four bent rims & a warranty

[peppy]

Hey all,
Any and all advice sure would be appreciated. On July 15, 2002 I bought a set of American Racing Torq Thrust II's from Mustangs Plus. On August 8, 2002 I had them wrapped with BF Goodrich Comp T/A KDW 235/45/ZR17 and installed by Discount Tire Company.

From 8/02 to 8/20/04 I put maybe 40 miles on the car. Because I now have the time I brought the car out of storage and put some miles on it, 250 to be exact. I noticed a vibration so I took it back to Discount to see if the tires needed to be rebalanced.
Come to find out, I have four bent rims There is no physical damage to the rims or tires to suggest road conditions. Mustangs Plus referred me to American Racing to pursue the warranty, and American Racing told me to talk to Mustangs Plus about it. Any Suggestions???

Thanks in advance

 

[ForceFed70]

??

Was the vibration there from the very beginning? 4 bent rims? There's something fishy here... take it to a different tire shop and have them balance.

 

[one2gamble]

get a second opinion and if they due in fact say they are bent go through mustangs plus because they are the retailer and should take care of most of the warranty work. Phone calls and paperwork. If they refuse take it up with American racing and explain how you are being treated by Mustangs Plus and then file a complaint with the local BB

 

[peppy]

During those initial 40 miles or so, I drove it around town and did not go mush faster than 45 MPH, and to the best of my knowledge I don't recall the vibration. I have gotten the mustang on the highway and that's where the vibration is very noticable. In fact, the vibration seems to increase along with my speed.

Discount tire did state that the bend is very slight but none-the-less there.
They even took me to the balancing machine and showed me each rim/tire on the machine. I did access American Racing Warranty page which states there is a lifetime warranty on manufacturing to the original purchaser.

I really, really do not want to eat $1000.00, but my fear is that time is not working in my favor on this one. Not to mention I am going to get the car down to another shop for a second opinion tomorrow.

 

[Ozsum2]

You have a problem. Everyone is saying everyone else is at fault. You may have to have a judge decide. I had some Amer wheels and the tires kept going flat. I put fix a flat in them and they were fine for 4 months then same thing. Come to find out there were microscopic holes in the wheels that would leak when the fix a flat wore out. AR said bring em back, and when I did, they said it was past a year and no warranty. Even though it was a mold flaw. I was younger and a bunch dumber then.

 

[65 fastback]

If you paid for the wheels with a credit card, go ahead and file the paper work with the credit card company.

Also, how are the wheels bent? It seems very unlikely that 4 wheels came from the factory bent. How were the wheels mounted by DTC? What torque specs where the wheels mounted with? Where the lug nuts torqued in the proper sequence? It sounds like the wheels could have been damaged during the installation.

Just a thought.

Tim

 

[MustangMatt1966]

agreed ^

 

[peppy]

If you paid for the wheels with a credit card, go ahead and file the paper work with the credit card company.

Also, how are the wheels bent? It seems very unlikely that 4 wheels came from the factory bent. How were the wheels mounted by DTC? What torque specs where the wheels mounted with? Where the lug nuts torqued in the proper sequence? It sounds like the wheels could have been damaged during the installation.

Just a thought.

Tim

Mr. Tim.....
The wheels are bent side to side, they appear to wobble on the balancing machine just a hair. As far as tourque specs, I do not remember. However, DTC tourqued the lugs in a star pattern, where as Belle Tire tourqued them in a clockwise pattern. I once again looked at them closely while the tire were off the car and I still do not find any kind of tire or wheel damage.

Good afternoon all,

I went ahead and took the Mustang to Belle Tire for a second opinion. Belle Tire agreed I do have bent rims, but they only agreed two of them were bent and not all four. However, upon putting the wheels on the balancing machine they discovered how badly DTC balanced them.

Belle Tire's machine displayed the following numbers (as far as how much wieght in oz.'s each side was off).

Inside of tire Outside of tire
Driver's Rear 1.75oz. 2.50oz.
Driver's Front 1.25oz. 2.25oz.
Passenger's Front 1.25oz. 1.50oz.
Passenger's Rear 1.75oz. 2.50oz.

Belle Tire's corrective action did aleviate some vibration, but still the second opinion agreed there is at least two bent rims and there is still vibration at highway speeds.

 

[Ozsum2]

Are they doing a lug centric balance?

 

[peppy]

Are they doing a lug centric balance?

Belle Tire said they utilized a centric balance and that DTC used a static balance.

 

[Ozsum2]

Belle Tire said they balanced them using a centric balance and also stated that DTC used a static balance.

They need to be lug centric, because of the variences in the wheel manufaturing process. The lug holes will always be right on. There is an adapter that they must use to get the true center.

 

[Ozsum2]

I'm thinking that the first guys to do the mounting screwed them up. They could have used a padded maching that wouldn't have scratched the wheels, but too much pressure could have warped them.

 

[peppy]

If in fact it may have been DCT that damaged/warped the rims during installation, then I have to believe there is zero recourse. Because there is no way to prove this, not to mention it was two years ago.

 

[PONY XPRESS]

Worse case, you can have the wheels straightened by a wheel specialist. Check out the back of varies car mags.

 

[Max Power]

Agree on the lug-centric, although with American Racing they usually don't need it. Some mfg's, like Wheel Vintiques, who make the repro magnumns, demand it.

Also, (I have the Magnums), keep an eye on the guy doing the balancing. The chowder head at the one of two places in my town with lug-centric was doing it wrong. He would balance the wheels with the adapter, then I would go out and it would vibrate on the highway like crazy. Then he would check his balance and it would be 2 oz off.

Turns out he was using a cone on the back of the wheel while mounting it on the tire machine. In essence, with little cones on the front and a big cone on the back, the mounting was all over the place. When I saw him do this, I suggested that maybe he should mount the back of the rim on the flat surface, as that is what is on the car. He did that and it got better, but I still get vibration at highway speeds. I think the only way to get it right may be to balance them on the car, which very few people do anymore.

It pisses me off that I spent all that money on brand new equipment and it is practically unsuitable for highway use.

 

[peppy]

Good afternoon all,
I certainly appreciate all the knowledge. However, I did have two seperate shops agree that I had at least two bent rims after putting only 270 miles on the wheel/tire package. So, does anyone think that I have a "leg to stand on" as far as pursueing the warranty with either Mustangs Plus or American Racing?
Thanks,
Peppy

 

[slapper]

Good afternoon all,
I certainly appreciate all the knowledge. However, I did have two seperate shops agree that I had at least two bent rims after putting only 270 miles on the wheel/tire package. So, does anyone think that I have a "leg to stand on" as far as pursueing the warranty with either Mustangs Plus or American Racing?
Thanks,
Peppy

Yea, you should be able to go through Mustangs Plus, and get replacement rims. A frind of mine ordered 4 wheels from them, and one of them had a pin hole leak in the wheel lip. Mustangs Plus sent him another one, and he packaged the defective one in the shipping box, and sent it back. I don't remember if he had to pay shipping or not. Don't let them intimidate you. Elude to the fact that you are/will be a regular customer. We're only talking wheels here.

 

[BobV]

You're just now finding that the wheels are bent, AFTER OWNING THEM FOR TWO YEARS?

IMO, you're pizzin' in the wind. After 2 years, you're going to have a difficult time proving that the bend is due to a defect in the manufacturing, and not due to an outside source...

 

[Max Power]

If anything, it teaches you the value of thoroughly testing things before letting them sit.

 

[Snail50]

Tiii-ii-ii-ime is not on your side, no it's not.

(sorry ) Good luck. It's going to be difficult to prove anything now. Two warped wheels from the manufacturer seems strange; more likely the shop which originally mounted the tires phuqued up the wheels.