Bust Alloy

[TopCat]

Hey guys,
just had a costly morning and need some advice.
Was coming down a narrow back road this morning when a transit came round the corner in the middle of the road and I had to swerve to avoid him,and ended up smacking 2 alloys off a pothole/rock.
Now I have one puncture, which isn't to bad, but the other alloy took the brunt of the force, and the damage is as follows.




As you can see, there's a bad crack and a chunk missing.

I suppose the first question is, is this beyond repair? I've heard they can weld small alloy cracks, but this seems kinda big, plus there is actually bit missing.

If this turns out to be not possible, is it hard to buy a single alloy? I've heard its nearly as cheap to buy a full set? Typically, I'm just back from holidays so money is tight as is, so any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

As always, thanks in advance guys,

TC

[CJ]

Looks to be beyond repair IMO. Contact Terry at www.alloywheelsinternational.com to see if he can sort you out.

CJ

[steelroe]

I have a funny feeling I have a couple of these wheels lying around somewhere, will check for you tomorrow

[Muad_dib77]

I'm afraid I'd have to agree with CJ on this one - I wouldn't want to repair that - sorry.

[TopCat]

I had a feeling that might be the case alright, but thanks for the second opinion guys.
If you had one of them Steelroe, it would be brilliant, but I won't get my hopes up just yet in case, but keep me posted.
If that fails though, I might be looking for advice on a good value alloys, preferably without tyres as my dad is in the trade I can get them very cheap. (If anyone was interested I could probably get ye a good price, but the problem is he's in Mayo, so away from a lot of ye, and I'm sure ye have deals to get good value anyway? But the offers is certainly open to you guys)
Thanks again,
TC

[TopCat]

Hi guys, I’m back with this problem. After realising this wheel is beyond repair, I’m been frantically on the search for a replacement, but had no look. The model (Toora T955) seems to have been discontinued recently, so there doesn’t seem to be many about, and I’m just praying I can find someone with one in stock.
Places I’ve tried already who’ve said no are
247 in London
Auto Planet (Ireland)
Dalton Tyres (Tipp?)
East Coast Alloys (Ardee)
And I’m currently trying to get on to Alloy wheel International as recommended by CJ (Thanks)
I should add that before telling me they were unable to get them, Auto Planet quoted €230. Surely thats way overpriced for a single one?
Anyway, I'm desperate, can anyone make any suggestions as to where to go from here or is it gonna have to be a full new set? Or any other alloys dealers I could try?
Thanks as always,
TC

[Myfeckin FTO]

€230 sounds about right for a new 18inch rim of this type.

I would imagine theres a few of these doing the rounds in scrap yards around the country (they've been out a few years) - you'd likely pick one up cheap if you could find one. I notice quite a few guys on the modified sites are running these rims - it may be benefical to post on http://www.dtdirl.com/forums/index.php or http://www.midnightclub.ie/
- a couple of the members may have a spare lying around or know where to pick up a 2nd hand one.

Remember you are also going to have to fork out for a tyre if you buy new and an 18inch tyre isn't far off 18inch rim money.

It is going to be difficult to find the exact spec rim though - you will need to ensure that the replacement rim you are looking for has the same PCD (114.3 x 5), width (8 or 8.5 inch rim ???), offset (you'll need to get this info from your existing rim) and bore (67.1 - you'll need the hub centric rings).

If you can't get the right rim at a good price then now might be a good time to bite the bullet and pick up a full set of rims.

I think "Version R" is looking to sell his set of Tenzo's from his FTO thats currently for sale - http://www.fto-ireland.com/forum/phpBB2 ... php?t=6464

[TopCat]

Thanks for that MfFTO,
a lot of good suggestions there, and will certainly look into them.
Just to clarify though, they're 17" rims. Makes it a bit easier in that there is only one width as far as I know for this size, but yeah, I'll certainly be careful in regard to the PCD and Bore, I thought they were the figures, but thanks for confirming that. Not too bothered about the tyres, I can get them at cost anyway.
Cheers though,
TC

[Myfeckin FTO]

..............
Just to clarify though, they're 17" rims. .......

Ahh! They looked like 18's but it was just a guess.
In that case paying €230 for one 17 inch rim (of this type) does seem a bit much. You are better off sourcing it somewhere they have it in stock and are looking to offload.

[TopCat]

No prob at all.
Just in the case I do have to purchase a set, I get the feeling the general option is 17's are best for the FTO, 18's making the ride a bit hard, and I see now there are more expensive than I though, both alloy and tyre wise. (Thanks MfFTO )

[Dave]

I've an old set of 18's that you can have for less than 230 which you'd pay for one new rim...

[Myfeckin FTO]

I've an old set of 18's that you can have for less than 230 which you'd pay for one new rim...

These ones I presume-

[Dave]

yep, those ones.... sitting out in the shed now for nigh on 3 years i reckon!!

[Myfeckin FTO]

yep, those ones.... sitting out in the shed now for nigh on 3 years i reckon!!

They're just waiting for when you tire of the Zed and go back to another FTO Dave.

[Dave]

ha ha ha ha!!! I doubt I'll be getting tired of the Zed any time soon... (in saying that I was looking at an R34 GT-R but decided against it)

[TopCat]

I might just take you up on that offer Dave, but I'm gonna chase the 17" ones a bit more first. Cost aside, does the ride change much going from 17 to 18's?
An no, I won't believe you dave if you say the ride is improved!

[Dave]

I never drove an FTO on 17's so I can't comment, a few people will say that going up in size does affect the ride quality but in all honesty I didn't ever think that having the 18's on caused any adverse affects... but i suppose I am biased, and I also drove an FTO with 19's too!!

[Myfeckin FTO]

probably worth considering that Dave kept a fairly high profile tyre on when he was running 18's - more comfort - though your speedo would be out by around 5-10%.

[TopCat]

What were you running on the 18's? Just checked and I can get Nangkangs 225/45R18's for about €100, so it isn't too bad. Would there be a chance of rubbing with Apex springs?

[Dave]

I think I was running 45's, but I'll check later and let you know...

[Myfeckin FTO]

I think I was running 45's, but I'll check later and let you know...

I think you were as well. As standard an 18inch rim on an FTO should be running a 35 profile - I think you had 225/45's on there Dave.

You will get rubbing on full lock on a 45 profile - but only for a while!

Till it wears through your plastic wheel arch liner!

[Dave]

Yeah you will get a bit of rubbing, nothing a few cable ties shouldn't sort out!!

[TopCat]

I'm look at an alloy and the spec given is 5/114 ET 40 8J. I know the 5/114 is what I'm after, but what does the 40 in this stand for? Would it be the bore, and if so, does that mean it will not fit?
Cheers,
TC

[misterbishi]

The ET40 is the offset of the wheel. i.e how far the mounting surface is displaced from the centre line of the wheel, it can be positive or negetive for instance a deep dished wheel will have a small + ET or even a negative ET.
You will need a correct ET to clear arches, calipers etc... I think the offset for the FTO is ok between 30 to 40 but clarify this with the rest of the gang on here..

[CJ]

Keep the offset between 35-45 to be on the safe side. Why don't you just remove one of your existing alloys and look for the offset (ET) setting?

CJ