Bent Rim Not Holding Air - Wider Tires as a Solution?

P

pmanliu

iS VIP
iS VIP
Location
NYC
Car
2017 WRX
Hey Guys,

Just wanted to get some professional opinions. Recently mounted my 19's but discovered that one of the rims were bent (long story short, i didn't do enough detective work and took some guy's word that these rims were in great condition). The bend however is very slight, but enough that it doesn't hold air. I'm also running slightly stretched tires (225/35 on a 8.5" wide rim) on these rims and was wondering if i go for some wider tires (235/35) would it be possible that it will be able to hold the air along with some tire/bead sealant? I'm most likely going to replace the rim, but was entertaining this as I wanted to get rid of the stretched tires and go wider regardless.

Pictures below of the bend / stretched tires:

ExOxJL2.jpg

See below for stance/bend. Tires are not that stretched, just the lip of the rim poking out. If i run 235s instead of the current 225s i think the tires/lips should be flush
RlK70eG.jpg

nAf4gQ9.jpg

Thanks in advance IS!
 

Attachments

  • ExOxJL2.jpg
    ExOxJL2.jpg
    112.8 KB · Views: 6,105
  • RlK70eG.jpg
    RlK70eG.jpg
    73 KB · Views: 694
  • nAf4gQ9.jpg
    nAf4gQ9.jpg
    132.7 KB · Views: 562
Last edited:
Smack it with bondo or sledgehammer... :)

good luck on the fix , sucks that u just got them.
 
Last edited:
Block of wood and a sledge hammer should straighten it out just don't be to aggressive or yo may crack it.
If that doesn't work you could tube it.
 
Last edited:
Thanks guys. Not sure if i want to smash it myself, would rather bring it to a pro (hopefully they dont just smash it also haha)


Another question... still relatively new to the modding world I was spoiled by running big beefy tires on the FX, and never really had this problem of bending rings. I was wondering what people's opinions are - should i sell the 19's as-is and downgrade to 18's with beefier tires to avoid/reduce the chance of bending the rims? Or should i keep the 19's and fingers crossed? I'm running 225/35's so its relatively thing. On the 18s i can probably run 235/40 which will give me more protection. This is also for NYC driving... thoughts?
 
Going to a 235 wouldn't matter. It it doesn't hold air at 225 (which isn't much of a stretch), it won't hold. If they can seat the tire on the rim and it leaks, switching tires won't matter. Get used to bending front rims. The IS is a relatively heavy car for it's size. I ran 225/35/20's up front and bent 3 rims in under 2 years. Never the rears.
 
I would say keep the 19's and be careful. You haven't bent anything yet right, this wheel came bent? I bent one of my GTR 20's with a 265/50 so sometimes it doesn't matter what precautions you take.
 
let shop handle that, it could be the bead or the rim. is it a slow leak or just not holding air???? if it is a slow leak the wheel repair shop will either grind the inside of the wheel and bead seal it. chrome flakes and cause slow leaks at times....
 
hey pat, if you want to swing by and have it "professionally" beat with a block of wood and a sledge hammer then bring it by bro, I'll try to do it for you :)
 
If you decide to beat it, make sure you heat up the rim with heat gun? That could help reduce and cracks or the chrome flaking off. Just applying the same principles like if you are getting your fenders rolled.
 
It's hard to tell why its leaking but I'm sure if the tire was off the rim, you could probably see a bump on the inside or maybe not? that small bend or dent as I see it probably pushes the tire on the inside enough to cause a leak. tire shops do have glue they can use to seal it off if you want to try that. they use this glue on rims that have corrosion on the mating surfaces or tires that have been put on/taken off more than 3 times.

I'm not sure how much a hammer and block of wood will do but the pros use hydraulic machines because they can gradually push/pull the rim. would suck if you had to repaint the rim, how close can they match the color? Also see if these are forged or not, might have different repair options.
 
Thanks guys.

Turbo i may take you up on the rim whacking meet. Will shoot you a message sometime soon :)

As for the dent - the major issue that wheel repair places are having is that the chrome lip is actually a fake cover that goes over the rim. The shops are refusing to repair the rim since they would have to permanently remove the chrome cover, afterwards the rim won't look like the other 3. There is a visible bend, and a shop tried using sealant while mounting the tire. However it doesn't hold for more than a day and the air gushes out pretty quickly when it does.

If banging the rim doesn't work, i'll most likely replace it. Thank goodness that vendors still have this model in stock, and that i'm not SOL.

Appreciate the help everyone! Thanks again
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top