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A friend has a 2017 GS, just bought a set of the AS3+ tires and the shop reported both of his front wheels are bent at about 20k miles. They brought him into the shop and let him see the hop in the wheel as it's spun.
They did a Road Force balance and were able to get the Road Force down to 17 on the worst wheel and something below that on the other one. He has checked the car up to 80 mph and it feels normal, IIRC our local Tech said that GM considers anything below 17 as acceptable, so his bend isn't too bad. He's willing to live with it for now.
We know that eventually he will have more problems, including the possibility of cracks.
Some people claim that a wheel which has been straightened is more prone to cracking, others say that running the wheel slightly out-of-round is more likely to cause a crack in the future.
Until he can get a set of quality wheels, do you think he's safer to straighten the wheels or just run them like they are?
Also, all of the GS/Z06 wheel cracks I've heard about started at the inboard face bead and progressed toward the barrel, eventually causing a slow air leak. Are there any cracks causing catastrophic wheel failure without a slow leak first? Are the cracks commonly appearing anyplace else besides that inboard bead?
We can't fix his problem but perhaps can give him some time to think about it.
Thanks.
Last edited by Gearhead Jim; Apr 11, 2020 at 10:03 PM.
Been running bent rears for about 7k miles.I was stuck with brand new tires wobbling on the tire balancer.The vibration starts around 75.Haven't leaked air yet.Still watching everywhere the tires go till the Forgelines come in.
Common sense on the straightening factor comes into play.Once bent wheels are weak, restraighten wheels are weaker.
No trips till the rims come in.Sprited driving,well was part time anyway and still is.
I didn't want to waste ANY money on these POS wheels.So pissed..
If they can balance?Try them.Will it harm the rear end? Depends how bad the vibration is.It's all about how it is driven and how much vibration.
Now is the time to order your replacement.I want to be dun and spent big.That is how important piece of mind is to me.
I had the same experience as your friend; didn't know I had bent wheels until the tire dealership saw "the hop" as you described. The local repair shop in Houston told me it was always better to straighten the wheel since each rotation on the bent wheel caused it to flex and eventually crack.
I got all 3 wheels straightened, which was 7,000 miles ago. I haven't had a crack, but don't have any idea whether the wheels are bent again or not.
Aluminum alloy has a crystalline inner structure at the molecular level. When the alloy is bent, this crystalline structure can be broken up, negating the strength of the metal at that point. The alloy must be heat-treated, or annealed, to make it strong again.
If the crystalline structure of the wheel isn't annealed, the wheel is weaker at the point where the bend was and subsequent impacts can more easily cause the metal to return, or "snap back," to its previous bent position. Operators say the metal has “retained a memory” of its previous state, which is why erasing that memory by annealing the inner structure of the metal is such an important part of the process.
Beware of gadgets on the market that claim to help straighten wheels. Usually, these involve two crescent-shaped metal blocks with a hydraulic ram between them. Supposedly, one places the crescent blocks inside the curve of the wheel and uses a foot pump to spread the blocks until the bend is removed. That's a good way to destroy a wheel.
^^^
I understand your post, but...
Airplane parts are often formed from 2024T3 aluminum and seem to hold up ok.
So far, I'm hearing fewer cases of C7 wheels cracking after straightening than never-straightened wheels that crack.
NOT on any vehicle of mine or my loved ones. The wheels are known to be junk; doing a make-shift repair is no way to go. There is only one way and no getting around it, even for a little while, imho. STAY WELL!
A friend has a 2017 GS, just bought a set of the AS3+ tires and the shop reported both of his front wheels are bent at about 20k miles. They brought him into the shop and let him see the hop in the wheel as it's spun.
They did a Road Force balance and were able to get the Road Force down to 17 on the worst wheel and something below that on the other one. He has checked the car up to 80 mph and it feels normal, IIRC our local Tech said that GM considers anything below 17 as acceptable, so his bend isn't too bad. He's willing to live with it for now.
We know that eventually he will have more problems, including the possibility of cracks.
Some people claim that a wheel which has been straightened is more prone to cracking, others say that running the wheel slightly out-of-round is more likely to cause a crack in the future.
Until he can get a set of quality wheels, do you think he's safer to straighten the wheels or just run them like they are?
Also, all of the GS/Z06 wheel cracks I've heard about started at the inboard face bead and progressed toward the barrel, eventually causing a slow air leak. Are there any cracks causing catastrophic wheel failure without a slow leak first? Are the cracks commonly appearing anyplace else besides that inboard bead?
We can't fix his problem but perhaps can give him some time to think about it.
Thanks.
I'll probably get flamed, but here's a thought. If you straighten the two front wheels, it's going to cost you about $500 ($250 each +/-). Instead of that, why don't you buy two new OEM wheels from Bob's House of Wheels for $450 each before installing the A/S 3+ tires. That way, your net cost will be about $400, as opposed to spending the money for straightening. If the wheels bend again, you can go ahead and spend the $6-8,000 for the forged wheels if you'd like (). As for me, as posted before, I replaced all four wheels with OEMs, got the Magnetic Ride Software Update and bought the A/S 3+ tires. Right after doing that, I drove from NJ to FL, drove around there for about 2k miles and drove back to NJ. No problems. Again, I'm reluctant to spend 10% of the purchase price of my car on wheels when a C8 is on my radar screen within the next two years. Just my thoughts.
Had two bent wheel (potholes) repaired on my wife's Hyundai Azera over a year ago. One was "the worst" the mobile repair guy had worked on, and he said the wheel was probably not repairable.
Lo and behold, after 40 minutes he had it back to spec, and no issues with either in 15k miles since. Total cost $250, and it was done in a Discount Tire parking lot so they could be rebalanced also.
Had two bent wheel (potholes) repaired on my wife's Hyundai Azera over a year ago. One was "the worst" the mobile repair guy had worked on, and he said the wheel was probably not repairable.
Lo and behold, after 40 minutes he had it back to spec, and no issues with either in 15k miles since. Total cost $250, and it was done in a Discount Tire parking lot so they could be rebalanced also.
Mobil wheel repair? I hadn't heard of it.
Is it part of a chain/franchise, or just a guy operating his own business?
Mobile everything is big - wheel repair, windshield replacement, paintless dent removal, detailing. I occasionally see a mobile dog washing truck at a neighbor's place.
Is it part of a chain/franchise, or just a guy operating his own business?
When I asked the Corvette Tech at our local dealer how the straightening process works, he said:
"All I know is that the bent wheel disappears into their van, magic happens, and the wheel comes back straight."
The local branch (Barrington, IL) of that same chain has straightened several of our factory Z51 wheels and I had them later Road Force balanced to 10 or below. That's excellent. Not enough miles on them to know about durability. Two of the bends were from potholes bad enough to ruin the AS3+ ZP tire.
Follow up to my prior post:
I got to watch our wheels being straightened. They were done pretty much as described at the bottom of POST #5. The wheels were heated with a plumber's torch between uses of the ram which was hydraulic and controlled by a foot pump. He used up to 6,500 psi to push out the bends from the center after marking the high and low spots with a micrometer. Pretty basic process that was really interesting to see.
Again, no issues since and no vibration, etc. at all. Good outcome.
Last edited by NashvilleGrandSport; Apr 13, 2020 at 01:45 PM.
When I asked the Corvette Tech at our local dealer how the straightening process works, he said:
"All I know is that the bent wheel disappears into their van, magic happens, and the wheel comes back straight."
The local branch (Barrington, IL) of that same chain has straightened several of our factory Z51 wheels and I had them later Road Force balanced to 10 or below. That's excellent. Not enough miles on them to know about durability. Two of the bends were from potholes bad enough to ruin the AS3+ ZP tire.
Now that's a solid endorsement!
In case I ever need it, I'll have to Google "mobile wheel repair" to see what is offered here around central Ohio.
^^^
To me, the big question is durability (not cracking) after being straightened. I've started another thread with a poll but will need more responses to know how they last.
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.
Straighten bent wheels?
STAY WELL!
). As for me, as posted before, I replaced all four wheels with OEMs, got the Magnetic Ride Software Update and bought the A/S 3+ tires. Right after doing that, I drove from NJ to FL, drove around there for about 2k miles and drove back to NJ. No problems. Again, I'm reluctant to spend 10% of the purchase price of my car on wheels when a C8 is on my radar screen within the next two years. Just my thoughts.
