Check alloy wheel 'roundness'?

[Falsey]

Quick query - dont suppose anyone knows of a way or service to check how round and true alloy wheels are, and any way to check tyres too?

I have a set of 4 brand new alloy wheels that Ive never been able to get balanced and as they cost close to £2k with tyres its a bit of a sore point to have them sat in the garage. A few tyre places have commented that the setup appears 'out of round', which Im inclined to agree with given how many times Ive tried to have the lot balanced.

I think the first place to fit the tyres may have gone a bit too wide with the fitment and damaged the tyres, but to confirm this Ill need to get both those and the wheels checked out properly. Dont really know what Im looking for in regards to this.

North West England if thats important. Thanks.

[Crusoe]

bit of string and a stick of chalk

[sc0tt]

Stick it on the hub and spin in. If its that far out you should see.

[Falsey]

sc0tt said:

Stick it on the hub and spin in. If its that far out you should see.

Testing Ive done so far involved jacking the car up, sticking a flat bit of wood at the highest point of the wheel, marking where the tread sits and then rotating it to see if there was deviation. There was some small difference along the spin. I cant determine if this is bad tyres (bulbous or not level or something) or bad wheel.

[Tje]

I had a slight wobble so took mine into get rebalanced. The guy did the job, then told me I will probably still feel it as both the front wheels are slightly "bent". Was quite evident when he spun them on the hub thing they use for balancing.

Have to get new rubber on the other wheels and donate these to a mates drift car as they still have plenty of tread left so shame to waste.

[sixpistons]

The best way would probably be to stick a dial test indicator inside the wheel and then spin it, although if its got significant runout you'll probably be able to see it when you spin it anyway.

[Falsey]

Is there a company I can take them to who will do all this for me and give me a computer print out?

I think Id be more at ease if a computer just sorted it out or told me it isnt going to get sorted out.

[GroundEffect]

You want to measure the runout. But there's multiple surfaces you could measure.

Non functional surfaces on the middle section of the rim and the tyre mating surfaces.

But runout won't give you a full answer by any measure. You want static and couple imbalance measured too.


You're opening a can of worms here

[Sidewindow]

You should take the wheels to a good wheel refurbisher and ask for their advice. Alternatively any tyre place can spin the wheels up on their balancing machine and you can ask to see for yourself which wheels are causing the problem. Make sure you mark the ones that are out of shape...

[Falsey]

Taking it to a wheel refurber has crossed my mind. Might be worth a punt.

And sadly, the can of worms has already been well and truly opened and they have had ample time to breed.

[BritishRacinGrin]

Basic question. Are the wheels the right center bore for the hubs?

[MissChief]

Sounds simple enough, without tyres find a flat surface and give them a push? if they're not completely round you'll either hear it or they won't roll straight?

[BritishRacinGrin]

MissChief said:

Sounds simple enough, without tyres find a flat surface and give them a push? if they're not completely round you'll either hear it or they won't roll straight?

Requires tyre removal which is a bit of a pain in the arse.

[Mound Dawg]

I think the tyres need to come off and have the bare wheels run up on a balancer to be honest. The the OP will then know where he stands as far as the wheels go because it'll be glaringly obvious if they're wonky.

[PositronicRay]

Are you using the correct bolts? Radius seat/Taper cone/ and the seat size?

[Falsey]

Center bore are a little bit bigger than hubs, a few MM. They are using spigot rings for this.

There is no play at the hub and they are a snug fit. No wobble or anything like that. I wouldnt want to fit wheels to the car unless they are seated safely.

Bolts are the correct ones for the job, PCD is correct so no wobble bolts or anything like that.

No spacers.

Spinning them up on a balancer with and without tyres could be a good shout. Will need to find somewhere patient to do it that wont charge me a fortune. Problem Ive found with the five or so places Ive been already are that the chains wont touch them (non-standard wheels and tyres, "we cant do those mate"), and the smaller indie places either dont really care and want you in and out or they are trying to flog you another set of tyres.

[Monty Python]

The people you've gone to aren't the apes that try to put all the balance weights on the outside of the rim, are they? I had this problems a couple of times. Once they realized the weights needed to go on the inside and outside of the rim, all was fine.

[PositronicRay]

You could try someone with a Road force balancer.

I had mine done and it showed an "out of true" on 2 wheels.

[Martin350]

I do quite a lot of mechanical work on cars, when I have one jacked up I usually just spin the wheel round by hand and look at the tyre against a reference point on the suspension.

It's surprising how many tyres I see that are slightly oval.

[Steviesam]

I had a similar issue and ABP Motorsport in Shavington sorted them.

Took me into the workshop and showed me each one.

You could clearly see the ones that were bent.

Nice people and talk you through everything.