MAS4

When I switched my snows back to the stock RE040's the tire guy said that he found a 'slight flat spot on left rear wheel. Never bothered me until recently when I think my tires were rotated at my 7500 mile service. Not sure where the wheel is now, but I feel like there's more vibration around 80 mph. I hit 120 the other day and it didn't feel as smooth as it should. A couple of questions:
1. Can the wheel with the flat spot be located without removing all the tires?
2. Can the flat be repaired or do I have to buy a new rim? If I have to buy a new one, maybe I'll switch it with the rim on the spare.

S4Bloom

Yes you can usually see a flat spot by spinning the wheel and running a mic or pointer at the rim edge for a visual reference. You can see it with the naked eye easily. Do this to both the inside and outside.

Generally it is advisable not to fix out of round rims.

Andy Hedin

...I've had several OZ rims repaired at Wheel Collision Center (see link below). They're located outside of Allentown, PA. I paid approx. $100 per wheel to have them straightened out.

Wheel Collision Center advertises in some of the car mags and they have a patented process which retains 100% of the original integrity and strength of the rim. I read about them in AutoWeek magazine....they used them to straighten out some M3 rims that had been dented during long-term testing.<p><a href="mailto:andy_hedin@hotmail.com"><img SRC="http://pictureposter.audiworld.com/AudiWorldPics/2000/A_Hedin_Sig.jpg" BORDER=0></a><ul><li><a href="http://www.wheelcollision.com/">Wheel Collision Center</a></li></ul>

mrsteve

Right, you cannot repair a wheel with lateral runout.

S4Bloom

A "bent" rim is different than a truly out of round wheel. Damaged rim edges, trueing and dents are different than being damaged to the point of being out of round. These are easily fixed by straightening and adding material and truing with the lathe. Average costs are $80-125.

If a rim has been damaged to the point of being out of round this means that the wheel dimensions both in longitude and latitude have been distorted to the point that the bolt pattern and rim-centric properties have been altered. This is very expensive and time consuming to do and is not typically done on any mass produced commercial wheels. It is MUCH cheaper to buy a new wheel.

Get an estimate. Good luck!