Sledgehammer to bend an alloy wheel
Discussion
What would you Guys do???
Quoted around £225 to repair.
Thinking of using a piece of wood (to protect the alloy) and a mallet.
Any other ideas welcome (sensible).... Paddy could you polish it out maybe?
ps Damage was not done by a Gazebo!!!!...actually not done by me either.
May be able to buy a new set of the older style DBS alloys for £1800 and swop the tyres as a last resort.
Quoted around £225 to repair.
Thinking of using a piece of wood (to protect the alloy) and a mallet.
Any other ideas welcome (sensible).... Paddy could you polish it out maybe?
ps Damage was not done by a Gazebo!!!!...actually not done by me either.
May be able to buy a new set of the older style DBS alloys for £1800 and swop the tyres as a last resort.
Plan "a" would not involve a hammer. The obvious answer is to get another couple of quotes and pay for a pro to repair. Alternatively just throw them into the sea and buy different ones, because those are not very nice wheels. 
HTH
j/k about the wheels - whatever you like is fine with me!
HTH
j/k about the wheels - whatever you like is fine with me!
Cockernee said:
Get it done condemned professionally 
Fixed that for you.With that amount of deformation on an alloy I would not trust to reuse it. Bending it back from where it came is only going to weaken it further.
IMO. Scrap and buy a replacement. These round things are what keep you facing in the right direction... I'd not be taking any risks with that.
I'd also assume that the tyre is pretty buggered.
I'm assuming that you hit something like a pothole at speed to do that. If so, may be worth seeking recourse from the local council responsible for (not) maintaining the road.
Ultimately though, it's your call.
Lot of nonsense.
That wheel rim has undergone cold bending. It has become slightly more fragile as a result but no more than you would see on the inside rim of maybe half the cars on the road. It isn't dangerous. If you think it is then scrap it, but before you do bash the living poo out of it with a hammer to see how much more it would need to go before anything worse happened.
If you are going to fix it you will need the tyre removed because it will stop your repair. You will need to heat the rim up to a cuople of hundred degrees which is fairly easily done with a propane blowtorch. Obviously play the blowtorch around and not on a single spot, and play it fro mthe inside of the rim so not to damage the paintwork. You are aiming for a progressive temp increase around the area of the bend.
You then bash it back into place with a leather or copper mallet. Use a cloth between the mallet and the rim, but not wood because you want the impacts to count just where you put them. Spin the rim to get it as perfect as possible.
You use short sharp hits which will start off very effective and become progressively less so the more the metal bends back into place. Do not increase the power of your hits. If you are not back to where you need to be reheat the rim and then start bashing again.
Finally when you are happy heat the rim up one final time with the rim in the correct position and keep the heat there for about five minutes, then let it cool down in normal air temp.
Don't for god sake move to the country. If you did you would find that the state of the country roads in england mean you will be doing this every few months!!!!
That wheel rim has undergone cold bending. It has become slightly more fragile as a result but no more than you would see on the inside rim of maybe half the cars on the road. It isn't dangerous. If you think it is then scrap it, but before you do bash the living poo out of it with a hammer to see how much more it would need to go before anything worse happened.
If you are going to fix it you will need the tyre removed because it will stop your repair. You will need to heat the rim up to a cuople of hundred degrees which is fairly easily done with a propane blowtorch. Obviously play the blowtorch around and not on a single spot, and play it fro mthe inside of the rim so not to damage the paintwork. You are aiming for a progressive temp increase around the area of the bend.
You then bash it back into place with a leather or copper mallet. Use a cloth between the mallet and the rim, but not wood because you want the impacts to count just where you put them. Spin the rim to get it as perfect as possible.
You use short sharp hits which will start off very effective and become progressively less so the more the metal bends back into place. Do not increase the power of your hits. If you are not back to where you need to be reheat the rim and then start bashing again.
Finally when you are happy heat the rim up one final time with the rim in the correct position and keep the heat there for about five minutes, then let it cool down in normal air temp.
Don't for god sake move to the country. If you did you would find that the state of the country roads in england mean you will be doing this every few months!!!!
shunt said:
I did exactly that to a 2 week old Z4 Alpina rim. Thought it could be fixed, reality once you start looking at repairs is don't bother & I bought another new one.
Well thats fine, but as I say down my way that would be three or four rims a year. I would also suggest buying your new one from a dealers because I am pretty convinced everying you see on ebay has been fixed whether its stated or not.There is more than one chap who does exactly this down near brands hatch. I once spent a day with an official oxy gas agent in that area whos sideline was to accept nearly new alloy wheels, weld cracks and then give them back with these invisible repairs to apparently well known wheel companies. He certainly had a number of wheels to repair and was quite happy to show me how to weld up a wheel I took down.
The worst part of it was that on my weld I left the fillet material to make the weld strong, in other words the weld was strong but obvious as a small bump on the inner rim. On his welds these were ground flat for recoating as the buyers apparently wanted them that way. It was all somewhat suspect.
julian64 said:
Lot of nonsense.
That wheel rim has undergone cold bending. It has become slightly more fragile as a result but no more than you would see on the inside rim of maybe half the cars on the road. It isn't dangerous. If you think it is then scrap it, but before you do bash the living poo out of it with a hammer to see how much more it would need to go before anything worse happened.
If you are going to fix it you will need the tyre removed because it will stop your repair. You will need to heat the rim up to a cuople of hundred degrees which is fairly easily done with a propane blowtorch. Obviously play the blowtorch around and not on a single spot, and play it fro mthe inside of the rim so not to damage the paintwork. You are aiming for a progressive temp increase around the area of the bend.
You then bash it back into place with a leather or copper mallet. Use a cloth between the mallet and the rim, but not wood because you want the impacts to count just where you put them. Spin the rim to get it as perfect as possible.
You use short sharp hits which will start off very effective and become progressively less so the more the metal bends back into place. Do not increase the power of your hits. If you are not back to where you need to be reheat the rim and then start bashing again.
Finally when you are happy heat the rim up one final time with the rim in the correct position and keep the heat there for about five minutes, then let it cool down in normal air temp.
Don't for god sake move to the country. If you did you would find that the state of the country roads in england mean you will be doing this every few months!!!!
JulianThat wheel rim has undergone cold bending. It has become slightly more fragile as a result but no more than you would see on the inside rim of maybe half the cars on the road. It isn't dangerous. If you think it is then scrap it, but before you do bash the living poo out of it with a hammer to see how much more it would need to go before anything worse happened.
If you are going to fix it you will need the tyre removed because it will stop your repair. You will need to heat the rim up to a cuople of hundred degrees which is fairly easily done with a propane blowtorch. Obviously play the blowtorch around and not on a single spot, and play it fro mthe inside of the rim so not to damage the paintwork. You are aiming for a progressive temp increase around the area of the bend.
You then bash it back into place with a leather or copper mallet. Use a cloth between the mallet and the rim, but not wood because you want the impacts to count just where you put them. Spin the rim to get it as perfect as possible.
You use short sharp hits which will start off very effective and become progressively less so the more the metal bends back into place. Do not increase the power of your hits. If you are not back to where you need to be reheat the rim and then start bashing again.
Finally when you are happy heat the rim up one final time with the rim in the correct position and keep the heat there for about five minutes, then let it cool down in normal air temp.
Don't for god sake move to the country. If you did you would find that the state of the country roads in england mean you will be doing this every few months!!!!
I understand the process of annealing and tempering as a means to make the material more malleable.
Ultimately though the aluminium could now have fractures within the structure. These may or may not be visible to the naked eye. If you want to xray the result after then you may get a good degree of confidence in the result but I'd rather be spending my money on a new (or second hand) rim with better provenance and I'd suggest a damn sight less balancing weights stuck to the inside.
Two POVs, you think mine is nonsense.
However this wheel is on a car that can (obviously in the right environment) exceed 180mph. Are you really advocating running a compromised rim on such a vehicle.
You're right about the roads in Kent though. They are s
te. But I've still only knackered one wheel in 18 years in deeper kent.julian64 said:
Lot of nonsense....
... You will need to heat the rim up to a cuople of hundred degrees which is fairly easily done with a propane blowtorch.
Of course the OP will then need to get the entire wheel refinished professionally because I fail to see how you can heat the rim up to several hundred degrees without burning the anthracite finish. Just saying ; )... You will need to heat the rim up to a cuople of hundred degrees which is fairly easily done with a propane blowtorch.
RichB said:
Of course the OP will then need to get the entire wheel refinished professionally because I fail to see how you can heat the rim up to several hundred degrees without burning the anthracite finish. Just saying ; )
So what you're saying is.Day 1
Take wheel to tyre fitter £2.50 petrol
Remove tyre £5
Drive back from tyre fitter £2.50 petrol
On the way back from tyre fitter buy blow torch and gas bottle £30 (asuming you've got a big b
d hammer)Whack the wheel about a bit
Trip to hospital after you trap your thumb, burn yourself, get something in your eye. Petrol £5 there and back
Parking at hospital 2 hrs £6
Day 2
Whack the wheel about a bit more.
Buy more gas £5
Take wheel to have paint refinished. £10 there and back
Day 3
Take phone call from wheel re-finishers saying some dick has been hammering the rim. It's not repairable. Total spend to date £66
Otherwise leave rim at re-finishers for 7-10 days
Day 13
Collect wheel from refinishers £10 there and back
Pay up £60+ for refinish
Take to local tyre centre for retyre, valve and balance £20
Tyre centre is unable to balance wheel
£160 and two weeks wasted
Or you may have a wheel that looks ok, drives ok and seems ok.
Maybe..
eta
Edited by peterr96 on Wednesday 3rd April 15:43
Can I just say that there is truth in everything that has been said by all.
Firstly I have been hammering away with a Hammer and not a mallet, bit of a typo there. No difference.
The integral structure of the wheel will of been compromised...it certainly can`t of been strengthened once it has been repaired.
Do I like the alloys...they are non Aston but do make it look different as I hate the 15 spokes which are sitting almost brand new in my shed.
Decision now made at 15.45....I am ordering a new set of DBS alloys in Graphite (original model ones for £1800 incl of VAT and swopping my tyres onto them)
I will sell my upgraded 15 spoke Aston ones which are mint with tyres with loads of tread on,so anyone interested PM me and someone give me a rough market value if possible.(Grant Neal where are you?)
The after market ones, once removed, will get repaired and put on ebay without tyres.
So hopefully I will have appeased everyone on the forum except my wife.
She did spend £900 on some scruffy old Mulberry handbag yesterday,so i do have ammo in the arguement when she finds out
Firstly I have been hammering away with a Hammer and not a mallet, bit of a typo there. No difference.
The integral structure of the wheel will of been compromised...it certainly can`t of been strengthened once it has been repaired.
Do I like the alloys...they are non Aston but do make it look different as I hate the 15 spokes which are sitting almost brand new in my shed.
Decision now made at 15.45....I am ordering a new set of DBS alloys in Graphite (original model ones for £1800 incl of VAT and swopping my tyres onto them)
I will sell my upgraded 15 spoke Aston ones which are mint with tyres with loads of tread on,so anyone interested PM me and someone give me a rough market value if possible.(Grant Neal where are you?)
The after market ones, once removed, will get repaired and put on ebay without tyres.
So hopefully I will have appeased everyone on the forum except my wife.
She did spend £900 on some scruffy old Mulberry handbag yesterday,so i do have ammo in the arguement when she finds out
peterr96 said:
Julian
I understand the process of annealing and tempering as a means to make the material more malleable.
Ultimately though the aluminium could now have fractures within the structure. These may or may not be visible to the naked eye. If you want to xray the result after then you may get a good degree of confidence in the result but I'd rather be spending my money on a new (or second hand) rim with better provenance and I'd suggest a damn sight less balancing weights stuck to the inside.
Two POVs, you think mine is nonsense.
However this wheel is on a car that can (obviously in the right environment) exceed 180mph. Are you really advocating running a compromised rim on such a vehicle.
You're right about the roads in Kent though. They are ste. But I've still only knackered one wheel in 18 years in deeper kent.
I think you are simply scaremongering. If you were to xray every perfect looking aston wheel after a few thousand miles of motoring it is likely the xray would show microfractures whether the wheel is buckled or not. Its a fact of the heat cycle fatigue or the minor damage the wheel accepts as part of its life either in potholes, kerbs or even hard acceleration.I understand the process of annealing and tempering as a means to make the material more malleable.
Ultimately though the aluminium could now have fractures within the structure. These may or may not be visible to the naked eye. If you want to xray the result after then you may get a good degree of confidence in the result but I'd rather be spending my money on a new (or second hand) rim with better provenance and I'd suggest a damn sight less balancing weights stuck to the inside.
Two POVs, you think mine is nonsense.
However this wheel is on a car that can (obviously in the right environment) exceed 180mph. Are you really advocating running a compromised rim on such a vehicle.
You're right about the roads in Kent though. They are s
te. But I've still only knackered one wheel in 18 years in deeper kent.The number of weights stuck to the wheel rim will be no different on a wheel straight out of the mould or one that has been repaired back to straight as it is not interested in the degree of damage to the wheel, just its 'straightness' You could have a heavily damaged and dangerous wheel that ran perfectly straight. The two just aren't connected.
I think your opinion is in the majority and as such this chap made his choice to spend £1800. But I still think, in the most respectful way, its nonsense
tonyhall38 said:
let a pro sort it out.....hammer and wood should be used on person responsible.....or better still go out and take a picture of a large pot hole...and let the local council pay for it...
If it was a pothole get it claimed
If be uncomfortable using that after an sort of repair
I'd be replacing, you can't see any stress marks or hair line cracks from that pic but they could be there and you have no guarantee a repair will pick them up and return it to original strength
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