Curbed wheels

[Kyle88]

Hey guys!

I'm new to the taurus sho. I just bought one last week and I absolutely love it! Then again I did come from a chevy cobalt, huge difference!

So I love the car, but the previous owner seemed to have hit the curb and the wheels look kind of rough. They are the aluminum 20s. Do you guys have any suggestions? Thank you!

-kyle

 

[TimboSHO]

I know there are mobile rim repair guys that can usually do a pretty good job fixing them depending on the damage. You should be able to find one locally with either an internet search, or possibly calling a reputable used car lot.

 

[SHOdded]

Welcome, Kyle, congrats on the SHO! How bad is the damage? I am assuming it's beyond the DIY buff-out stage? Post some pics?

 

[mval]

too bad that you're not looking for 19's, i got 4 i'd get rid of

 

[TDS-MN]

I just suffered a wheel/curb incident a couple weeks ago. I went and talked to a wheel repair shop, that is the extent of my 'knowledge' on the subject.

IN my case, I ended up with a spot about 11" long, where the 'ridge' at the edge of the wheel was ground off due to the impact. The area where the bead of the tire was not affected, and the rim appears to still be good, aside from the cosmetic damage.

The approach the shop would have taken, when I showed him the photo, was likely going to be to weld some material back on along that edge, and re-shape to the proper profile. He did state that there could be challenges due to the machined finish, that you may not be able to completely get the new 'seam' to disappear, and have it stay clean, leading to possible cracking and pitting along the patch. While he did not say it could NOT be done, he did suggest that a new rim might be the better option, at least in my case.

So that is the route I'm taking my repair, filing an insurance claim, since the cost of the rim (ridiculously expensive), a new wheel bearing assembly, and a 4-wheel alignment was nearing $1600.

The cost for the repair was likely to be in the $300 range he told me. Online research has shown me that was pretty much in the neighborhood for a couple other wheel repair services I checked on.

I'm not sure which of the 20's you have, we have the split 5-spoke, some call it 'flower' pattern (I hate that term, LOL). While you can find rims on E-bay for under $500 each, the list price thru my dealer was $852, for the bare rim.

Just sharing what I've learned on the subject, I don't really have much I can share as advice.

 

[rubydist]

generally, the wheel repair guys will just polish the area that has the curb rash on it, 90% of the time that will take care of it, and the slight amount of missing material does not affect looks or balance.

if he has to weld material back on, that nearly always means the wheel will need to be repainted after he is done, as well as leaving the potential for the issues raised in the previous post.

 

[SDSHO13]

Before you drop a bundle at the dealer, I suggest you check the other forums, such as Ecoboost Owners Forum. I purchased four new take offs (no tires) for $650.00, plus $100. shipping. Well worth it. I damaged a wheel right after buying the car, on a trip to Estes Park, CO., when we were caught in a storm. I curbed it on an ice block! You couldn't see it in the parking lot. I haven't done anything with the wheels yet. They are in the garage still wrapped, waiting for Spring..again

 

[Kyle88]

I was able to take a few pics, I just have no experience in trying to fix this.

 

[Kyle88]

And this

 

[rubydist]

the stuff on the edge of the rim, a decent wheel guy can make look like new.

that gouge in the spoke, no so much. he can make it look less obvious, but it will still be pretty obvious, especially to you since you know its there.

 

[BamSHO]

I got refurbed rims from RockAuto after an ordeal with the deal that marked them up. Those look bad, yeah I would check Ebay for a replacement.

 

[BamSHO]

See your from PA, where are you located at?

 

[Kyle88]

It's really only 1 wheel, I would just like to make it less noticeable. Especaiy where it's deep and looks darker.

I'm from clarion, pa.

 

[BamSHO]

Cool you not real far away. Nice to see another PA SHO owner.

 

[rcryniak]

Here here! Seem to be a lot of us... good for the PA/OH meet we're planning, yah? Can't wait until spring!

 

[gimpy]

Sheeesh, the Pennsyltucky SHO guys are coming out of the woodwork.