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Widening 3 Piece Alloy Wheels


mikuni

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  • 1 month later...
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I guess it's time I actually posted something on this thread.

Yep, I am Gavin of Bateman Racecars.

So on pricing, the cost of raw materials went up significantly (20%) at the end of 2010, so prices have gone up a bit. The difference in cost mentioned by twosmoke is probably because he asked for pricing on 17's as these are more expensive to make than 13" thru 16" diameters owing to the yeild from a piece of material. ie: less parts per sheet = more $ per unit. (We only do 13"-17" diameters)

I'll check it out & see if I am allowed to post a full list of pricing on here.

Cutting off welded on outer shells & bolting on new ones is not a problem so long as there are enough bolts to safely hold it all together afterwards. Otherwise the application of some more holes is aways a good solution rather than welding. The bolts used on different brands of wheels vary in size. Old BBS racing wheels (eg Formula Atlantic) were 6mm, the BBS as shown at the start of the thread are 7mm (really odd so don't lose any) and some are 8mm. Generally you find that the bigger the wheel diameter the bigger the bolt diameter or the greater the number of bolts.

When sealing the wheels, we always also run a bead of sealant around the joins after it is all bolted up and tool it off to ensure there aren't any air bubbles in the seal. Just putting sealant between the parts does not guarantee a seal. Generally also put sealant around both sides of the bolt holes as I have seen some wheels leak around the bolts.

I've been thinking about making complete copies of SSR Longchamps. What sort of interest would there be in these?

Otherwise you can have a look at the start of my new website at 41degreewheels.com. and feel free to email pictures of cars that we have had a hand in making parts for that can be included in the gallery! gavin.bateman@clear.net.nz ph 027 2468948

Have fun :compress:

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Awesome addition to the thread Gavin..

I have just had a realisation that you are not actually the person I thought - I just realised that the person I am thinking you were is Graeme Bates... :oops:

Anyhow you should post more often and join in ther melee.. 8)

Cheers

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I've been thinking about making complete copies of SSR Longchamps. What sort of interest would there be in these?

Lots from people who have no money and none from people who want the real deal.

If you had access to a CNC lathe and mill it would be incredibly easy.

I just don't have access to casting facilities which is the only way to make them cheap.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I stole this but it is giving me some very dirty idears, thought some of you fellas may be interested.

Ok

i got these damaged mercedes ATS barock wheels in 14" diameter and i was wondering what to do with them? they had been rendered useless because someone had driven them on the sidewalk and cracked the wheels.

So i took couple BBS RS 16" rimrings and got some crazy ideas

PC286169.jpg

Then i thaught that why not to try to fit those lips on these wheels and i cut off the stock rimrings.

Nokia_069.jpg

Nokia_070.jpg

Yes, that is snow...

Nokia_072.jpg

Then i drilled the holes in the remaining centerpiece, using a cracked rimring as a template.

barock_11.jpg

after that it was normal splitrim assembly, ofcourse i needed to polish those old worn rimrings i had first. but everyone knows how to do that so i didn't bother to take any pictures.

almost the final product, i'm not sure what color i should paint'em. Mercedes astral silver is allways a good choice, the orginal color.

Barock36.jpg

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  • 10 months later...

As per usual when I try and do something it ends up turning to crap. This is my person experience with 41 Degree Wheels, hopefully the service will improve now that I see the wheel making/modifying part of the business is for sale. This is not an attack on 41 Degree, I'm just putting this info out there for information and to tell people that they need to be careful.

1. Before I sent the wheels away I explained what they were and what I wanted done (2 piece wheels made into 3 piece wheels), I specifically asked if I would have to buy new bolts and I was told no. After the wheels arrived in Wellington I was told "Owing to the way these wheels are built (ie: they were never a 3 piece) you may need to get longer bolts as there is not enough material to machine down as I normally would." This cost me an extra $120 to get new M7 bolts.

2. There was an extra $150 surcharge because I was only getting 2 wheels done, this is what I told them straight from the start and the surcharge was never mentioned until the wheels arrived with them. This is partially my fault as I should have asked.

3. After them having the weeks for around a week and after me paying the deposit I was told the wheels hasn't arrived yet, which they had.

4. The total cost for getting the wheels done changed from the original invoice that I paid the deposit from to the final invoice by $60 odd dollars, no explaination as to why it was missed off the first invoice and no apology.

5. After telling them this (quoted from my email) "I'd better stick with bands around 4" I think, so the wheels should end up at 10" wide bead seat to bead seat and around 11" overall width." the wheels arrived and bead seat to beat seat they are 10.8", they have a narrower lip that the original wheels and overall they measure around 11.6". The new rim halves are exactly 4" from the mounting flange to the beat seat. This is a problem as the wheels now stick out from the guards a lot more than I was wanting and now I have to buy new tyres as my 255s are not legally able to be fitted to a rim wider than 10" and after having new tyres fitted if the tread sticks out past the guard I can't get the car certed which makes the new rims useless or else I have to fit flares.

6. The final problem is when the rims turned up they had no holes for valves, for $750 (the total cost to have them modified) I would expect to be able to put air in my tyres. After advising them that there were no holes I was told "The valve holes are 11mm", no apology, no explaination.

So yes, be very careful about how you word things and double and perhaps triple check that they understand what you want done and are not just rushing into it.

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To be honest he has one of the poorest attitudes I've ever dealt with, don't think he actually believes in customer service. This was his last reply so now I am pretty much stuck, I told him what I thought and I hope the new owners do a better job than he did.

"Not sure there is much I can do sorry as they only come in 1/2 “ increments. I have also sold the business."

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I'm not totally sure but I have a recollection that if he sold the business AND the goodwill with it - then the new business also picks up any comebacks and the new owners should go back to the old owner, ask Keltik about the comebacks - he knows about it all IIRC..

FYI - I believe he posts on here under "sakergavin"..

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=8856

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Gavin is on the forum as 'sakergavin', though if he has now sold the company I don't imagine he will be able to comment any further on the matter. (edit: beaten by k-trips edit above)

I'm sorry to hear that people are having difficulties with communication and quality with Gavin and 41° wheels. Hopefully the new owner is prepared to come to the party with any issues that you guys are experiencing. At least the issues are documented now and it was all dealt with through emails, so should be easily traceable if required.

As far as I'm aware, the other forum member who had issues with the wheels was able to get them replaced free of charge through Gavin, so he certainly kept his end of the bargain there.

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