cannock&hl=en&ll=52.67538,-2.033136&spn=0.007624,0.01929&sll=53.800651,-4.064941&sspn=15.24674,39.506836&hnear=Cannock,+Staffordshire,+United+Kingdom&t=m&layer=c&cbll=52.675379,-2.033142&panoid=tuTvHo_E6qnntxqUe4awRg&cbp=12,210.08,,0,-2.15&z=16

They are just behind the brick building, where the white car is.

 

[shoes]

Another E36 fan here although you probably guessed. I think I'm on number 7 now.

18" wheels do look the part for sure, they fill the arches much better especially with a conservative drop. I've traditionally always uprated the suspension & wheels on my cars but my current one I'm trying to leave alone Will have to see how well that goes!

Back on topic, A friend of mine had a set of alloys re furbished at a place in Cannock. They did a great job & were around £300 if I remember right. It is located here: map Hope that link works! His were a standard silver finish.

Ta for the fb link, I'll look you up

E36 fan eh? Pleased to meet you

I'll have to take you out in my 'toy' sometime, perhaps when there is grip to be found.

I have another 328 sport coupe with the LSD, M50 manifold conversion, custom exhaust manifold, scorpion de-cat exhaust - dyno'd at 230 bhp last month. Not that much power you say? I agree - well power to weight is key, so the car is stripped right back, everything except the dash (including sunroof, parcel shelf and seat cradles cut out!!, seats, the lot). Put some corbeau super lightweight seats in, harnesses, BBS E30 mesh, lowered 75mm on new coilovers and a 'specialist' fast road alignment setup from A-line in dudley.

The result is 230bhp/1160 kg - 198 bhp/tonne - and 5.6 to 60

It's a hoot, i'm sure any other E36 fan would love it too!

 

[cushT]

Ah you've done the m50 manifold conversion! Something I always wanted to do but never did. How much different does it feel? It's a good performance hike for relatively simple job. The 328 lump is a sublime engine, I love the effortless torque, it makes them such a lazy drive, but when you hit the loud pedal they spring into life with a gorgeous noise as the revs get near the limiter.
Bomb proof too if you keep decent oil in the sump. Your car sounds a whole lot more focused than anything I've ever owned! I did have a stripped out Astra running a Calibra turbo lump, that was good fun but would have been useless on a track. Add a mediocre driver to the mix & It would have been damn right dangerous

 

[proactive]

everything except the dash (including sunroof, parcel shelf and seat cradles cut out!!, seats, the lot)

Have I misread you or have you actually removed the sunroof? If so does that mean there's now just a hole in your roof or have you welded something in its place?