Weight of Wheels
Discussion
quote:
Can anyone tell me the weight of an S3 wheel plus tyre (standard O.Z. alloy). I need to know this to get some prices from couriers, and I was hoping to be able to avoid taking a wheel off to weigh it (not that I'm lazy or anything)
Thanks
Richard
Got stacks of wheels in the garage and some scales, can you wait until the weekend?
Chucked one on the scales on my way out this morning.
19 Kgs per corner, call it 20 to be on the safe side. That's for a standard 15x7 Chimaera 5-spoke with a new S02PP on. This is the size used all round on the S series. I guess the different rim styles may weigh different amounts, but no more than a kilo or two either way I would have thought.
Hope this helps,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)
19 Kgs per corner, call it 20 to be on the safe side. That's for a standard 15x7 Chimaera 5-spoke with a new S02PP on. This is the size used all round on the S series. I guess the different rim styles may weigh different amounts, but no more than a kilo or two either way I would have thought.
Hope this helps,
Peter Humphries (and a green V8S)
I think it was your recommendation on a previous posting that put me on to them.
I tried a couple of places that were slightly more local but they'd only paint the wheels instead of doing the diamond polish.
There's quite a bit of surface corrosion on the wheels at the moment, so I'm looking forward to the transformation.
I tried a couple of places that were slightly more local but they'd only paint the wheels instead of doing the diamond polish.
There's quite a bit of surface corrosion on the wheels at the moment, so I'm looking forward to the transformation.
The price to get 4 wheels done is £164.50 with tyres or £141 without (inc VAT). This covers blast, repaint of black bits, diamond polish and relacquer. If you send the wheels with tyres they'll also rebalance them when they put the tyres back on. They need the wheels for a week to do this.
You can contact Lepsons on 01634 580582.
I'll post the price of the courier once I have it.
You can contact Lepsons on 01634 580582.
I'll post the price of the courier once I have it.
So, I found out the price of a courier, and I've now decided to replan since it works out around £100 
- quite a chunk compared with £160 to do the wheels.
So I've now found a guy in Hemel who'll collect from this area (Wokingham/Bracknell) and will do the job for £38 per wheel (with tyres on) plus VAT.
However, having had a chat to this guy, I'm now faced with another dilemma which is whether to go for a diamond cut or a powder coating. The arguments are as follows:
Diamond Cut
-----------
- Involves blasting the wheels to remove corrosion etc., repainting the black bits and then skimming the surfaces of the wheels with a diamond tip in a lathe. Finally the whole wheel is laquered.
- This will keep the original look of the wheels complete with the black painted sections. However, the lacquer does not adhere very well to the polished surface, and is more succeptible to damage from stone chips etc. The guy couldn't say what the expected life span of this sort of finish would be as it depends on damage that may occur, but there is a risk that it could be months rather than years before corrosion etc. is visible again.
Powder Coating
--------------
- Involves blasting the wheels to remove corrosion etc., then 'painting' the wheel using a powder coating, of which there are a number of finishes available (guy suggested a sort of sparkle silver which would, apparently, catch the light very nicely). Finally the whole wheel is laquered.
- Apparently the laquer bonds much better to the powder surface and gives a much more durable finish. The biggest disadvantage is that you lose the original look. However, I notice that all new TVRs come with painted rather than polished wheels.
So, I'm after opinions as to what is the best approach to take. Also, if anyone has gone for a repaint of S wheels how do they look, and do you have any pictures?
Thanks
Richard
- quite a chunk compared with £160 to do the wheels. So I've now found a guy in Hemel who'll collect from this area (Wokingham/Bracknell) and will do the job for £38 per wheel (with tyres on) plus VAT.
However, having had a chat to this guy, I'm now faced with another dilemma which is whether to go for a diamond cut or a powder coating. The arguments are as follows:
Diamond Cut
-----------
- Involves blasting the wheels to remove corrosion etc., repainting the black bits and then skimming the surfaces of the wheels with a diamond tip in a lathe. Finally the whole wheel is laquered.
- This will keep the original look of the wheels complete with the black painted sections. However, the lacquer does not adhere very well to the polished surface, and is more succeptible to damage from stone chips etc. The guy couldn't say what the expected life span of this sort of finish would be as it depends on damage that may occur, but there is a risk that it could be months rather than years before corrosion etc. is visible again.
Powder Coating
--------------
- Involves blasting the wheels to remove corrosion etc., then 'painting' the wheel using a powder coating, of which there are a number of finishes available (guy suggested a sort of sparkle silver which would, apparently, catch the light very nicely). Finally the whole wheel is laquered.
- Apparently the laquer bonds much better to the powder surface and gives a much more durable finish. The biggest disadvantage is that you lose the original look. However, I notice that all new TVRs come with painted rather than polished wheels.
So, I'm after opinions as to what is the best approach to take. Also, if anyone has gone for a repaint of S wheels how do they look, and do you have any pictures?
Thanks
Richard
My own preference is for the Diamond Polishing rather than the shot blasting as it keeps the wheels original anmd additionally they look far better IMHO.
I would agree that the lacquer does not last as well. Indeed mine have suffered with stone chips. I have one that is worse than the others.
Remember though that mine have done 20,000 miles in all weathers since they were done. Most people do not use their TVR as much as I do and therefor Diamond polishing is more than adequate...
Mine were done at Lepsons. They are the muts ....
I would agree that the lacquer does not last as well. Indeed mine have suffered with stone chips. I have one that is worse than the others.
Remember though that mine have done 20,000 miles in all weathers since they were done. Most people do not use their TVR as much as I do and therefor Diamond polishing is more than adequate...
Mine were done at Lepsons. They are the muts ....
I have owned my S3 for around 18 months.
Around 5 years (and only 7,000 miles ago) I believe that the wheels were refurbished using diamond cut technique by the previous owner.
The black painted areas are still fine. The majority of the plain alloy areas are OK. The problem is with surface corrosion that starts from the hole in the centre (where the TVR logo is fitted). This corrosion varies from about 1 inch to about a 3 inch from the edge of the central hole on the four wheels.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who might give advice about arresting the corrosion, cleaning these spoiled areas and re-laquering?
If wheels have been diamond cut once, is it safe to have them cut again? Diamond turning removes a minimal amount of material, but you don't know how many passes were necessary to fully clean the surface. The reduction in material thicknesses could effect the strength of the wheel.
Around 5 years (and only 7,000 miles ago) I believe that the wheels were refurbished using diamond cut technique by the previous owner.
The black painted areas are still fine. The majority of the plain alloy areas are OK. The problem is with surface corrosion that starts from the hole in the centre (where the TVR logo is fitted). This corrosion varies from about 1 inch to about a 3 inch from the edge of the central hole on the four wheels.
I would be interested to hear from anyone who might give advice about arresting the corrosion, cleaning these spoiled areas and re-laquering?
If wheels have been diamond cut once, is it safe to have them cut again? Diamond turning removes a minimal amount of material, but you don't know how many passes were necessary to fully clean the surface. The reduction in material thicknesses could effect the strength of the wheel.
A number of companies I spoke to when I had my S3 were pushing the painted option and admitted it was cheaper for them to do. The only S wheels I've seen with this option were a mid gray colour, I guess a bright silver would look better.
I also spoke to one owner (can't remember who) who'd had his diamond cut but not laquered. This meant that he could keep them looking good with regular polishing, needed doing quite often though.
Cheers,
John.
I also spoke to one owner (can't remember who) who'd had his diamond cut but not laquered. This meant that he could keep them looking good with regular polishing, needed doing quite often though.
Cheers,
John.
Peter,
I'm looking to do around 10K miles a year, so corrosion after 7K doesn't sound so good.
The point you make about the structural integrity of the wheels is also an interesting one, although I would imagine that they'd have to be skimmed quite a few times to have an effect.
John,
The powder coat option is cheaper for them to do, but it is also, consequently, cheaper for me, so I don't think the guy had cost as a hidden motive when he was advising me. As for the unlacquered, frequent polishing approach, I just know that the polishing wouldn't be frequent enough in my case.
After giving it more thought, I am tempted by the powder coat option, mostly from a longevity point of view. If I think of the alloy wheels on my wife's car which are still immaculate after 30K miles, and compare that with the option of corrosion after a few thousand it seems like a forgone conclusion. It's just very difficult to visualise how the wheels would look without the aid of a picture!
I'm looking to do around 10K miles a year, so corrosion after 7K doesn't sound so good.
The point you make about the structural integrity of the wheels is also an interesting one, although I would imagine that they'd have to be skimmed quite a few times to have an effect. John,
The powder coat option is cheaper for them to do, but it is also, consequently, cheaper for me, so I don't think the guy had cost as a hidden motive when he was advising me. As for the unlacquered, frequent polishing approach, I just know that the polishing wouldn't be frequent enough in my case.
After giving it more thought, I am tempted by the powder coat option, mostly from a longevity point of view. If I think of the alloy wheels on my wife's car which are still immaculate after 30K miles, and compare that with the option of corrosion after a few thousand it seems like a forgone conclusion. It's just very difficult to visualise how the wheels would look without the aid of a picture!
Well, I faced a similar decision when I had mine done. I'm not too far from Micheldever, and they said for longevity go for powder coating every time. I said thanks but no thanks because I like polished rims. I had mine done just under a year ago. The car is used every day, although that only racks up 5,000 miles pa, and so far there are no signs of degradation.
It's up to you, obviously. I took my wheels down to Gillingham on the way to Stansted and picked them up on the way home after a weeks holiday. Just thought I'd mention it as £100 for carriage does seem well steep.
Good luck with it. Chin up.
It's up to you, obviously. I took my wheels down to Gillingham on the way to Stansted and picked them up on the way home after a weeks holiday. Just thought I'd mention it as £100 for carriage does seem well steep.
Good luck with it. Chin up.
Mine were polished and then not laquered according to the previous owner. As I'm pretty lazy and drove it through the winter they got pretty crusty. However, a light whiz with 1000 grade wet & dry (I'd recommend a higher grade though) then a polish with autosol and finallly a polish with a wheel polishing kit from frost and they look pretty good. Each wheel takes about 20 minutes and the kit cost less than 20 quid.
Mark
Mark
I've had my wheels re-done a couple of times over the years, each time whilst the S was in for its service at Fernhurst. I can't remember the name of the the company they used (was it Spit'n'Polish?), but the first time they stripped, skimmed and re-lacquered the wheels. The second time, a couple of years later when the corrosion was back in a big way, they said they could not re-skim the wheels as they had been skimmed too often in the past. All they could do was strip and paint. The finish looks a bit like a standard Chimaera wheel. I think they look fine - only problem is that I buckled a rim and had to buy a second hand wheel which is polished and lacquered, so now I have three painted (which still look great) and one lacquered (which looks a bit "tired"). Does that help at all (prob. not) ?
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