Dented wheel

[Stimpy]

The car is about to have some work done on it but first there'll be a 'pre-MOT' to see what might need doing first

 

Ok - so there's a dent in one of my front OZ wheels (y'know - S4s and all that)  and he reckons the car will fail due to the size of the dent.

It doesn't leek air or anything but - FAIL?

It's not like I can pop down All-parts and get another.

 

I see the choice as:

1) End of Lotus Esprit ownership - it's not going to happen

2) Get a set of 4 non OZ wheels

3) Hope someone sells an original OZ (eBay)

4) The possibility of getting some advice here!!!   :-)

 

Someone please make my life that little bit better......in a big way!!

 

TA!

 

[Bibs]

5) Get the wheel repaired. 

No?

[CarBuff]

^^ As Bibs said.

 

Wheel repair is relatively cheap.  If you don't know a local place, ask at a BMW dealer or specialist...those cars are FAMOUS for bent rims.

 

A local owner was constantly getting bent rims on his own S4s.  we would pound them straighter with a rubber mallet.

 

YMMV of course!

 

 

 

[Stimpy]

53 minutes ago, Bibs said:

5) Get the wheel repaired. 

No?

I forgot to say - pretty fundamental mistake of me - the chap doing the work has a friend who can work on wheels and he'll ask.  But he gave me the "Hmm, but I don't know.... etc" in my case.

 

In case NYONE IS FAMILIAR THE CHAP WHO IS DOING THE WORK IS:   http://www.swlotus.com

 

Whoops - caps lock went on.  Apologies

 

Thanks for the quick responses - much appreciated

 

 

[TAR]

That will be Steve Williams. He is a good guy and knows his stuff.

[Matthew Haskins]

There is a wheel specialist called Platinum Alloys in Wiltshire who can repair and refinish as new - they do all of our wheels and you would be amazed at what they can repair...

[Stimpy]

21 hours ago, TAR said:

That will be Steve Williams. He is a good guy and knows his stuff.

A bit of innocent fishing there - I mentioned the name and was crossing my fingers that no-one said 'LOL - you are in real trouble...etc..etc'-  the fact i got the reverse gives me confidence and really does show how forums are worth their weight in gold in the way they can end up protecting you from the baddies.

 

What happened to Taff? I hear you (not) asking....

Nothing big.

SGT don't have a body shop and thus I would not expect them to not mark up on the costs that would insure.   Also Taff is a strong believer in originality . He would have gone for the 'body off' thing for the bobbins - thats 100 man hours and a remortgage.

 

8 hours ago, Matthew Haskins said:

There is a wheel specialist called Platinum Alloys in Wiltshire who can repair and refinish as new - they do all of our wheels and you would be amazed at what they can repair...

Fan - bloody - tastic.  Not only a thumbs up for the Lotus specialist above, but a pointer to someone that has obviously been used many times with success.

 

Can I throw the Prozac away yet....?

Probably too premature - lets see what comes out of it all first.

 

I have a funny story regarding 'Steve' Williams.  Off topic so I'll put it on another thread.  BTW - it's me that ends up the 'victim' in a bizarre mistake.  I'll chuck it up here later.  I have orders from the missus to clear a load of car type mess all over the living room.  Priorities and all that.

 

Thanks all - you're making me feel happier !

[swindon_alan]

4 hours ago, Stimpy said:

Fan - bloody - tastic.  Not only a thumbs up for the Lotus specialist above, but a pointer to someone that has obviously been used many times with success.

I live in Swindon and Platinum refurbed my accident damaged AWI monobloc. They did a great job. Hmmm. Want to take the other three in now as the repaired one puts the others to shame...

 

[ramjet]

I would have said go down the repair route as well.

[Alex Carter]

The guy who use to work for platinum welding and straightening now works with me . He is amazing at what he gets fixed give me a shout if you want it sorting he did mine too . 

[Barrykearley]

These any use??

 

Look at this on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/231868255472

lotus esprit original alloy wheels and tyres.  

[Bibs]

1 hour ago, Barrykearley said:

These any use??

 

No! 

[Stimpy]

From the bottom...

 

2 hours ago, Barrykearley said:

These any use??

 

Look at this on eBay:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/231868255472

lotus esprit original alloy wheels and tyres.  

As with Mr Bibs cryptic response - S4 wheels.  I need S4s.  Jeez - If I could get the OZ'z for that price.....

 

 

12 hours ago, Alex Carter said:

The guy who use to work for platinum welding and straightening now works with me . He is amazing at what he gets fixed give me a shout if you want it sorting he did mine too . 

Noted. Properly noted.  If Steve W's contact can't help then I know 2 places to go from here.  Brilliant

 

 

16 hours ago, ramjet said:

I would have said go down the repair route as well.

 

A lot of minds with the same opinion.  Democracy is certainly effecting my choice

 

18 hours ago, swindon_alan said:

I live in Swindon and Platinum refurbed my accident damaged AWI monobloc. They did a great job. Hmmm. Want to take the other three in now as the repaired one puts the others to shame...

 

 

F___ me - I read that too fast.  I swore it said Sweden !    I hope your progress progresses.

 

I love forums

(most of the time!!)

[Bibs]

1 hour ago, Stimpy said:

As with Mr Bibs cryptic response - S4 wheels

They're clearly the wrong wheels for your model, nothing cryptic there. They are in fact Esprit Turbo wheels, the S4 has different wheels again. 

https://www.thelotusforums.com/shop/coterie/78-lotus-esprit-the-official-story-.html

[Jacques]

Arh, blast it, I just wrote a lenghy response and then my internet modem decided to start a strike.

Anyway, here's the short version:

Have your Wheels repaired. A specialist can have it photographed, analysed for structural damage, and repair it accordingly. Look at all 4 Wheels. It's rare that only one Wheel need repair. Most wheels at this age, are no longer true and radial. Supposing you have the S4s OZ Futura Wheels on your car (anything goes in repairing realy, both split and mono part Wheels), it can be taken apart, inspected and corrected for true, being radial and dings, dents, scrapes and more. Don't just take a rubber mallet and bang it back into shape. And if you have the splitties, and the outer rim is beyond repair, a new one (not chinese bling bling), can be bought. BBS are very prone to bending, also their forged ones. I had several types of their split Wheels like the RS001 etc. My Futuras were taken apart, all jobs done, and not I am about to put them back together, new sealings etc. Don't use stainless and alike  bolts and nuts to assemble them with, as they can fail during driving. Not a good idea. I was told by a professional Wheel repair man, WHO do mine. If you take them apart, or have them taken apart, it's important to mark them up, to position same parts in same positions as before disassembly.

But really, most things can be repaired. Paint does cover a lot, and that is not what I am talking about. This is a pro job for the educated, trained and experienced and skilled. You don't want a Wheel failure while going fast.

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[Stimpy]

Excellent stuff

 

Thanks very much

Thanks to all of you - much appreciated

[Stimpy]

Got the result

 

MOT failure.  Dangerous wheel.

 

Time to sit i the corner and be grumpy.  Maybe followed by crying or something. Bugger.

 

[ramjet]

You didn't get it repaired first? After everything that people on here said?

[Stimpy]

It was booked in for some work

i gave him the car and my list

He then asked 'whens your MOT' - I didn't know - He found out it was ...... March

So - I said - can you MOT it.  Well - he advised that he would get a test done first (knowing from my list that certain things were dodgy)

He took the keys and came outside

He noticed the wheel and - to my full ignorance - didn't know that dinging your wheel could be bad news. But we stuck to the plan

[silverfrost]

Hope you get the wheels repaired soon,  I would also start buying up spare OZ alloys from private adds and ebay etc as they are only going to get more rare. ! 

other option would be to fit v8 alloys but do not think you can beat the look of the OZ wheels they look super nice on th esprit.

Good luck with the repair and the search. 

[Bibs]

9 hours ago, Stimpy said:

MOT failure.  Dangerous wheel.

[Stimpy]

12 hours ago, silverfrost said:

Hope you get the wheels repaired soon,  I would also start buying up spare OZ alloys from private adds and ebay etc as they are only going to get more rare. ! 

other option would be to fit v8 alloys but do not think you can beat the look of the OZ wheels they look super nice on th esprit.

Good luck with the repair and the search. 

Cheers,  I WILL be driving this machine for as long a my body allows it so IT WILL get fixed.  Somehow.

Repair looks like the best option - and if he says his 'wheel repairer' can't fix it I now have some pointers here - which is great.

 

[Stimpy]

Ok. Bad news. The repairer cannot repair it. The damage is too much

ive checked eBay today - nothing

so  - an idea

replace the wheels - all of them 

i know is 17/8.5j but when buying aftermarket wheels will I need other measures , offsets etc. And if there is a place someone can recommend can you say please?

i could always rent someone else's front s4s wheel but I can't see that happening!

 

not happy

[sailorbob]

The OZ Futura isn't unique to Lotus, maybe you can find a replacement from another vehicle. You can even find the individual components available for sale.

[Jacques]

What part of your Wheel is dented?

Jacques.