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Would you buy wheels with weld repairs?

clk320x

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Would you buy wheels with a weld repair? :)
 
Yes. If the repair has been done correctly, I certainly would and have done! The state of our roads and some of the questionable quality of the wheels available (yes even new OEM AMG ones!) it is not surprising how many used wheels have had some repairs carried out.
 
No
 
My CLK had to have a wheel welded when I got them refurbished and it's still going strong with out any problems.
 
I have had mine refurbished twice at Lepson's (W211 sport wheel) and they have been welded twice. They will not weld twice if the first weld is very close to where a second one is required.
They leave the weld on without grinding it down so it is probably stronger that it was originally.
 
So long as they’ve been repaired properly they will be fine.

Before anyone starts to make out that they’ll fall apart and kill you, ask what the original (non-repaired) wheel did before it was welded :)

There’s loads of cars out there with refurbished wheels and many will have had weld repairs, you just don’t hear much about it. If they were causing problems as a result you would.

Modern mass produced cast-alloy wheels, often large in diameter and quite wide, coupled with low profile tyres and potholed UK roads are a recipe for damage. There will be thousands of MBs and other cars on the road driving around with buckled or cracked wheels as a result. Forged wheels are stronger but cost more hence aren’t usually found on most cars.
 
It depends if the car gets you to from 0-license losing territory relatively quickly, if yes then no not on a cracked wheel. Maybe so on a car that wouldn’t

It’s like putting a plaster on a snapped ankle, alloys (and tyres) are the last thing connecting us and the road and some think it’s alright to do 160mph on a cracked alloy (welded or not)
 
Always raises a smile when I read peoples reactions to weld repairs on wheels, another one of those hot topics such as "budget tyres" ;)

We shudder at the thought of welds on tyres yet are quite happy to drive around on OEM AMG wheels which have a history of being poor quality and are prone to cracking!
Having removed my OEM AMG wheels from my previous CLS 55 (not a slow car I hasten to add), I found 2 out of the four were cracked albeit I never lost any air pressure in them, and I had not removed them for no other reason apart from I fancied a change, it would have been quite some time they would have been removed for a tyre change, when the cracks would have come to light!

I guess it all comes down to whatever the individual feels comfortable with. Working in an industry where welding of varying degrees takes place on a daily basis and having spoken to the guys that carry out the welds, I personally have no issues with welds on wheels :)

It would be interesting to know how many members are driving around with cracked wheels, completely oblivious to the fact they are ;)
 
What is the quality of the weld like/was it done by a credible welder? Are they rare/desirable alloys?
 
3pc split rims FTW! :D
 
Steels FTW!
Lightest and strongest there are - but aren't shiny and styled on paper doilies so no one (but me) uses them.
 
Yes if done properly with good clean welds. I have two sets of wheels for my cls55 and I think there are only two out of eight that have not been welded (four during my ownership and another about to be done) such is the poor quality/strength of my particular style AMG wheels combined with Surrey's unreal pothole epidemic. I would not have more than two welds on any wheel and I dont think a reputable wheel specialist would do a third any way. Might even be an MOT fail
I have had no problems with mine and indeed if I have had a second crack its been somewhere fresh on the rim nowhere near the welds.
But I obviously understand peoples unease,
 
They would have to be rare wheels where a non welded option was difficult to find and even then as others have said I would need to trust the reputation of who welded them.
 
If I already owned the wheels and one was cracked, yes. AMG alloys are made of cheese and are forever cracking on our 3rd worls roads.
But I wouldn't buy used alloys with welds unless I really liked them and no others were available
 
I have had mine refurbished twice at Lepson's (W211 sport wheel) and they have been welded twice. They will not weld twice if the first weld is very close to where a second one is required.
They leave the weld on without grinding it down so it is probably stronger that it was originally.

Having worked in the petrochemical industry all my life, I do know welding is not as simple as it seems (and it is not simple). Welding two bits together changes the molecular arrangement of the metal and this usually means heat treatment to "stress relieve" the joint. Add this to the modern alloys we have and there is no way I'd trust my life with the welding of a so called "welder".

Sorry to be a 'harsher of mellow' - I have seen too many x-rays of welds (done by the best) that were failed. I worked in an industry where every weld was x-ray'd and we only hired the "very best".
 

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