A Wheel Disaster - Compomotives

[hopo]

Ive had a bit of trouble with the car of late, just odds and ends. frustrating stuff, lights not working, electrics playing up, Indicator misbehaving,pods doing funky things. Most of which was beyond my ability to rectify despite many hours trying. So off the car went to GST to have these gremlins exorcized, along with new dampers all round. The impetus for this was the forthcoming Ypres Lotus day which is my favourite Lotus event by a mile. chasing exiges around the Belgian Countryside is great fun. But the old esprit really needs all the help it can get! (that's how I justified the dampers)

The car is now ready and running well after a minor fan failure hiccup - (now cured) Imagine my horror to return to the car to find the rear drivers side tyre flat. Gutted. pumped it up.. it quickly deflated, I was pretty hacked off as the tyres are less that a month old. So I limp back down the M11 and roll into a quick fit in Enfield. Frantically trying to order a new tyre from any outlet still open in time to source a tyre and keep the go Belgium dream alive for Tues/Weds. The wheel comes off to try and locate the leak and to my horror find the following:

A huge crack down the inner face of the wheel with air pissing out. Gutted. Beyond Gutted.

loadsa people on here bang on about the Compomotive wheels and how desirable they are, finding them, valuing them etc and now my very own set that were refurbished just over a year ago are now f****d. So to those that wonder why Lotus switched to one piece BBS, look above.....

So What can be done?

Would it be possible to repair/weld this?

Could that section of split rim be replaced? is this the barrel? what size? - I think/hope this may be a viable option.

does anyone have A Compo wheel for sale? an odd one? or even a set? I know there are one or two sets floating around but im not exactly flush at the moment.

switch to BBS... but even they are hard to find!

Looks like Belgium is out this year which is a huge shame.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

regards,

a very very unhappy and miserable Jon

[Vanya]

Man that is a shame. Not much else to say really...

 

I don't know anything about weld repairs and the kind of structural integrity a wheel would have afterwards unfortunately. Hope for the best.

[Vulcan Grey]

No Way on welding!

 

That looks like it might include some corrosion cracking, which means the metal will be brittle and is useless.  Not sure which alloy they used, but some aluminum alloys are susceptible to corrosion racking if their coating is not perfect. 

[MalcolmS]

That really rough luck Jon.

Those 5 stud compos are rarer than hens teeth as you know. Hope you can get it fixed.

All the best,

    Malcolm

[The Pits]

Really sorry to hear and see that Jon, especially with Ypres coming up, I know how much you were looking forward to that.

 

At least with 5 stud wheels you have the option to go straight onto BBS without looking for hubs but that's not a short term fix. I'll PM you the number of a guy who specialises in split rim repair. I rang around a few places and they all mentioned him, Lotus have used him too, so if anyone would be able to fix them it's probably him. If there's any chance of getting a new rim made, Mike from Lotusbits would be good to talk to about this as I've been having long discussions about Compomotives. He's very up to speed on what can and can't be done.

 

Best of luck with finding an answer.

[red vtec]

Hoop,

Just found these on the web believe your near them

http://www.alloyweldcraft.co.uk/index.htm

I reckon they can sort it for you.

Chris

[hopo]

Hi Folks,

 

Many thanks for the commiserations (sounds like a death! I know they're only wheels!)

 

Jonny, I think Mike might be a last resort but I will contact your man... worth a go. Even BBS wheels are hard to get hold of, anyone have a set?!?

 

Chris, that looks like just the ticket, bugger its a bank holiday..... I just worry that its too far gone and the structural integrity has been compromised. will try there anyhow. many thanks

 

Would it be possible just to fit a new rear barrel? are they not much the same across the brands? surely the righty dimensions etc...

 

Looks like my Euro Jaut is out though, don't fancy it on a the spare

[skiing]

I think you can get barrels. Go on wheel whores for details. I have a spare set of bbs which you can borrow but they need a refurb ( they are going to be my winter wheels)

[Alex Carter]

Hopo I have a buddy that can sort that no problem

[hopo]

Henry.... You da man!

 

Alex.... You even more of da man! (if it works!) where is your man located?!?! how can he be contacted? please let me know.

 

regards,

 

Jon

[skiing]

The bbs have no tires though, so it's just the rims. I would go for a repair or get hold of a barrel in time for Ypres... Must be possible although you might need to take a day off work?

[Paul1982]

The is a welder here in south Wales who will repair it BUT I'm sure he could never guarantee the strength of the wheel after. You'd need to cut the metal away to create a V and fill it back up. You can grind the face to look right but IMO you should the extra weld on the back to add strength

[Andyww]

Lotus binned the Compomotives for that exact reason, they crack there. 

[ramjet]

That crack looks wheely bad.

[pete]

That crack looks wheely bad.

not as bad as that "crack"

[Simon350S]

Hopo, you have my sympathies, you must be feeling really Let Down....

[ramjet]

I could see that sort of thing leaving you really Flat as well.

[Alex Carter]

I'll pm you but don't worry it's not a problem

[hopo]

Many Thanks for the suggestions folks..... I will try a few of them out.

 

as above I was pretty deflated on Saturday but hopefully I can get it sorted.

[hopo]

Does anyone know the sizes for the compo wheels? what size is the barrel? not quite sure which bits I would need to measure to get a new barrel

[wolflyn]

my wheels are in renowheel in bridgend,   he does refurb work for SJ.s

[MalcolmS]

If your 5 stud Compos are a direct swap for the BBS then the centre bore is 71mm.

[MalcolmS]

Probably also need this...

 

And the PCD is 5 x 120

[markt]

Maybe have a chat with someone like this?

http://www.maverickwheels.co.uk/page3.php

I could get these sorted for you easy locally, but postage would be a killer.

[fflyingdog]

If you do go down the welded route ,get the wheel NDT afterwards just for piece of mind.You could have cracks all over the wheel ,maybe when the wheels were refurbed they were over torqued? if you even suspect that they could have been then get all four wheels NDT.

 

  Nick S4s