Warped alloys...fact or fiction?

BoxsterCharlie · 08-20-04, 09:27

I recently sold a set of my Boxster's winter alloys on eBay. They were in awesome condition, perfect in every way.

They bid up pretty high, better than I expected, and sold to a 944 owner.

I talked to the buyer on the phone, and did some extra work for him--taking the wheels to a local shop and getting the old tires pulled off so he could mount his new ones.

To make a long story short, the guy claims that both front wheels are warped and will not balance. He did not believe me that I shipped him perfect wheels. I had insured with UPS, and told him to take it up with them or the tire shop that mounted his wheels, maybe they had damaged them.

Well, I now have my first negative feedback on eBay. But I KNOW I shipped him perfect wheels and wouldn't be scammed by this guy. His attitude on several talks on the phone was kind of slimy.

But is there any chance that he was telling the truth? Do wheels without signs of physical damage get warped somehow? My guess is that the guy is running around pretty happy now on these wheels, sorry only that he didn't get them for free.

-Charlie

Dennis H. · 08-20-04, 10:00

I spent a number of years busting tires and can tell you wheels don't often warp. Especially factory Porsche Alloys. Porsche tolerances are very strict, in fact I can't remember every seeing a bad one. I've seen plenty of bent ones from curbs and potholes. The likelyhood of two of them is slim. Also most of the tire shops today have machines that never put any stress on the wheel and it is virtually to bend the wheels.

What probably has happened is he has bad tires. By marking where the valve stem, breaking the bead and spinning the mark 180 usually solves the problem.

I think it is safe to say if they didn't vibrate when you had them they don't vibrate now.

blkZ28Conv · 08-20-04, 10:08

Quote:

Originally posted by Dennis H.
IWhat probably has happened is he has bad tires. By marking where the valve stem, breaking the bead and spinning the mark 180 usually solves the problem.

I think it is safe to say if they didn't vibrate when you had them they don't vibrate now.

ditto!!!!

I brought some rims and when first mounted I had some vibration. I went back to my quality tire shop and they adjusted the "tire" as Dennis mentioned and solved the problem.

bet993 · 08-20-04, 03:00

You can have a bent wheel without any outwardly noticeable damage. At the same time a bent wheel can also be balanced. But to have wheel so badly bent to cause it to be unbalanceable and to show no signs of damage is very rare (impossible?). Also to have new tires so bad to cause balancing problems is hard to believe (usually they can be balanced but ride like crap because they are out of round). I would want to talk with the tire place that is doing the balancing. Is the buyer claiming that the tire place can't balance them or that they ride like crap.

I ask because the newest 944's (what 944s2 in 92?) are still 13 years old and very possibly the car could have worn suspension parts...the ball joints/A-arms are a very common failure on all the 944s and can cause ride characteristic problems that would seem like a unbalanced or bent wheel. I am assuming the wheels are 17" or so, which the 994 did not come with and depending on the year of the car may be wrong offset also. All these problems could be disguised as a wheel problem with the bigger, heavier and lower profile wheel/tire combo. Now sophisticated is the 944 owner? Does he/she know that their suspension is in proper working order?

As for Porsche wheels I find certain models to be fragile and easily bent on all but the smoothest roads. I have bent a rim and not know about it until replacing the tires, so it is possible.

bretfraz · 08-20-04, 05:41

This is where a Hunter GSP9700 and an experienced tech can make a difference. The 9700 has the ability to discern between bent wheels and defective tires. Read some about it here: http://209.176.154.132/pub/features/how.cfm

If it were me, I'd like to know exactly how he came to the determination the wheels are causing the problem. There are a lot of morons mounting wheels and tires out there. Even the best equipment is worthless when incorrectly used. And even the world's best installer makes mistakes now and then. I'd suggest he take his car someplace else for a 2nd opinion/evaluation.

Or you could just ignore him.

Dennis H. · 08-20-04, 05:47

The equipment today is Sooo Coool compared to when I changed tires.

BoxsterCharlie · 08-20-04, 06:29

According to the guy, he had them mounted by one place, and experienced vibration at over 40mph. The next day, he took them to someone else, and they said the rims (without his new tires) were warped. I suspect this place sucked too, because they wanted to exchange F-R and didn't realize the rears are an inch wider than the front. That's pretty dumb, and the buyer wasn't technical either, and easily frustrated.

So he's got a set of what he thinks are bad wheels, and I refuse to refund his money so I got the bad feedback. I'd work more with the guy but at this point I realize he is just a jerk.

Next time I'm going to list these kind of things "local only." This is the first time anyone has has a problem with my stuff.

Avalanche · 08-20-04, 07:01

You never know, it could be that they were damaged during shipping. It's unfortunately up to you to initiate the process to make this right. As a seller, its up to you to make sure the product gets to you "customer" in the condition you stated. This makes lots of things not worth shipping. I personally dont see how a rim "warps" without showing any other signs of damage.

BoxsterCharlie · 08-21-04, 08:02

Quote:

Originally posted by Avalanche
You never know, it could be that they were damaged during shipping. It's unfortunately up to you to initiate the process to make this right. As a seller, its up to you to make sure the product gets to you "customer" in the condition you stated. This makes lots of things not worth shipping. I personally dont see how a rim "warps" without showing any other signs of damage.

I did insure the wheels for the full amount--but he claimed he threw out the packing and UPS didn't like that--that and the fact that they had no visible damage. I'd feel worse for the guy except for his impatience and the way he obviously didn't even read my detailed emails.

treebiter · 08-21-04, 10:14

That's a shame about the negative feedback. The only thing I'd do at this point is post a thoughtful rebuttal to the negative feedback and be done with it. It sounds like this guy is scamming you.

You know that you've shipped a quality product that met the auction description. You should be satisfied in that.

ncal · 08-21-04, 11:15

One of the problems with Ebay is that you really don't have too much protection against scams or unfair feedback. It sounds like you had a bad buyer, and I would post that on feedback for him and on your rebuttal. Fortunately all that you suffered is one negative rating and still have your money.

mhuie · 09-09-04, 01:51

Wheels can be bent in many places with no physical damage. The only way you could tell is to unmount the tire and spin it and see if it spins true is all places (not necessarily only on the lip).

I've had bent wheels on the front of my car, which has are BMW OEM 18's.

I didn't notice that they were bent until I installed my coilovers. (much stiffer suspension). That may be a reason why he says they are bent while on your car they were perfectly fine.

What wheel size and tire size are they? You might want to ask about his suspension.

Ask him if hes running hubcentric rings or spacers since he is installing it on a different model Porsche, that can also cause vibration, and I bet that is the real reason. With bent wheels you should feel it thru all the speeds, not just 40mph