Re: Bent Wheels

["Fred Munro" <munrof@isys.ca>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Beale-Schott <ecshcott@earthlink.net>
To: quattro@coimbra.ans.net <quattro@coimbra.ans.net>
Date: Saturday, August 08, 1998 9:50 PM
Subject: Bent Wheels


>Listers,
>I recently purchased some used 15x6 Ronals for my '84 4kq.  Prior to buying
>them, I had a wheel repair shop check them out to see if they were
>straight.  Their report "All 4 are bent, one 'light', two 'medium' and one
>'heavy'."
>
[snip]

>Wheel 1 0.020 / 0.016 'light'
>Wheel 2 0.016 / 0.020 'medium'
>Wheel 3 0.037 / 0.038 'medium'
>Wheel 4 0.039 / 0.022 'heavy'
>
>According to my Bently manual, the max. values for my car, with this same
>style wheel in a 14" are 0.020 / 0.028
>
[snip]

>What are the ramifications of bent wheels?  Poor handling?  Will they
>damage my bearings or tires?
>
>
>Thanks,
>Chuck Schott
>
>1984 4000 quattro


Chuck;

    With the measurements you have quoted, I wouldn't call your wheels
"bent"; "out-of-round" is probably a more accurate description. The possible
ramification of using them as-is would be a wheel-induced vibration which
you couldn't balance out. If the vibration is bad enough to affect tire and
bearing life, it will be bad enough to make the car unpleasant to drive
 for someone with a qlisters' highly refined senses :o)
    One of my winter alloys has an out-of round condition similar to your
"heavy" wheel and it runs fine, although it keeps tossing off it's balance
weight - hmmmm.

HTH

Fred Munro
'91 200q  256k km