Alloy Wheel Straightening And Unbuckling

[developer]

When I bought my 19" wheels recently, they were second hand from ebay.

It seemed sensible to have them checked for "trueness" before fitment, even though they looked OK to the eye.

My local tyre shop ran them up on their balancer and they pointed out that one didn't run perfectly true. They felt that with proper balancing I wouldn't notice it, however, I decided to have it looked at.

I rang "The Wheel Specialists" one of the major wheel refurbers in Birmingham and the lady gave me the number for TJReconstruction - she pointed out this is where they sent customers wheels that need work before refurbishment.

I rang to make an appointment and took my wheel to just outside Cannock, WS14 postcode.

Not knowing what to expect I was greeted by Rod, working from a 40ft steel container located on a corner of a garden nursery centre.

An engineer, first and foremost, he has developed his own jigs and equipment, specialising in alloy wheel straightening and unbuckling.

No tyre sales, no wheel sales, nothing but wheel "fixing" (and the odd bit of alloy fabricating/gearbox rebuilding).

He collects from refurb shops/car dealers in the morning and works on them from his tin shed in the afternoon.

The cost to true my wheel - £35 all in.

If he can't do it, he tells you. If you're not happy, he refunds you.

I appreciated his engineering background and his bespoke tooling and was pleased with the result.

I hope you find this useful.

Here's the workshop for your perusal - proper engineering .

www.tjreconstruction.co.uk

 

[Dieselman]

You had a wheel straightened previously, why not use the same person?

 

[developer]

You had a wheel straightened previously, why not use the same person?

Because I wasn't entirely happy with the result - that guy was a tyre fitter firstly - I wanted to try someone else this time round. I considered that if recommended by The Wheel Specialists he was worth a look.

 

[Dieselman]

I know what you mean. Today I took a wheel back to be rebalanced, it had 60 grammes on one side only, afterwards only 5 or 10 grammes each side.

 

[Ierton]

I don't suppose it matters too much on a diesel but I wouldn't ever fit a re-straightened wheel to my car. It's just not worth the risk IMO.

 

[developer]

I don't suppose it matters too much on a diesel

 

[redbaron]

Have emailed him ref one of the wheels on my SL that has a slight flatspot on the inner edge.

Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Very impressive work.

 

[renault12ts]

I don't suppose it matters too much on a diesel but I wouldn't ever fit a re-straightened wheel to my car. It's just not worth the risk IMO.

Ouch...what do you mean? At 130mph...does it matter whether it's a diesel or a petrol?

 

[sinewave]

I don't suppose it matters too much on a diesel but I wouldn't ever fit a re-straightened wheel to my car. It's just not worth the risk IMO.

Cheeky Fecker!

Doubt ya lumbering M6 would be much ahead of a sorted E320 CDi

 

[renault12ts]

Cheeky Fecker!

Doubt ya lumbering M6 would be much ahead of a sorted E320 CDi

I think he meant to say it would be too dangerous on a BMW...but a Merc would be inherently more stable if something was to happen.

 

[sinewave]

Like a Man who works out of a 40' container john!

Proper Engineers!

 

[HB]

I don't suppose it matters too much on a diesel but I wouldn't ever fit a re-straightened wheel to my car. It's just not worth the risk IMO.

****

 

[Ierton]

The thrifty amongst us are a touchy bunch!

I don't see many diesels at track days - nor do I see them as performance cars which was my point. If you want to do 130mph on a public road with a repaired wheel feel free .

 

[StMarks]

Great OP, shame about the

 

[wemorgan]

Each to their own.

If discussing safety then some of the worst examples I've seen have been on kit cars on track. eg roll bars insufficient mounted and lower than the driver's head.

How many Cat C/D cars that have had the body structure straightened are back on the road?

How many bent rally cars are straightened?

How many aircraft wings with cracks have 'plasters' applied over the cracks.

It's all about materials and risks and understanding them.

 

[StMarks]

[FONT=&quot]I think I understand materials, to a certain extent.

However I would prefer to enjoy the thrill of blasting round a track in someone’s badly conceived kit car, than bleat about the shortcomings of its creator's "elf & safety" adherence.

IMHO some people stay so focused on safe they forget they are going to die anyway.[/FONT]

 

[GordonTarling]

I had two wheels on my previous 211 straightened by Pristine Wheels - they told me that after straightening, they heat-treated them for stress relief. I'd be surprised if someone working out of a container has the equipment to do that.

 

[flango]

Also worthy of note for this thread Alloy wheels should only be balanced behind the face of the wheel and only with adhesive weights i.e. no weights visible on the face of the wheel or bang on weights. 1st pic is the wrong way 2nd the correct way

 

[developer]

I had two wheels on my previous 211 straightened by Pristine Wheels - they told me that after straightening, they heat-treated them for stress relief. I'd be surprised if someone working out of a container has the equipment to do that.

Rod uses a commercial heat gun, for localised heating, as part of the straighening process (it's aluminium after all) - as shown on the bench. He specialises in aluminium fabrication/welding and has done for 20+ years - I'm guessing he knows a great deal about it's properties and how to treat it.

Regarding the safety aspect - as I said in post one, I couldn't see anything wrong to the eye - it was only on the balancer that the slight out of true could be seen.

As with anything -if you're not happy with what you read, you don't use the service.