Heartbroken

[LUV2XCLR8]

Well it's been right at 9 months since I have owned the Blammy known
as "Merlot" and today was supposed to be a awesome day. After doing
alot of saving, selling, and sniping I finally got me some tires for those
17" Corvette rally's that came w/ my deal from Shaun. Went for a nice
HOT ride in the 100 degree heat down to the local tire shop, and they
mounted and balanced all of my tires. 3 out of the 4 tires only needed
a .75 correction running inside weights only. Then there was the other
wheel. It said it only needed a 1.25 correction but it is CLEARLY bent.
Been mounted, tires that is, so no exchanges are available. Neither of
us saw it until we went to balance it. So now I need to save, sell, and
who know what else for who knows how long to buy me another rim. I
can use it for a spare, yipee. W/ the bags I might not notice it, but if
I know my luck, it will be very noticable. Oh well here is the mounted
pic's, tires that is, still on the fence about even putting them on her

[jaros44sr]

Can't steel wheels be straitened, can be dun w/alum.! rite? How far out is it? J.
Great looking wheel tire combo, tho. Wish you luck

[LUV2XCLR8]

Yes they can be straightened, but not around here. I sent an E-mail to
the supplier, will see what happens, if they offer me a replacement for
even 1/2 price I'll just get me another one & use bent one as my spare.

[lookingtobuy]

Jaros beat me to it..... I just had a rim straightened for my chevelle, its alum and off a Pontiac GTA but it came out great. LUV, look around for rim straightening at some of the tire and wheel places. IF you get in a bind let me know, not sure if its worth it, but you could ship it up here to NH and I can have the guys up here do it???

[LUV2XCLR8]

Nearest place here is an hour away, that I can find, and they can not
price it w/out seeing it 1st? So I would have to dismount my tire ($5)
and drive to Memphis ($45 round trip) and then pay them ??? then it
would need to be remounted and balanced ($10) which could end up
being around a C-note, 1/2 price on that rim is $98, wish me luck

[lookingtobuy]

GODSPEED...... and a beer!

[67Fleet]

Wow, that sucks LUV. Sorry to hear about your dilemna. What I don't understand is why manufacturers state that they won't return wheels if they've been mounted. How are we supposed to check to see if they're bent? That's their job before they leave their factory. Hope they take care of you man. The setup looks great, post some pics as soon as you get them on your rig.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Thanks all, and in this is in NO WAY AGAINST SHAUN, but they were never
opened after he received them. If I had to guess it was the shipper's fault.
I opened one, but never opened all 4, live and learn I guess. But I do agree
that w/out balancing them 1st how would you know? I guess me not being
born a rocket scientist will be part of my ultimate demise in this situation

[woodridge]

Bummer! Does it seem to be bent in the rim section or hub?

[LUV2XCLR8]

Ding on the outer rim, but I think it's in the hub also

[RED72blazer]

lame...I've been waiting for ever to see pics of the Blammy on the rallies.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Me too

[bagged74]

its not likely its in the hub if theres jsut a ding in the rim. And for gods sake go ahead and put them on so we can see what they look like.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Originally Posted by bagged74

its not likely its in the hub if theres jsut a ding in the rim.

I have never seen a wheel on a machine do what this one did from just a ding.
I'm almost certain that the whole thing is whacked out of alignment, hub too.

[Ron 586]

Man what a run of luck you've had with your trucks. Sorry just don't seem like enough.

[Blue_71]

hey luv-- sorry to hear about that

for all those wondering-- about the only way to see if a wheel is bent, without mounting a tire on it, is to mount it on the balancer and spin it alone. it doesnt hurt the balancer at all to spin with no tire... that 17" rim is going to be about the same weight as a 14" aluminum wheel and car tire anyways

you might do some checking into it luv, ive seen tires be junk enough that it makes the wheel look bad when it spins. there's two ways to know if it is the tire or the wheel:
easy way- the balancer we have at work has a feature that measures the tire and the rim runout to see which one is bad
harder but doable- dismount the tire, and spin the rim by itself on the balancer, see if it spins straight and true

i wish you were closer, id try it out over my lunch break.. i dont charge unless i fix it

when you get your new wheel, have it spun on the balancer with no tire on it just to be sure its good

[RED72blazer]

Originally Posted by LUV2XCLR8

Me too

you could put two on one side....just to see how it looks....

[Mudder]

Road trip..................

[BUDDY]

Originally Posted by LUV2XCLR8

But I do agree that w/out balancing them 1st how would you know?

It's not really rocket science, but what you could('ve) do(ne) is put just the wheel on the balancer first & spin it. You'll be able to see any bend or hop in the wheel by putting something up close to the edge of the rim & not moving it. You can use just about anything, (you're finger, a ruler, a screwdriver, etc.) as the static point for comparison & when you spin the wheel, you should be able to see if the edge of the rim is moving closer to or further from the point.

You can also use a 17" long piece of angle, (the length is determined by the diameter of the wheel since you have the tire mounted) laid across the rim & measure the backspacing in several places on the hub. You want to see if there is any difference in backspacing from one hole to another. If there is, then you have a bent hub. Which would be pretty unusual since it's new & from a reputable manufacturer. Even a freight damaged wheel wouldn't usually have a bent hub. That's typically a manufacturing defect. Doesn't matter now that you have the tire on it, but it still sucks.

I hope this makes sense, it does in my mind, but I used to work at a tire shop so I got pretty good at figuring that stuff out. On that note, are you SURE that the one tire doesn't have a hop to it or maybe a shifted belt? Hopefully the place you took it to would be able to recognize either of those conditions & not blame the wheel for a tire issue.

Those tires look like they are Kumho's or Hankook's. Is that correct? I'll tell you why I ask when you tell me what brand they are.

Later,
Buddy

[ABLAZN]

Originally Posted by BUDDY

I hope this makes sense, it does in my mind, but I used to work at a tire shop so I got pretty good at figuring that stuff out. On that note, are you SURE that the one tire doesn't have a hop to it or maybe a shifted belt? Hopefully the place you took it to would be able to recognize either of those conditions & not blame the wheel for a tire issue.

Those tires look like they are Kumho's or Hankook's. Is that correct? I'll tell you why I ask when you tell me what brand they are.

Later,
Buddy

Buddy, you are bringing flashbacks of a time that I was hoping to forget. I used to work in a tire store for a number of years myself and even though I would never do it again, there are times like this, that having the experience is helpful. The only thing that I might add that you check for is be sure the tire is seated properly. If the bead of the tire did not get lubed well when they were installed, they will look like bent rim when they are spun on the balancer. This is a real problem with the low profile tires since the stiffer sidewalls don't always seat easily .

[BACKYARD88]

That sucks Craig I wanna see them on

[LUV2XCLR8]

It was clearly not the tire, wishing I had taken a video now
Tires are Sumitomo, They are HTRZ II's and size is 225/45/17.

[5150]

Hey Craig,

Bring the wheel/tire with you this weekend to Nashville. I know a place that straightens wheels. Remember I thought one of mine was bent. Your coming this way anyways. I'll have it done and bring it to woodridge's cookout.

Bryan

[BUDDY]

Originally Posted by LUV2XCLR8

It was clearly not the tire, wishing I had taken a video now
Tires are Sumitomo, They are HTRZ II's and size is 225/45/17.

OK, I believe you that it's not the tires, but here is the reason I asked. I have seen on MANY occasions, & especially with an off-brand foreign made tire, (i.e., sumitomo, kumho, hankook, etc.), but not limited to those brands of tires that the tire was just made TERRIBLY & somehow got out of the factory through the Q.A. programs of whichever manufacturer without being noticed. It was/is to a point that if we were installing an "economy" class tire by whomever, we'd really check it over BEFORE installing it on a wheel. And this problem isn't limited to these types of tires, Goodyears, Michelins, Firestones all have this same problem, just not as frequently. I've seen a lot of unbelievable stuff while working there, but when it came to economy-class tires & quality control, we had to be extra diligent.

Also, I am guessing that the wheels are from "Wheel Vintiques" or someplace like that, right? When it comes to a speciality wheel shop like that, "SOMETIMES", they will work a deal with you like you're looking for, but don't count on it.

Finally, if you only needed 1.25 oz of weight on that one wheel, (that's not much), I'd slam it on the right rear & see what happens. P/R is the furthest from you & it's the main drive tire, so, it'll be the least noticeable there. Unless the rim is SO far out of whack as to cause the tire to wobble more than a 1/2" total, then you may not notice it too much. If the wobble is significant enough though, it won't matter, you'll feel it.

Good luck,
Buddy

BTW - I loved that job most of the time!!

[LUV2XCLR8]

Thanks all, Bryan I am still trying to get an exchange, so I hate to have
this wheel done / worked on when they may take it back. If not the big
thing with me is just getting another one. I will keep you all informed