SPRCatamount Posted October 19, 2012 Report Posted October 19, 2012 So I've been out in Ohio for all of nine days (here through Election Day) and I bent a wheel. All of a sudden I was getting serious vibration through the steering wheel and in my butt above 65 mph. I honestly can't think of a single event that did it. Lovely frost ridden payment they have here in Greater Cleveland! It was a slight bend (about a quarter of an inch) on the inside of my right front. Classic MINI (oxymoron much?) of Cleveland pounded out the bend, rebalanced my wheels and rotated the bend wheel and the other front to the back. Hannibal glides straight and true once again, even up in the triple digits. As an aside, Classic's staff was quick, professional and friendly. If you need service and you're in the area, I was impressed. I wanted to ask if anyone had any long-term experience with with a bent wheel (I believe mine are OEM model number 104, to be exact)? According to the MINI catalog, it would be $273.03 to replace the wheel should the bend reappear. Any thoughts on whether it will hold or should I start budgeting for some new, aftermarket wheels for my little guy? Thanks in advance, and I hope all is well with everyone in DC! [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
TGGRRR (Ali) Posted October 19, 2012 Report Posted October 19, 2012 I don't know about the rim, but I am glad to hear that they took such good care of you. Poor Hannibal had a boo boo Tigger 2006 the cabrio and Riversong the 2014 Countryman
CarlB Posted October 19, 2012 Report Posted October 19, 2012 Cast aluminum will generally be fine if it went back to its original shape. Examine the wheel very closely in the area that got bent. If you do not see small hair line cracks the wheel should be fine. Metal is elastic to a point. If it exceeds its elastic limit it generally fails then. If the bend got close to the elastic limit it might have stress cracks. The stress cracks will grow and the wheel will eventually fail.
TheMichael Posted October 20, 2012 Report Posted October 20, 2012 if the wheel is bent, it has already exceeded the elastic limit and experienced plastic deformation. might still be on, though...
SPRCatamount Posted October 21, 2012 Author Report Posted October 21, 2012 Thanks guys. There weren't any visible cracks when I checked out the bend pre-hammering. The tech told me they would have had to replace the wheel if they had seen any cracks due to liability issues. I'll keep one eye on the wheel and the other on last year's yet un-fixed frost heaves, the various assortment of un-level patches and the multitude of MINI swallowing potholes. It's like a minefield out here in the Midwest Snow Belt! [sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]
