5.03.2013

How can rim straightening help improve safety

In this article we get a little into the safety issue with rims.

Whenever a wheel/rim suffers a hit and gets bent there's always a chance that the structure is damaged.
What do I mean with that?
You might not even see the damage on the rim -it is mostly on the drum or inner section - but you feel wobbleing, or just simply loosing air pressure .

Now, you might say I can live with that, but let me stop you there for a moment.
Firstly, besides loosing air, the crack could spread, causing the rim to weaken and possibly seperate; Secondly, you cannot predict when or how the rim might totally fail; if it happens at speed, you could loose control of the vehicle and at best damage the vehicle, at worst endanger yourself and others in a possible accident.

When a wheel is damaged there might be 'micro fractures' which are impossible to spot by the naked eye.
That's when the rim straightener guy comes to the game. When he puts your rim on the machine and starts the pressing process, he also checks for those micro fractures.
How is that?
Micro fractures tend to behave like the cracks you see on your windshield. They start small,but keep on growing.
Now when a professional  strarts to repair the rim he'll go round the damaged area and possibly the whole rim with very gentle presses.
If there's a micro fracture,he'll hear a loud popping noise so he'd know there's a crack.
It is very important to tell it was not the guy ruining the rim, but  the one finding a hidden problem.
The rim would crack eitherway so I say it is better to find it sooner in a professional enviroment than later on the road.
After that  it has to be decided to weld it or go for a new one. A professional will do that decision for you.
Bottom line is, having your rims checked by a professional can save you a lots of trouble.

Drive safe.

For professional rim straightening equipment don't forget to visit our shop at:
Gammatrade