Damaged wheel - what to do

[Dexlowe]

I hit a small black object (must have been solid steel) and it badly damaged a wheel. Scuse my ignorance, but I'm not sure if it's a mag wheel or alloy. Anyway, one wheel shop said it could not guarantee a repair job would be safe and it would be better to buy a new rim. But it seems these (expensive) wheels are only sold in lots of four. Can I ask if anyone has had experience of this and how did they handle it? Appreciate the help.

 

 

[transam]

Look on the Net for alloy wheel repair in LOS, send them that photo and ask in Thai if they can fix it.

To me it looks fixable by a place that knows what it is doing..

[fredob43]

Looks to me like you have bent the tyre seating rim as well.

Do you have a spare??? if you do get this one repaired and use it as spare just to get you out of trouble. If not you could be down to replacing all 4. I would never go anywhere on a repaired one. It's your life and others your talking about.

 

I would change the tyre as well you could/more than likely have buggered the side wall. Oh and get your tracking checked.

 

If you have A1 insurance they might pay, just a thought.

Edited August 7, 2019 by fredob43

[DaRoadrunner]

There is a guy runs a small shop in Cholburi repairing wheels. Near the CP factory. His Tel 086 112 6882, 080 644 2330, 087 096 3849. He does not speak English so you will need a Thai to talk with him. I have seen him repair worse than yours. Question is, how safe are they once he's finished?

 

I can't read the make of wheel on your photo but you might try tracking down the manufacturer, in which case they would sell you one wheel for +4000 Bats.

 

Even if the tyre looks ok, its core will have been damaged. Needs to be replaced.

 

 

[DavisH]

My wife hit a pothole doign 80 and damaged one of my lenso wheels. Had it repaired and drove on it for the next 10 years or so when I sold the car. Reconditioning then wheels at that time cost about 700 baht a piece. It may not be possible to get a replacement wheel if its an old wheel.

[SteveK]

A Thai person would just keep driving on that.

[Myran]

22 minutes ago, DaRoadrunner said:

There is a guy runs a small shop in Cholburi repairing wheels. Near the CP factory. His Tel 086 112 6882, 080 644 2330, 087 096 3849. He does not speak English so you will need a Thai to talk with him. I have seen him repair worse than yours. Question is, how safe are they once he's finished?

 

I can't read the make of wheel on your photo but you might try tracking down the manufacturer, in which case they would sell you one wheel for +4000 Bats.

 

Even if the tyre looks ok, its core will have been damaged. Needs to be replaced.

 

 

Yeah, but where is he going to get 4000 bats? Not sure it's even legal in Thailand, especially not if they're endangered bats.

[dotpoom]

Are rims that expensive?

  I bought 4 new ones and 4 tyres a few months ago...along with getting some other work done (too lazy to look for the receipt now).

  I am selling the car  (including the 4 wheels... 555) for 60,000 Bt?

PS....Taxed up until Aug 2020.

 

[henry15]

Use your spare wheel

[thaiguzzi]

11 hours ago, SteveK said:

A Thai person would just keep driving on that.

Ah, the jokey, racist, xenophobic, stupid reply.

So funny.

You ought to be a stand up comedian.

Hilarious.

Thanx ever so much.

Not.

[giddyup]

36 minutes ago, henry15 said:

Use your spare wheel

A spare is not usually an alloy, but a plain steel wheel, so it would look horrible.

[alanrchase]

When I had my spare wheel nicked I went to a wheel and tyre place and asked them. They had a large selection of used wheels stored under cover. Managed to get an alloy that matched the other four wheels with a half worn tyre on for 500 baht.

[Guderian]

I had that situation a few years back on both my offside wheels. I was heading down Suk towards Baan Amphur and something steel and sharp must have fallen off a truck ahead and I drove straight over it. Both tyres were flat and both alloys badly dented. I took the car to a tyre shop (driving very slowly on the hard shoulder) in Baan Amphur. The cheap Chinese tyres would cost about 3600 Baht for a pair, but the guy shook his head at the cost of replacing the alloys, even if you could find the same ones. Luckily my gardener knew a shop on Suk in Na Jomtien, not far from the pet hospital, that specialised in alloy rim repairs. He had them for a day to weld and grind it all back into shape and we picked the refurbished rims up and took them to the tyre shop, where my car was being kept. They had to test the rims with new tyres in a water bath to make sure there were no leaks, and if there were we'd have had to take them back to Na Jomtien to get some more work done on them, but the guy knows his stuff and everything was fine. Cost was around 1600 Baht for two rims, a bargain compared with buying new ones. This was over two years ago and - touch wood - I've had no problems with the alloys at all.

[NanLaew]

1 hour ago, thaiguzzi said:

Ah, the jokey, racist, xenophobic, stupid reply.

So funny.

You ought to be a stand up comedian.

Hilarious.

Thanx ever so much.

Not.

But true.

 

50 minutes ago, giddyup said:

A spare is not usually an alloy, but a plain steel wheel, so it would look horrible.

Horribly safe you mean?

[giddyup]

1 minute ago, NanLaew said:

But true.

 

Horribly safe you mean?

Of course, safer than the bent rim wheel, but only as a temporary measure. Nothing looks worse than mismatched wheels.

[legend49]

Have a similar problem on my Toyota Wish, I put it down to the bad tyre changers but had so many punctures from screws on the road which one I dont know. To buy 4 new mags non Toyota brand is not cheap. Toyota not sure they can get 1 mag rim in as this is an imported car, and of course you never get 5 mags on purchase, spare is standard rim..

 

Option ; to look at a reputable car wrecker this is what I will try as its the cheapest alternative. good luck.

[jkcjag]

It's unsafe to attempt a repair to that. They can repair scratches, but not structural damage. Claim on your car insurance, that's what it's for. I've done it 5 times so far in the last 5 or 6 years, sometimes for scratches, sometimes for structural damage. I've caused damage by catching the curb once or twice, and other times the wheel has become slightly non-circular and slightly out of balance because of constant battering on uneven Thai roads. The last 2 claims were for mags at 40,000 Baht each.

[wgdanson]

1 hour ago, giddyup said:

Of course, safer than the bent rim wheel, but only as a temporary measure. Nothing looks worse than mismatched wheels.

He could buy three more steel rims !

[wgdanson]

8 minutes ago, jkcjag said:

It's unsafe to attempt a repair to that. They can repair scratches, but not structural damage. Claim on your car insurance, that's what it's for. I've done it 5 times so far in the last 5 or 6 years, sometimes for scratches, sometimes for structural damage. I've caused damage by catching the curb once or twice, and other times the wheel has become slightly non-circular and slightly out of balance because of constant battering on uneven Thai roads. The last 2 claims were for mags at 40,000 Baht each.

Did your premium go up?

[jany123]

No worries... ping those dents out with a hammer... replace the tyre because it looks well worn, (not because of side wall damage) .... make sure they install a new inner tube (that’s the ticket with irregular rims).... she be right.... off ya go.

[Grusa]

There is a guy, don't know the name, on Sukhumvit northbound opposite the Pattaya Floating Market. Next door is Daeng Lohakit, they do stainless work, clear signage....this guy has a very small unit just before theirs, does alloy repairs to radiators, boat propellors, wheels, etc. Typically dirty chaotic looking place,  He is expert and incredibly cheap! If anyone can do it he can, otherwise scrap yard or buy new as suggested by others

[whaleboneman]

I have repaired alloys myself. Some wood blocking, a hydraulic jack and a propane torch. I cut a measuring stick to the exact dimension of inner rim diameter and check my work regularly. Heat -not over 300c, jack a little, measure and repeat.

There is actually a YouTube video of an official repair machine and they show you how to do it.

The important point is not to heat the wheel too much.

And if you’re really fussy, you could put a dial gauge on after to check for roundness.

ps-always remove tire before heating wheel.

[whaleboneman]

Just looked at the photo again and noticed your wheel is also damaged at the 10:30 area.

These alloys dent so easy (usually on the inner circumference) that you may be better off buying a full set and having three more spares.

[stevefloyd]

It may be expensive for a new wheel but if you are driving around going up and down motorways what is the price of a wheel compared to a life/lives? For me replacement every time

[transam]

Just now, stevefloyd said:

It may be expensive for a new wheel but if you are driving around going up and down motorways what is the price of a wheel compared to a life/lives? For me replacement every time

For a cast alloy wheel that may be the case, but they can be crack tested. A forged alloy wheel is repairable with no probs if it is just a bit bent..There are alloy wheel repairers all over the planet, an industry...

[Montnoveau]

4 hours ago, jkcjag said:

It's unsafe to attempt a repair to that. They can repair scratches, but not structural damage. Claim on your car insurance, that's what it's for. I've done it 5 times so far in the last 5 or 6 years, sometimes for scratches, sometimes for structural damage. I've caused damage by catching the curb once or twice, and other times the wheel has become slightly non-circular and slightly out of balance because of constant battering on uneven Thai roads. The last 2 claims were for mags at 40,000 Baht each.

This is repairable, you'll be amazed to find out what kind of damage is repairable.

There are many YouTube clips on the subject.

I would use a professional skilled wheel restorer.

[DavisH]

5 hours ago, giddyup said:

Of course, safer than the bent rim wheel, but only as a temporary measure. Nothing looks worse than mismatched wheels.

Unless it's a space saver wheel. They are only used to get to a tire shop. Many cheaper cars use them not (or just give a pump and repair kit, which is useless of the rim is damaged or tire torn. 

[gamesgplayemail]

The only real specialist is in BKK

http://www.automagwheel.com/English.html

 

Do not go anywhere else, they just are idiots.

https://www.facebook.com/Automagwheel.Fanpage/

 

 

 

 

[gamesgplayemail]

5 hours ago, jkcjag said:

It's unsafe to attempt a repair to that. They can repair scratches, but not structural damage. Claim on your car insurance, that's what it's for. I've done it 5 times so far in the last 5 or 6 years, sometimes for scratches, sometimes for structural damage. I've caused damage by catching the curb once or twice, and other times the wheel has become slightly non-circular and slightly out of balance because of constant battering on uneven Thai roads. The last 2 claims were for mags at 40,000 Baht each.

 

Ridiculous. It can clearly be repaired without any risk.

 

 

[jabis]

Rims might be fixable, but by the look of that photo you need both a) new tires to replace those old ass yokohamas, and b) new brake disks and most probably c) new brake pads as well - looking at the wear ???? 

Edited August 8, 2019 by jabis