Like the title says, I need to have a rim straightened. I "scored" a set of original wheels for my '97 M-edition Miata. They were rough, but cheap. The seller has been reasonable, and refunded 1/4 of my purchase price.
The wheels:
The bend:
I'd alternately be into buying one of the wheels. They were also available on some other Miatas. 15X6 Chromed aluminum.
Check with local collision repair places. They usually have a local wheel repair/refinish company they have fix wheels for them.
There are a bunch of vids online showing how to fix them. I recently did one as the vid showed and it wasn't very hard and the wheel and tire balanced up nicely.
This would be a great subject for a GRM article. I have four not round Ronals that would like to be round again.
Local shops may be your best bet.
I have an 18x8 S60R wheel in my trunk with a cracked lip I need to take to the wheel shop this week. Last time they charged me $145, but with the understanding that I didn't care if it was bent so much as it holds air, as these are winter wheels and they will get mangled. But they do straightening involving a special press setup they have, and do great work.
One thing all wheel shops will tell you is that they do not work with wheels that are bent in the spokes, only the bell/lip. I don't know if it is a liability thing or just if nobody is equipped for it. (Probably the former, cracked spokes are nothing to joke about, and aluminum cracks easily)
Keith Tanner said:This would be a great subject for a GRM article. I have four not round Ronals that would like to be round again.
C&D did a side article about mail-order wheel repair services with their long term test of the M3 of the E36 variety, after they discovered that it had a strong propensity for damaged wheels. Five in total in less than a year.
Probably nobody here has back issues of a competitor's magazine from 1996, so, yeah, good article idea 
Although E36s are old enough that it may even qualify for Classic Motorsports. A fact I like to not think about too much.
Responses appreciated. I'm not finding anything local.
I had imagined making a sort of slip roll type thing to get the job done, but seem to remember there are some specialty shops somewhere that do this sort of thing.
As time allows, I'll likely post some of the aforementioned videos, if only for posterity.
This place is near me in PA and does excellent work, they have fixed some of my previous Mercedes wheels that were unobtanium
In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :
Sonic said:This place is near me in PA and does excellent work, they have fixed some of my previous Mercedes wheels that were unobtanium
In addition to this one sports car tire in Wilmington Del
Cliff Jacobs in Cincinnati is also awesome; or gave me awesome results multiple times.
If you're sending them out, I've used Raleigh Wheel Repair for a damaged BBS wheel I had for my Subaru. They do excellent work.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:Keith Tanner said:This would be a great subject for a GRM article. I have four not round Ronals that would like to be round again.
C&D did a side article about mail-order wheel repair services with their long term test of the M3 of the E36 variety, after they discovered that it had a strong propensity for damaged wheels. Five in total in less than a year.
Probably nobody here has back issues of a competitor's magazine from 1996, so, yeah, good article idea
I was thinking more DIY.
I've got C&D magazines from earlier, but only the issues that have articles I find important :)
Truck repair shops often have connections to someone/someplace that straightens wheels.
Every body shop will have someone they use. You have to have a body shop local to you right? If they accept insurance they'll have a whee place. Insurance refuses to replace most wheels if they can be repaired. I know it's usually about $180 per wheel so be prepared to shell out the money
I have straightened a few out with a propane torch and a mallet. Used a run out dial gauge to check my work. Only takes a few minutes.
Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:In reply to wheelsmithy (Joe-with-an-L) :
Thank You. Knoxville is as close as it gets. >20 mi.
You may also want to check with places that repair boat propellers.
When I was doing more boating I had some work done by local a place whose main business was repairing SST and aluminum props, but they would also repair aluminum wheels.
Also try motorcycle shops. Apparently that happens all the time with bikes and they "know people." That's where my aluminum race wheels went after the tire shop bent all four on their tire machine.
Like everyone else said, check local collision repair shops.
Worst case scenario, they'll "know a guy" (they always do) they can direct you to. That's how I got my OEM wheels replaced. Went to Discount Tire, told them off on how they didn't find the bent wheel during road force balancing, they said sorry and refunded me the cost, and then gave me a few places to call.
Also you could check with local car dealers. Where I work (Laurel, MD) a business actually comes out as a mobile service to repair and refinish wheels.
Reading through the reviews of local places, I'm leaning toward either sending it to Raleigh, or Pennsylvania. Those two places give me the warm fuzzies.I'll report back when I know something.
https://www.newhampshirewheels.net/straightening-nhwheels
Another shipping option.
There may be one more but I can't remember the name but it is 2 miles from me.
I hit a turtle with the Cayman and have a balance-able but wobbly rim.
I will try to get the name of the place tomorrow.
Bonus is I am 2-6 miles from both places if you need a GRM human around.
I think tomorrow I may ask our wheel guy what it'd take to fix the 17" Rio wheels.
Is it ironic that Wheelsmithy is asking about wheel smithing services?
Inquiring minds want to know.
I have straightened slight lip bends with a radiused piece of wood and a dead blow.
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