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hat is quality rim straightening?
What’s the difference between master rim straighteners and
the rest of the pack?
Because of our national reputation for excellence in both our rim
straightening and our customer service, we get calls and questions
from around the country and Canada as to how to know which rim repair
businesses do quality work. Like the rest of the automotive industry,
you have a few excellent companies and many mediocre.
There’s an analogy in the industry as to the difference between
a parts changer and a mechanic.
A parts changer keeps changing parts until he finally gets the problem
solved. A mechanic has the skills to diagnose the problem and solve
it immediately. A master rim straightener can straighten your wheels
with few exceptions and not try to force you to buy new or reconditioned
wheels because they can’t straighten your wheel or want to
make more money selling you new wheels or sets of wheels.
There are many qualities that make a rim straightening process
and business superior. Below, for your education is a few of the
areas for you to pursue before allowing someone to touch your wheels.
| A quality rim straightening company
uses technology with hydraulics pulls, pushes and heat. This
technology has been the acceptable methodology since the turn
of the last century. A good company does not cold roller wheels
or use independent hydraulic jacks. There is a good reason why
the major reconditioning companies in the US Canada and Mexico
use the tried and true hydraulic method - it works. When
cold rollering first came out a few decades ago, it was tried
and rejected. There’s good reason for that. No one cannot
properly straighten a good percentage of the wheels that come
in with a cold roller press. Cold rollers basically beat the
wheel true. The mediocre rim straighteners who use cold rollers
claim it’s superior because heat is not used. If the rim
straightener is trained properly, the use of heat is no problem
whatsoever. Only a hack uses so much heat that it will change
the metallic composition of your wheel. You can’t control
the impact of cold force on the metal that way you can control
heat.. Many wheels that could have been saved are destroyed. |
| A quality rim straightening company can straighten
not only your typical OEM wheels but also older wheels like
Hudsons, MBs, Triumphs and the larger wheels. When you know
a company can straighten these types of rims, you know they’re
master rim straighteners and not just wanna be masters.. Also,
a master rim straightener can do multi-piece wheels are well
as magnesium rim straightening. |
| A quality rim straightening company can straighten
center bent wheels. This is one of the benchmarks of masters.
A center bent wheel is one that is twisted in the barrel. The
reason why a lot of people claim you can’t straighten
center bent wheels is because you have to have master technology
and experience to straighten center bent wheels. There’s
probably only a handful to a dozen companies in the country
that can successfully straighten center bent wheels. When someone
who is not a master attempts to straighten your center bent
wheel, they will make it irreparable. Unless you have the company’s
word they can and have straightened center bent wheels, don’t
take a chance. |
| A quality rim straightening company doesn’t
pretend they have superior technology that they can’t
show you, but has machinery you can see and understand. Be very
cautious of companies that have a “collection” area
in one place and do the work in another. You have no idea what
they’re doing to your wheels or where they’re going.
I’ve heard of a company in North Carolina where they meet
you on the highway and take your wheel, straighten it, and then
meet you back on the highway to take your money and return it.
This may be a little extreme, but know where your wheel is going.
If it’s not done on sight and near your sight, you have
no idea what’s happening. |
| A quality full service wheel straightening company
lets you see which wheels are bent and then lets you chose which
wheels you want straightened. As in any company with great customer
service, you the consumer get to make the choices and see the
realities. This means they have to have the capacity to put
your car on a lift, remove all four wheels and then spin the
wheels in front of you, showing you which wheels are bent and
also showing you if your tires are out of round. If they can’t
or won’t show you your bent wheels, how do you know they’re
really bent? Or how badly they’re bent? |
| A quality full service rim straightening company
can tell you whether the problem is your wheels or your tires
and lets you see the difference. |
These are obviously a few of the most important ways to see the
difference between master wheel straighteners and the mediocre.
The mediocre can usually charge less, but sometimes they don't.
They train their people over less time and jump on the chance to
replace your wheels. They also train their staff on your wheels,
not stock wheels. There is no doubt that there are some wheels that
are wiser to replace. It takes a master to let you know the truth.
And they should be able to explain to you why the rim shouldn’t
be straightened. If we had a dollar for each rim someone brought
in saying they were told the rim couldn’t’ be straightened,
when the company should have said “We can’t straighten
it”, we’d all retire.
If the company can’t straighten aluminum, magnesium and
steel as well as large wheels (up to 24” at least) and center
bent wheels, don’t go there. In terms of the analogy, they
are the parts changers of the world and it’s not worth risking
your wheel or your life with the mediocre.
And yes, of course, we fit these dimensions or we wouldn’t
be here telling you the truth. It’s much wiser to work with
people who worship integrity, not money. |
