Apparently 3 of my JCW rims are seriously bent. There's a long dirt road with huge holes where I live that I'll avoid from now on. As we know the JCW rims are very expensive. I know that you can bend them back but is that the safest thing to do? I drive my car hard and fast and don't want to bend them back unless it puts them back to 100% reliable. Anyone have any thoughts on this? Any idea what the charge normally is?

As an aside, I may keep them as winter wheels and search for a nice aftermarket set of rims for the summer. Any ideas for my black with red roof JCW? Could I ask a more ridiculously general question?

Best,
Gene

 

I had one of mine bent badly and I had a company near me paint my rims and straighten it. Looks perfect like it was never there before. Car rides good and no issues with the rim making the car jerk any certain way.

In other words, you'll be fine and you'll have 100% reliability of the rim.

 

I've had one straightened by these guys and they know what they are doing. Here's their website so you can find a facility near you.

http://www.mobilewheelrepair.com/

 

Nothing wrong with getting a bent wheel fixed by a reputable specialist. I am gong to take mine to Metro Wheels here in the Atlanta area. A new wheel for my S is over $350. They will straighten for about $150.

 

I've never had a problem with a wheel that was bent and repaired. I have a bent JCW wheel as well. Not really sure when it happened but it isn't too bad and still holds air so I'm not hugely worried about it. When it comes time to get new tires I'll probably have it fixed.

 

You shouldn't have a problem having a reputable shop/mobile wheel repair bend them back. You'll just have to avoid potholes and bumps like the plague.

I bent my JCW wheel after 1 week of owning the car. It was a small bend of the lip right where the valvestem is. After $150 to bend it back, it was back on the road. 2 weeks later, i hit another bump and my TPMS kept going off saying i had low tire pressure. Turns out the bead on the tire on the same rim that was bent wasn't seating correctly. Had to replace the tire ($300). 3 months later, i hit another big pothole. I pulled over and this is what i saw:



The tire was still holding air, but the lip was totally bent and cracked. You can see from the pic that it's right next to where the last bend was. I was able to drive home and have MINI tow it to the nearest dealership. After it was all said and done, this pothole cost me $700. I've filed a claim with the city and after 6 months, i still haven't heard anything.

From everyone i've talked to, it seems that having the wheel heated up to make it easier to bend the lip back degrades the overall structural integrity of the wheel. That's not to say it's not safe to drive on. It's just that it's not as strong as it used to be. If you think about it, it makes sense. Take a piece of sheet metal: bend it back and forth and over time it will weaken and eventually break.

After i got the rim replaced, i had them keep the bent one so i could see the damage. Aside from the bend and the obvious crack in the lip, i noticed the barrel had multiple cracks/fractures. Definitely not fixable. I still have the bent rim sitting in my garage. I plan to make a clock out of it

If you want me to take a pic of that, i can.

Bottom line: You can bend your wheels back, but you'll need to be VERY careful from here on out.


EDIT:

BTW, these are the same guys i used.