I have 16 inch MINI 6-star twin spoke black alloy wheels on my R56. When I bought it used, one wheel was slightly bent. I've bent more wheels over the years and now have 3 bent wheels. I've tried to fix them but the bend isn't obvious. I can feel it while driving and Discount Tire sees it when they balance. I've always had non-runflat summer tires and have a very spirited driving style.

I need new tires soon but I really don't know what to do about the wheel situation. I want to get OEM wheels but don't want to risk them getting bent again. Is it the potholes or my driving style that's bending them? What can I do to prevent it?

 

Best option would be to drive a little more defensively. Steer clear of the holes and ruts!

You could also go to a slightly bigger tire. Not sure what size you're running now, but 205/55-16's will fit, and fill out the wheel well a little better.

 

I have 195/55-16's now but was considering 225/50-16's. Would those be too wide? Its within the tire's rim specs

 

I ran 205/55-16 winter tires with X-Lites on my lowered Clubman for about 4 years. Absolutely zero clearance issues.

 

I'd also check out any local wheel straightening services; some can do a great job and save wheels that look like they're beyond repair.

 

I dont know if that’s worth it. A recommended place quoted $80 to $135. But I’ve read alloy wheels have structural integrity issues once bent.

Thinking about trying to see if I can find a set at the salvage yard.

 

My 17" R108s had at least a dozen small bends in the inner lip across the set, but they were easy to remove. I went with 5% O/S tires afterward and I think that helped a lot, but they do seem quite soft.

 

How did you fix the bends? I tried at home and it didn’t move at all.

I’m thinking about going with 225/50. It’ll be a 15% increase.

 

If they're on the outer lip, there's a lot more material there and it's not going to be easy to fix, but for the inner lip:

BFI (brute force & ignorance) with a 32oz deadblow hammer for most of them, some were more stubborn so I used a piece of 2x2" piece of wood to protect the finish, and beat it with a larger ballpeen hammer.

I start with trying to get it close to circular, then check to see how far out of plane it is. Alternate between trying to hit it into round and getting the lip back in plane.

If you have someone who offers wheel repair, its probably not that expensive and worth it. The local guy here vanished into thin air when I needed this, so I partook in a touch of savagery, but it worked out well.

 

I live where streets SUCK and rims barely make it a season with dailydrivers.. what I've learned, YOU CANNOT run ANYTHING under a 50 tall tire so like a 205/50r17 , though it usually says we need 205/45 , I absolutely try and fit as much sidewall as possible and you HAVE to look at the tire compound ratings and the harder the rubber is , the LESS psi you should run in them..
I haven't bent a rim in over 10yr and our streets look like fricken a war zone..
i highly highly suggest running a larger sidewall and anit less psi in the tires , TRUST ME . It will make the ride 10x more pleasurable too..
I JUST got some 205/50s too for my summer set and I absolutely NEVER run runflats because how harsh they are. One of my favorite favorite tires I've run sofar in summer has been indy firehawk 500s. They have great great road feel and handling , good ride quality and they even are AMAZING in the rain.. unfortunately they are a summer only tire compound but they really are worth every dollar.. I prefer them over proxies , azenis and nittos. I actually sold my proxies the 1st day I rode on the firehawk 500s I liked them SO much. I absolutely plan to get another set for my r59 now too.

 

That's exactly the size I bought my X-Ice Snows in for my stock R108s and it helped a lot. The roads here are awful as well, they get absolutely savaged by winter, then don't seem to get repaired until August/September.

 

I actually run firehawk 500s! in 195/55-16. That’s what I got all my bent wheels in so go figure!

I was gonna get firehawk 500s again in 225/50-16

 

Just to follow up on this, I got another flat today so it's time to get new tires.

A bit of history, I have 3 bent wheels and two stripped threads on wheel hub. I used a thread chaser to re-thread but the bolts are mated to those holes, so definitely won't come loose while driving. Also I tried banging out the bends with a hammer a while ago and they didn't budge.

The wheels are MINI 6-star twin spoke black alloy R119 width 6.5J x diameter 16. What should I do?

I need new tires and want to replace the FIrehawk Indy 500s in 195/55-16 with the same tire in 225/50-16. Really don't want to get new wheels but not quite sure how to go about fixing the bends? Also is the stripped wheel hub a big deal if the thread chaser retooled the threads, albeit poorly?

 

How can you tell how hard the compound is by the ratings and what rating are you referring to exactly?

The Indy 500 195/55-16 I got all the bends in I ran at about 36 psi