I have waited 2 months for my Racing Hart CP035Rs to arrive to replace the Prodrives that were stolen.

They arrived late last week and are absolutely beautiful, there is just one problem EVERY RIM was bent and they could not be installed!

It almost looks as if the rim barrels were made of wax and got too hot and they drooped. The back side of all 4 rims is out of round. The backside is (coincidentally?) the side that is not braced or supported when shipped. The front side is well braced with the faceplate.

I have had new rims that arrived out of round before so I always insist that my rims be placed on the balancer before mounting to check them out, but I did not even think of it this time so I have no absolute proof mounting did not bend the rims.

I watched the guy mount them and he seemed to be taking care. When he put them on the balancer is the first time the out of round was noticeable.

I have taken the rims to 6 different tire shops and 2 rim repair centers and all but one say that the type of issues I have should not have come from improper mounting. There are marks on the rims now so I can see Dazz Motorsports (the Hart importer) wiggling around the marks saying they are evidence they were bent upon mounting and dragging this whole thing out or trying to get off the hook. All the place but one have said the marks appear to come from the dismounting of tires, but without the checking of roundness before the tires were mounted there is no absolute proof.

One tire repair place has suggested that the bends are indicative of shipping damage although the boxes appeared to be intact with no damage. He suggested that a sufficiently large and heavy crate next to it could have shifted and caused "crush damage" without the box showing signs. Crush damage is even tougher to prove.

All have said that if I tried to use the rims as is (one would be impossible to use) I would be chasing a vibration for the life of the rims.

Now here's the crux of the problem. Dazz is taking a real tough stance and will not even authorize a return of the rims until I can get a print out of the amount of run out. It doesn't matter that 12 tire people have seen them and will certify they are way out of any spec they know of. I cannot find a shop has a machine to check the run out that also has it set up to print. All the shops I have found don't have a printer because they say they never have a need to print the data out. (Dazz won't accept a video of the rims being tested with a picture of the run-out)

Does anyone know of anyshop (hopefully in the Richardson, Plano area) that has the capacity to print the data out? If I cannot find one I have to pay shipping to the dealer and then shipping to the distributor and then shipping to Dazz with no hope of reimbursement and no guarantee I'll get them back easily or in as good a shape as they left here. I know I have legal recourse, but that takes lots of time. I have already had to buy a pair of S03s to put on the front because they were corded while I have been waiting for the rims to arrive. (what a waste of $$$)

I have learned a lot about tire mounting machines in the last couple of days and although they were not mounted using the ideal machine they were mounted on an acceptable machine. So if they were damaged by the install it makes me wonder about the alloy of the rim itself. I used to work with aluminum and I know the heat treatments don't always work so I am worried that if it turns out that all or part of the damage was caused by the install that I have some rims with an improper alloy that could lead to bending on rough roads or even a catastrophic failure. Does anyone know any one or place I can use to check the alloy?

 

Most machine shops can mount up a wheel and put a dial indicator on it. Worst case, you can probably find a brake shop that could mount the wheel on the lathe and put a dial indicator on the wheel.


I loaded my magnetic indicator out and it was "lost" otherwise, I'd let you borrow it for a quick test at discount tire.

Try Wheels America or the wheel repair place on crosby road (I forget the name). Its the location that all wheel repair places send their wheels. Discount tire might be able to help with the referral.

Brad

 

I went to the Wheel repair place on Crosby yesterday. My problem hasn't been to get a reading of how much it is out of round it is to be able to get a print out of that reading. No one seems to have a printer, they say they have no need for one.

If I can get a print out I get to ship directly to Dazz and not go thru the shop I bought it from or the distributor so it speeds things up quite a bit and cuts cost to 1/3rd.

Both NTB and Discount Tire are at a loss to find a place with that can do a print out. They have called numerous other shops. I was hoping someone on the list knew of a shop with a printer.

 

why can it not be a manually inputed runout? Say, put it on a lathe or balancer, measure the runout on a dial indicator and then input it into a sales receipt or other form of print out?

Other than checking with some industrial CNC type machine shops, I'm not sure of anyone who could do such a printout. You might try: Kress Technologies 214-221-7801 and talk to Steve.

-B

 

Have you check with Wheel Repair by Adam?

 

Yes, they have gauges, but no way to print out. I have also tried Spec Wheels, Wheels America, Hub Cap Homer, Wheel Technologies & Southwest Wheel. Everyone can measure, but no one can print and Dazz will not accept anything but a print out directly from the machine.

I know that a great number of balance machines have the capacity to measure run out and can print, it is just that I haven't found anyone who bought the printer with the machine. I feel my best bet for finding a print out is thru a tire dealer because there is a chance they have a machine that has the capacity to print. The machines at the tire repair places are more rudimentary when it comes to bells and whistles.

 

The Racing Hart CP035Rs have a reputation for being very lightweight, but very fragile. Considering the fact that they have had tires mounted on them, I think you'll be hard pressed to get anything more than perhaps a partial refund from Dazz on your initial cost. That may not be the right thing, but it's probably reality.

Given the above, have you considered having the wheels straightened and then just selling them? Yes, you'll lose some money, but chances are you'll end up with about as much in your pocket as you will after going through the hassle with the importer, and you'll be ahead on time and effort expended.

If these are the wheels you absolutely have to have, then you've got to have them. But given their reputation and the fact that all four wheels managed to be appreciably bent during shipping, how long do you really think they're going to last on the street?

Iain

 

Altiain don't you think it's a little early to be thinking about fixing it myself and selling for a loss? I just got the rims and they were damaged prior to arrival. I am going to give them the chance to do the right thing before I give up. Maybe I am reading more into their apparent reticence, it could be that they want to be sure they are out of spec before I send them back.

I have found out from wheel repairers that 3/1000 would be considered out of round. These are all at least .125" out.

Life expectancy has been my concern now that I have seen the problem, but that could be explained by a alloy problem instead of an inherent problem with all their rims.

I did a lot of research before I chose this rim and fragile was never a word I heard associated with the Racing Hart rims. Kinesis was the only wheel I heard more good things about than Racing Hart. I leaned towards Racing Hart's direction because they appeared to be sturdier than most other brands while still being light. I do love the rims, but "I ain't married to none of em". I just want a lightweight, polished (or lighter color rim) that has the correct offsets which is very hard beast to find. Virtually every other wheel I can find appears to have tire width limitations or else they have a rubbing problem.

I am considering having the rims straightened mostly due to time constraints, but I am also trying to work within their system to get them to pay for it. So far it appears they are trying to weasel out, but maybe they are just being cautious because they have been burned in the past.

 

Try Streetwerks in Denton, (940) 270-8000 . It's a haul for you but the previous owner (now changed to Caliber but still listed as Streetwerks) was a Porsche nut and I know he has a Hunter Road Force balancer. Not sure if it has a printer but knowing the old owner it will. They can at least do what it is you are looking for.

I would not pay through the ass for a set of rims just to have them straightened. I would have serious concerns, though, about a rim that could be damaged in shipping. Sounds extremely fragile/unreliable to me.

 

I have the same concerns. $600+ a rim and they can't even survive shipping?! Something is wrong somewhere!

Worse yet is if their QC let them get out of the shop that way!