UPDATE: Road Debris or Bullet Hole ? : DOA wheel brought back to life
06-10-04, 12:54 PM
#46
After the bullet hole was welded, the wheel is mounted to a lathe. That is one enormous chuck to accomodate the larger 26 inch wheels that pass this way.
Here's the wheel being cut on the lathe. They try to cut just a few thousands of an inch off of the surface, just to clean up the weld. This is the same process used for removing curb rash. There are a few other "tricks" they do, but those are trade secrets.
Heres the wheel after the first cut. You can barely tell where the weld was. About all that is visible here are some small irregularities that will get removed on the next pass.
The next step wil be a first pass at polishing.
Here's the wheel being cut on the lathe. They try to cut just a few thousands of an inch off of the surface, just to clean up the weld. This is the same process used for removing curb rash. There are a few other "tricks" they do, but those are trade secrets.
Heres the wheel after the first cut. You can barely tell where the weld was. About all that is visible here are some small irregularities that will get removed on the next pass.
The next step wil be a first pass at polishing.
Last edited by RMMGS4; 06-10-04 at 12:58 PM.
06-11-04, 10:47 AM
#48
Here's what the bullet hole area looks like after the first round of polishing. You really cannot tell where the welded in material was located. At this point, what is visible is that the surface is not perfectly smooth and there are 2 or 3 spots that have uneveness. This was only the first stage of the polishing process. The polishing was done to reveal what imperfections were left. The wheel will then go through another round of smoothing and polishing. This is pretty much like doing body work, except NO body filler can be used of course !
Here's the finished wheel rim with a sneek peek of what else I had done, which was to have the inner rims polished too.
Synergy had this done to his rims last month, per my recommendation !
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=117587
Here's the finished wheel rim with a sneek peek of what else I had done, which was to have the inner rims polished too.
Synergy had this done to his rims last month, per my recommendation !
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=117587
Last edited by RMMGS4; 06-11-04 at 10:51 AM.
06-11-04, 12:16 PM
#49
Glenn,
All these processes are labor intensive. You must have spent a fortune to get these rims fixed up. Why don't you just get a whole new set of 20" 1 piece wheels and use the 19" as spares
All these processes are labor intensive. You must have spent a fortune to get these rims fixed up. Why don't you just get a whole new set of 20" 1 piece wheels and use the 19" as spares
06-11-04, 01:26 PM
#50
Originally posted by JacobT
Glenn,
All these processes are labor intensive. You must have spent a fortune to get these rims fixed up. Why don't you just get a whole new set of 20" 1 piece wheels and use the 19" as spares
Glenn,
All these processes are labor intensive. You must have spent a fortune to get these rims fixed up. Why don't you just get a whole new set of 20" 1 piece wheels and use the 19" as spares
Jacob,
Well the whole thing kind of progressed from a simple rim refurbish job, to a full scale make over.
First off, I have a Supra TT spare, cause a standard tire will no longer fit in the trunk because of my ICE.
As you might recall from Rominl's thread a while back, he was asking people to vote if I should get HRE rims. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ghlight=wheels
I'll try to keep this breif, but it's a long story, so bear with me. Here's what transpired over 6 weeks:
1. The original plan was to repair the curb rash on the old rims so that they would be in sell-able condition and I would hold on to them for a while, till I saved up enough for the HRE's and then I'd just sell the old rims, possibly by end of summer. Cost to de-curb and polish lips approx $400.
2. The accident with the one rim (bullet hole) was not part of the plan, so it changed my options. I was not ready to take the plunge for HREs this soon, and the replacement for the one old rim would cost $1000 incl. tax. Not a good use of funds considering I am going to sell the old set up for a loss as it is. My other option would be to write off the other 3 good rims and tires, but I refuse to drive around with stock tires & rims for umpteen months till I got the HREs.
So what would you do in this scenario ??
3. Well, if you've read this whole thread, you can now see my motivation for finding a way to get the old proprietary bolts off of the rims and finding suitable replacements. If I can't get the old bolts off, the wheel can't be taken apart and I can't get it repaired. I went to a lot of trouble, calling around and researching this dilemma.
4. So what did I get for my troubles? Well, the cost of the bullet hole repair does not add that much more, since the cost of polishing the lips was already factored into the process. I could deal with a few extra $$ to save this wheel. Keep in mind the cost of a replacement rim.
5. If you talk to all the local NorCal members, they can attest to how many times I asked for advice on whether I should just repair the rim at minimal effort and expense or go whole hog wild and just completely do up these rims.
6. So you already know the answer. I have decided to have all the wheel centers re-painted. I've been bored with the silver centers, so I might as well try something different since the cost is the same.
7. I also toiled with polishing the rims all the way through, since I prodded Synergy to do it on his rims first. They turned out so nice, I decided to go for it.
8. OK, so what's the bottom line? Well if this happend to someone else, who didn't have access to the services and expertise of Wheel Techniques, I'd say they would have spent $1000 on a new rim and be done with it.
For me, such was not the case. You can PM me for pricing, but all I can say is that I got the bullet hole fixed, all four rims polished inside and out, all four rim centers bead blasted & re-painted, everything re-assembled AND all 4 tires mounted and balanced, for less then the cost of one new rim !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9. Will I sell these rims after all this work, and get HRE's. Yes, but It might take a lot longer to happen. I am very happy with they way they turned out, so I've bumped the HRE's down on my priority list. A "performance " mod has NOW taken priority over the HRE purchase. Hmmm, wonder what could that be??
Stay Tuned
Last edited by RMMGS4; 06-11-04 at 01:33 PM.
06-11-04, 08:28 PM
#52
Pole Position
Join Date: Oct 2003
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Originally posted by rominl
taking longer than expect to get hre is a good thing for me, so i can a bit exclusive in the norcal group for a tad longer, haha
taking longer than expect to get hre is a good thing for me, so i can a bit exclusive in the norcal group for a tad longer, haha
Exclusive Lexus in NorCal with HRE . . . NO !
and glen should be 
if he doesnt comply
06-12-04, 08:17 AM
#56
Glen, now that you have our attention, you MUST show us the money.... Man, I remember how worn out your old wheels looked up in N. Cal and now after seeing these latest pics, I can't wait to see them. Hurry up and show us the pics man....
06-12-04, 10:04 AM
#58
Originally posted by LXOGOOD
Glen, now that you have our attention, you MUST show us the money.... Man, I remember how worn out your old wheels looked up in N. Cal and now after seeing these latest pics, I can't wait to see them. Hurry up and show us the pics man....
Glen, now that you have our attention, you MUST show us the money.... Man, I remember how worn out your old wheels looked up in N. Cal and now after seeing these latest pics, I can't wait to see them. Hurry up and show us the pics man....
In any case, I haven't taken any shots of the wheels on the car, so i'll do that this weekend and get them out SOON !
06-12-04, 10:17 AM
#59
Originally posted by RMMGS4
Yeah Ken, I forgot you saw how crusty the wheels were looking just before I had them re-finished. I didn't mean to hype them up to the point where people are getting high expectations. You know that I myself was not that hot on the wheels; but they came with the car when I bought it. The re-finish job turned out better than new, so I can't ask for more and like I've said, I can live with these rims for a while now, and focus my mod budget elsewhere.
In any case, I haven't taken any shots of the wheels on the car, so i'll do that this weekend and get them out SOON !
Yeah Ken, I forgot you saw how crusty the wheels were looking just before I had them re-finished. I didn't mean to hype them up to the point where people are getting high expectations. You know that I myself was not that hot on the wheels; but they came with the car when I bought it. The re-finish job turned out better than new, so I can't ask for more and like I've said, I can live with these rims for a while now, and focus my mod budget elsewhere.
In any case, I haven't taken any shots of the wheels on the car, so i'll do that this weekend and get them out SOON !
Last edited by LXOGOOD; 06-12-04 at 10:34 AM.
