Viking0728

So I have a bent rim on the 20 inch rear. I bought a replacement, but what do I do with the old one? Is it trash, do I save it for an emergency like a broke rim? Any suggestions?

Also, the tire store said it is bent on the inner barrel and that it may be fixable. Has anyone ever tried that?

Thanks

tertiumquid

Yes, I had a competent wheel shop work it back into shape. The only problem is that it will bend again if whatever originally caused the bend happens again. They aren't strong. Keep it for a spare. I changed over to forged wheels but kept the OEM's in case that when I want to sell the car the buyer wants the OEM black wheels

MiamiCowboy

Make a coffee table.

Bill Dearborn

Yes, a competent shop can straighten the rim if it is bent where you say it is. Wheels that are bent through the hub can't be straightened. A lot of tire shops and some dealerships have a traveling wheel straightener come to their location to straighten Customer wheels. From what I can tell from talking to these guys GM wheels are no more likely to bend than any other brand wheels. Cost should be somewhere around $150.

Bill

Viking0728

I doubt the wife will approve it, but I like the idea!

cyi1

Turn it into a clock for the garage. I wanted to do that when the dealer had to swap my carbon ceramic front rotors but they wouldn't give me one lol

Larry M

tertiumquid

Bill, the ZO6 threads on the forum would suggest otherwise...that these cars' wheels seem especially prone to bending and cracking. I've had numerous GM vehicles and never remember having a bent wheel. A lot of guys on the ZO6 threads often don't realize theirs are bent until they have them on the road force balancer. Invariably, the story is the same...they can't recall hitting anything of note and a lot of the bent wheels turn out to be also cracked on the inner barrels. This isn't found until the wheel starts to leak air and the car goes to the shop. Other wheels are hardly comparable to the wide ZO6's in terms of width structure nor are they running stiff sidewall run-flats so, naturally, the incidence of bending on the ZO6's will be a lot more than the generic GM or other manufacturers wheels.

dvilin

Toss it in the dumpster why waste any more time or money on it.

CliffB-99

Mail it to Tadge. He doesn't think they exist.

C7X46

This^, they'll show up by the thousands

philadd

But you're still only comparing to other GM wheels. You should hear how often the BMW guys are dealing with bent rims.

Bill Dearborn

I have had bent wheels on other GM wheels. My wife bent both of the wheels on the right side of our Malibu by driving over a deep bump when making a right turn. The wheels were bent but didn't lose their balance and didn't affect the ride. After hearing it would cost $300 to have both straightened I left them on the car and my Grandson has been driving it on those same wheels for the last 5 years. Just because they are bent doesn't mean they aren't usable. I had a C6Z06 front wheel that I purchased from a forum member that turned out to bent through the hub (had lateral run out). I didn't know it until the dealer damaged the paint when changing a tire. They sent it out to a shop which refused to repair the paint since the wheel was bent through the hub. I mounted some old tires on it and used the wheel in a spare set of wheels/tires and never noticed anything while driving.

There are plenty of other manufacturer wheels that bend besides GM wheels and I don't see any evidence the Corvette wheels are any worse than those are. There are plenty of companies/shops all around the country that are making money repairing bent wheels and they couldn't do that on Corvette only business.

Bill

tertiumquid

Yes, but... The bent wheels are also often found to have cracks in the barrel, usually noticed only when the tire has started to leak air and the car is checked out. That's the real problem; our wheels that bend tend to crack also. I don't disagree that a lot of other makes with low profile, wide run-flats get bent. The real issue is that going to forged wheels as standard equipment would cure 90% of the problems we owners have endured. Who cares about the price differential? If you're spending $75k+ on a Vette, a couple grand more on the purchase price for a new one shouldn't matter to the buyer. If you can spend this kind of money on what for many is a toy, the $2k savings is nothing compared to the relief of eliminating the aggravation. Just look at the disappointment that many on the forum voice...they get their dream car and then find they will, at some point, have to deal with this ridiculous and well documented problem, regardless of Tadge's inability to acknowledge it.

C7X46

The Z51 base car has forged wheels and I never had issue with those. This car is the FIRST cart that has ever given me issues including BMW, the rear wheels are too weak.

rikhek

Did you buy the "new" wheel from an authorized GM retailer? When I bought a new one from an authorized online retailer I had to send them the bad wheel as a core or there was a hefty core charge. My local dealer(s) also had a core charge. NOBODY would budge on the core and ALL told the EXACT same story that it was a GM requirement.

Viking0728

I bought it from House of Wheels, they are a forum vendor. No discussion of the core and great service and price. Wheel was perfect.

Carvin

Core is really just scrap metal?

Oneslackr

I could see GM offering forged wheels as an additional option/upgrade for those who want them. But I don't think everyone should have to pay more for the car just so GM can include forged wheels as a standard item. Lots of people are just fine with the wheels the car comes with, including me. If bent/cracked wheels becomes a problem then I'll just buy different wheels at that point, as many others have done. People shouldn't be required to pay more for the car just so some people can avoid being aggravated/disappointed.

tertiumquid

My guess is that once you've gone through the wringer with bad wheels, leaking air, sourcing and getting quality replacements which will cost you $4K and up, you might think differently. You're fine with it now because you haven't had the problem yet. You're certainly entitled to your opinion and it's your money but consider this: you save 2 grand on an $85k car. That's a savings of 2.25%. Sometime later you will probably have to spend $5k to swap out to decent wheels, plus you have the aggravation of the whole mess added in. How can this possibly be a smart deal in your mind?

You think this is unreasonable because only "some" people would be affected by the bad wheels? That's like thinking that accidents and cancer happen the "other" people so you don't need to be concerned. You and every other buyer are a potential victim. GM could fix the problem at its source by simply making decent forged wheels as standard OEM. The reason they don't is because the pain level for them (higher loss of sales) isn't high enough as long as consumers like yourself accept the sub standard product. And, to be blunt, if an extra $2K on the purchase price is going to bust you then you probably shouldn't be buying a new Vette.