f4bones

Didn't even feel this happen - guess was totally task-saturated driving the twisties E of San Diego! Tire is toast - hopefully the wheel can be repaired - it's an HRE P101. Anyone with a positive experience with wheel repair in San Diego? Would consider driving to the OC as well if required. HRE's ain't cheap, and also long lead time if I have to get replaced. . .

txpackers

I’ve heard good things about American Factory Wheel in Santee. Haven’t had the need to use them myself yet.

I love the roads east of San Diego. Did you hit a pothole or was there something on the road?

Drew46

Have you reached out to HRE?

911Castle

This is my opinion after extensive research getting my AMG "Forged" wheel Replaced, NOT fixed. A forged wheel is machined from one piece of solid aluminum. Your wheel is missing some aluminum now. There is no correct way to "Weld" aluminum back onto a forged wheel and then re-machine. Some very high quality wheel shops will do it for a Cast wheel but not forged as it can weaken the rim. Additionally, most wheel repair operations, will just take the wheel, grind it down to remove the blemish and then hack job the color or clear. When I got my HRE's I was told if they ever got damaged, to pack it back up and send it to them. Might not be what you want to hear but I truly think it is the only Correct way to address such an expensive wheel. My AMG wheel was $2700 to replace as I finally won the fight with Mercedes, the dealer, as I bought the wheel and tire insurance. I won based on the fact that they had to put my wheel back the way it was, grinding off the face of the wheel and adding the clear back was not meeting that criteria. Just my .02

AlterZgo

HRE is located in San Diego so I'd reach out to them to get their thoughts on repair vs. replace and see if they can offer a discount if replacement is needed.

sddynamix

Same experience here. And they have to remove quite a bit of material for it to look "flush" - someone unaware may not notice it in passing, but you'll definitely know. I've used velvet touch over the years for my E46, but those finishes deteriorate after 5 years (not to mention, any bit of carelessness by a tire shop and you'll see paint gouges on your wheels). It'll buy you some time before you have to replace it, but if this will bother you, would recommend a new wheel.

tourenwagen

Might be worth pinging HRE since you're only ~50 miles away.

I know they void their warranty for any non-HRE repairs. Didn't sway me but it might be an issue to you.

f4bones

i bought these second hand, so don't think there is any warranty - I'll probably get a repair and some reputable shop, and order a new wheel - I have a new set of HREs on order for my GT3 - they were quoting 6 to 8 weeks lead time, so I'll have to live with a repair for now - just want to get the best repair possible.

Angryinch

Damn buddy! You just got those! Ouch, sorry to hear.

Someone could probably clean that up, throw some material in there and sand it down, paint, etc. Might be hard to match the paint however.

f4bones

So. . . .took the wheel to HRE - they don't do "weld" repairs, but do refinishing - they wanted to just file it down, which is unacceptable to me. Thus, I'm welding up the gouge and profiling it in my shop, and then dropping it off at HRE on Monday to refinish - $650 for the refinish as they have to polish and then paint. 2 to 3 weeks to refinish . . . bummer. I'll post photos of the weld repair, and then the HRE refinish once complete. I didn't try and independent shop as the finish I'm sure will be hard to match, but I've seen amazing work at some of the wheel specialists. This time I'll give the OEM a try and hopefully have good results, or I'll have to fork out $3,500 for a new wheel, and wait 6-8 weeks.

f4bones

Welded and profiled the gouge out this morning - then dropped at HRE to get refinished . . . should be good as new!!

Pretty good gouge . . .

Welded up perfectly - definitely not a cast wheel! Nice material and forging on these HREs

Profiled nicely . . .

M3Inline6

Nice work!

Denny Swift

Excellent work! I guess I’m lucky because there is a wheel repair shop near me that does excellent work for cheap. I had a similar repair done for $175. That included removing the tire, welding, sanding, repainting, and reinstalling tire. The repair you did is good as new. There is no stress on that part of the wheel. That lip just creates the air seal.

I really need to add welding to my skill set though. I’ve been a DIYer my whole life, but welding is the one thing I haven’t yet learned. Impressive!

f4bones

Don't learn to Aluminum TIG weld on wheels! These HRE are nice material - IE forged. . . many aluminum wheels, even know they say they are forged are cast, and cast aluminum doesn't weld well at all.

I just purchased a top of the line Corgi tire machine and balancer - really the ultimate luxury if your are a car person and DIY. I gave up getting shops to mount / balance high-end wheels correctly. There are plenty that do, but rare. I just got a new set of HREs for my GT3 yesterday - was able to balance them with colored weights on the back of the spokes and inside rim so no weights visible - pretty trick. The new Corghi touchless machine is amazing.

Denny Swift

Impressive!

Fortunately, my Porsche dealer is great with replacing tires. I don't trust anyone else. And they only charge a bit more than the local caveman shops. They use colored weights and place them discreetly.

I've rebuilt engines, rebuilt transmissions, completely rebuilt one TR6, built most of the furniture in my house (will eventually have it nearly all replaced by my own designs), built an entire wing of my house. I've done plumbing, electrical, HVAC, trim, tile etc. Do my own vehicle maintenance. I do my own landscaping too. There is very little I don't do, except welding. I've always wanted to, but I just don't have much need. I've sweated at least 1,000 plumbing fittings - that's as close to welding as I've come. Maybe I need to drink and drive and hit curbs! - kidding!

One of these years....I figure when I'm 96, I may have to stop dirtbike riding. Then maybe I'll have time to fit in a new hobby. Maybe 102...