[contact335i]

So I ordered a full set of 827M wheels (black) from Braman BMW parts with the intent of powdercoating them. I had them shipped directly to a well-reviewed powdercoating shop in Dallas. They powdercoated the wheels and I picked them up so I could get them mounted at another shop, where I was also going to get the KW HAS kit installed along with alignment. Today I found out from the second shop (not the one that did the powdercoating) that one of the wheels is bent at the hub. What's more, they're saying this wheel couldn't have been damaged during shipping because of the hub centric nature of the damage. They're saying that this wheel almost certainly was installed on a vehicle at one point. I called Braman BMW parts but they're insisting that they merely placed the order directly with BMW and had the wheels shipped from there. I'm not sure where the damage occurred

- At the manufacturer
- At the powdercoating shop
- At the wheel mounting/suspension shop

I don't have much recourse here because I've already powdercoated the wheel so I'm going to order another wheel and have it powdercoated to match. Lots of hassle and expense

Lessons learned
- I should've just bought the gold wheels instead of trying to save money. Fewer things to go wrong that way.
- Separately, I should've had the wheels shipped to my house and then inspected them.

Oh well, an expensive set of lessons to learn.

P.S. I called the warranty company (Extend) that Braman BMW partners with but they're saying that they can only cover shipping damage.

[nunzo]

what do they mean by bent at the hub?

[kgelfen360]

Would you be able to tell it’s bent? Or it’s something they saw when they put it on balancing machine?

[contact335i]

Originally Posted by kgelfen360

Would you be able to tell it’s bent? Or it’s something they saw when they put it on balancing machine?

This is what they said:

"One of the front wheels is hub bent. It measures 44 pounds of road force. Being bent at the hub means we can't get it repaired- only barrel bends can be repaired. The wheel shouldn't be used. We can mount it on the car but you'll feel it vibrate and it will eat the tire over time"

[contact335i]

Originally Posted by kgelfen360

Would you be able to tell it’s bent? Or it’s something they saw when they put it on balancing machine?

They noticed it when balancing (see above). But he's saying that they can tell there's warping by looking at it. I'll eyeball it when I go to pick up the car

[nunzo]

Wheels don't bend at the hub without visible damage on the spokes or barrel. Or they were mis-machined from BMW's supplier which is also highly unlikely.

[kgelfen360]

Originally Posted by contact335i

They noticed it when balancing (see above). But he's saying that they can tell there's warping by looking at it. I'll eyeball it when I go to pick up the car

Yea I am just curious. It’s possible if they got shipped to you and you would never notice it either. It sucks man sorry.

[contact335i]

Originally Posted by nunzo

Wheels don't bend at the hub without visible damage on the spokes or barrel. Or they were mis-machined from BMW's supplier which is also highly unlikely.

I'm not an expert but I was surprised to hear this from the shop, needless to say. How could this have happened - either at the powder coating shop or the BMW shop? Did they put the wheels on a car (not necessarily mine) and take it for a joyride?? So weird.

And yes, highly unlikely that there was a manufacturing defect.

[contact335i]

Just an update with a likelier explanation of what happened. Here's what the BMW shop just told me:

"The other wheel may have actually been new. Instead of masking the hub faces they used sanders to sand off the pwdercoat. If they sanded too aggressively and unevenly it would have untrued the surface and created the same affect as a hub bent wheel. Just hypothesizing."

Hope this helps others who may be looking to go the powder coating route. Definitely important to find a quality shop, which I thought I had found...

[Hit_Apex]

Originally Posted by contact335i

Just an update with a likelier explanation of what happened. Here's what the BMW shop just told me:

"The other wheel may have actually been new. Instead of masking the hub faces they used sanders to sand off the pwdercoat. If they sanded too aggressively and unevenly it would have untrued the surface and created the same affect as a hub bent wheel. Just hypothesizing."

Hope this helps others who may be looking to go the powder coating route. Definitely important to find a quality shop, which I thought I had found...

This was my first thought reading this. Orders to PC shop should be to mask the mating surface and not sand. Or at the very least do nothing so that you can clean it up yourself carefully with a razor / scraper. Still odd that it was off that much to cause 44 lbs road force out of balance

[kgelfen360]

So then PC shop kind of sucks. Shouldn’t they know how to do it safely. I assume that should be procedure for all the wheels they take care of????

[contact335i]

Good to know. But I would've expected the shop to be cognizant of this, given that they do wheel repair

[PaulAllen]

If you are in Dallas, Unit F14 is phenomenal at powder coating and all things wheel-related. They powder coated my stock wheels and then fixed my two piece forged wheel that was, unfortunately, curb-rashed.

[contact335i]

Originally Posted by PaulAllen

If you are in Dallas, Unit F14 is phenomenal at powder coating and all things wheel-related. They powder coated my stock wheels and then fixed my two piece forged wheel that was, unfortunately, curb-rashed.

Thanks. Amazingly, that’s where I’m taking the wheels to get them re-done. Glad to see this vote of confidence

[PaulAllen]

Originally Posted by contact335i

Thanks. Amazingly, that’s where I’m taking the wheels to get them re-done. Glad to see this vote of confidence

They will do an excellent job!