Luckyr

Was at the Porsche dealers getting some warranty work done. The service manager mentions that they have a guy that drops by two days a week and resurfaces curb rash off of wheels, says he could work on my rear driver wheel, since the car was there anyway. Fine by me. After thinking about it, I call back and mention that I would really like the guy to work on my summer wheels (which are off of the car) so I drop them off the next day.

Here' the story from the dealer: he said the wheel refinisher said there was a "crack" in the wheel and that he wouldn't touch it. The "crack" is a buckling of the paint about 2-3 mm more central to where the wheel edge hit the curb. Pretty subtle unless you are looking for it.

I had thought the "crack" was going to be a defect in the metal alloy that I could see. The dealer essentially was trying to quote me prices for a new wheel.

Would you:

1- replace the wheel

2- drive it as is

3- refinish it yourself (I have the filler, and EinZed paint/primer/clear coat)

BTW the incident with the curb was > 1 year ago and I drove that wheel until this last winter, w/o any difference I could tell.

jim dorociak

can you post a picture of the damage? jdorociak@gmail.com

Irksome

At the very least I would recommend getting a second opinion from a wheel refinisher that doesn't have any interest in selling you a new set of wheels. If there is a crack or other safety issue, replace it.

There are lots of wheel refinishers around my town, hopefully you have a similar situation.

adam_

You'll want someone who can repair a minor crack. Most mobile guys just paint.

The serious repairs are blast clean, straighten/weld/true, then refinish.

Any crack near a structural element (ie a spoke, etc) will be harder to repair or impossible.

I would NOT drive with a crack nor would I fill it myself.

GL
A

Luckyr

Adam,

Thanks for the tip. Sought out the opinion of a wheel guy and here is the scoop:

1- Mobile guys are just interested in doing what they can accomidate quickly, their opinion on issues that require more expertise than they perform is suspect.

2- Cracked paint is just that, cracked paint. The aluminum alloy is just fine (in my case).

3- Because of the above, the wheel is safe to drive as is.

4- IF there had been a crack in the metal: if the crack runs in the direction from the center of the wheel outward (like a spoke) the wheel is fixable. If it runs paralleling the rim, like an arc, the wheel is unfixable and unsafe.

I'll get it back in a few days.

BTW: get them to clearcoat the inside of the rim to ease your cleaning/upkeep on the wheel.