'Diamond cut' wheels - what a pain!
Discussion
mwstewart said:
Kerbing is obviously a problem and does ruin them, but otherwise it is possible to keep them OK - I apply wheel wax to mine after every wash and it seems to have worked.
That is sound advice but sadly it doesn't mean they'll escape from the inevitable stone chip that lets moisture under the lacquer. My mum had a set of 15" Turini wheels on her old Twingo GT, the had quite forgiving tyres so she didn't mangle them against any kerbs. Despite that, after 25k and 3 years or so, all of them needed a wheel refurb. Lacquer just doesn't stick properly to bare metal, it eventually lifts and you end up with white marks where it's lifting.
I guess on a car that's no doing a lot of miles they would last longer but on daily driven cars with kerbs, stones, road salt etc. The finish doesn't last long
Two of my audis have those diamond cut "Rotor" design wheels
Utterly garbage -- the merest ping of a stone on the lacquered area, and it crazes and goes horrible
Best thing is to get them stripped and repaired, and then powder coated in a mid grey. Did that for my 3 sets of wheels, and never looked back.
Ace Finish in godmanchester, huntingdon are excellent and I'd recommend them as a happy customer.
Utterly garbage -- the merest ping of a stone on the lacquered area, and it crazes and goes horrible
Best thing is to get them stripped and repaired, and then powder coated in a mid grey. Did that for my 3 sets of wheels, and never looked back.
Ace Finish in godmanchester, huntingdon are excellent and I'd recommend them as a happy customer.
I hate diamond cut wheels with a passion.
First SLK I had was delivered back in 2012 and I was overseas at the time working, delivery chap put it in the garage. I came home, and got it our of the garage. Our drive sort of curves along the lawn. So I reversed it out of the garage and straight into the lawn edging. One scraped alloy first time I had used the car - six feet in reverse.
My current car is leased and it's an E class Merc on 19 inch AMG diamond cut alloys. They are all kerbed - lots! I've never had a problem before with wheels but these are appalling - basically the metal face of the wheel protrudes further than the rubber of the tyre, even with a rim protector tyre. I have just resigned myself to a bill to refurb them.
Personally I don't think they're fit for purpose or use in an urban environment. They're not even fit for use on my drive - they have been scraped on those two inch high curved coping stones you get round your lawn.
I just don't give a crap any more. I just budgeted £400 for when I get billed - which I am going to dispute as I don't think the car should have that width rim on that width tyre.
First SLK I had was delivered back in 2012 and I was overseas at the time working, delivery chap put it in the garage. I came home, and got it our of the garage. Our drive sort of curves along the lawn. So I reversed it out of the garage and straight into the lawn edging. One scraped alloy first time I had used the car - six feet in reverse.
My current car is leased and it's an E class Merc on 19 inch AMG diamond cut alloys. They are all kerbed - lots! I've never had a problem before with wheels but these are appalling - basically the metal face of the wheel protrudes further than the rubber of the tyre, even with a rim protector tyre. I have just resigned myself to a bill to refurb them.
Personally I don't think they're fit for purpose or use in an urban environment. They're not even fit for use on my drive - they have been scraped on those two inch high curved coping stones you get round your lawn.
I just don't give a crap any more. I just budgeted £400 for when I get billed - which I am going to dispute as I don't think the car should have that width rim on that width tyre.
swagmeister said:
So its the wheels fault you keep kerbing them and as such they are not fit for purpose ?
You couldnt make this stuff up !
Well apart from the reversing out of the garage incident, I've never had a problem kerbing alloys before - and all my cars since, er, ever (my first car in 1986) has had alloys. These things are quite simply ridiculous. Hit holes in the dark at the wrong angle and the rims get mullered. You couldnt make this stuff up !
swagmeister said:
So its the wheels fault you keep kerbing them and as such they are not fit for purpose ?
You couldnt make this stuff up !
Exactly, just take a bit of car when driving and the wheels will be kerb free. I apreciate it can happen, e.g tight multistorey car parks, but most parking situations it is quite easy to avoid. You couldnt make this stuff up !
The diamond cut wheels on my BMW (zero rim protection) are as good as the day I got them reburished, due to careless previous owner.
St John Smythe said:
JayK86 said:
I am currently in this dilemma. I have the dreaded white worm on the diamond polished monza's on my 2011 golf gti. They weren't scuffed or kurbed to begin with. To fix them would be an expensive refurbishment job!
I've noticed that on any car a few years old with diamond cut wheels the finish is always deteriorating. Is it possible to look after them well enough to prevent this or is it impossible to stop?Recently bought a white BMW X3 with diamond cut alloys. I think a combination of wear and some encounters by the previous owner with kerbs has left them needing to be refurbed. So what's the general consensus, get them machined again, painted or powder coated. What are the pro's and con's of each method please?
pills said:
Recently bought a white BMW X3 with diamond cut alloys. I think a combination of wear and some encounters by the previous owner with kerbs has left them needing to be refurbed. So what's the general consensus, get them machined again, painted or powder coated. What are the pro's and con's of each method please?
The trouble is if they've already been refurbed a couple of times, cutting them back again might not be an option as there may not be enough metal left.Sometimes you can see how much they've been cut back from the centre caps (how much they 'stick out' around the edge).
I had enough of them earlier this year (diamond cut 19" rims on a 3-series) so when they needed refurbing again I had them properly powder coated in 'black chrome' and they look great and can be more easily repaired in the future.
alec.e said:
Exactly, just take a bit of car when driving and the wheels will be kerb free. I apreciate it can happen, e.g tight multistorey car parks, but most parking situations it is quite easy to avoid.
The diamond cut wheels on my BMW (zero rim protection) are as good as the day I got them reburished, due to careless previous owner.
I always wonder about this. Its having an accident. I get it's really minor but I would be really concerned if it happened to me; cosmetic damage to wheels would not be the concern and I wouldn't be looking to blame the wheels. The diamond cut wheels on my BMW (zero rim protection) are as good as the day I got them reburished, due to careless previous owner.
te from factory tooI've had a few cars with them (mainly BMWs) - sometimes the rims are almost wider than the tires and with very low profile tires it is ridiculously easy to scrape them..
I have more conventional wheels on current cars and after over three years there are no marks on the 991:
Avoided diamond cut on the Panamera also which looked really good., and so far regular wheels are holding up well..they had diamond but option but decided against it...regular wheels are easier to touch up.
I have more conventional wheels on current cars and after over three years there are no marks on the 991:
Avoided diamond cut on the Panamera also which looked really good., and so far regular wheels are holding up well..they had diamond but option but decided against it...regular wheels are easier to touch up.
Diamond recut is lovely when first done, but just doesn't last on UK roads with rain/salt etc etc.
I had my Insight OEM diamond cut wheels redone once, they lasted about 18 months.
You can't keep getting it done either as they remove material.
I then went onto simple silver sparkle powder coating, which can be done every few years when it starts going.
Cheaps as chips really £180 for a set of four wheels that look 90% as good as OEM DC but can last and be redone.
I also don't freak out about scuffing one either now. Shrug shoulders and move on..
I had my Insight OEM diamond cut wheels redone once, they lasted about 18 months.
You can't keep getting it done either as they remove material.
I then went onto simple silver sparkle powder coating, which can be done every few years when it starts going.
Cheaps as chips really £180 for a set of four wheels that look 90% as good as OEM DC but can last and be redone.
I also don't freak out about scuffing one either now. Shrug shoulders and move on..
I’ve done this on my rotor wheel. Looked at Getting it fixed but Audi have put a Matt finish, diamond cut, diamond polish and a stupid Audi sport sticker on it. All of which will look different (sticker will be sanded away) if it’s fixed. I’m not anal enough to worry about an embossed sticker but the lease company will be. So I too have taken it on the chin and will get charges when it’s returned. Trying to thread the car around the multi story car park at work did this.
swagmeister said:
Alloy Gators are horrible horrible things - learn not to clip kerbs.
Its not just clipping kerbs through parking. Its stone chips on the wheels, pot holes, and in the case of one of mine i cut a corner just a little too tight down a back road late at night when pushing on and clipped the inside left wheel.Theres no "learning" to avoid that, these things just happen sometimes.
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