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Next week we will be leaving on a 2 week/3k mile road trip out west.
The other couple we are traveling with has a 2017 GS with the factory wheels. They have already replaced two wheels in about 30k miles, so they know the problems but really like the looks of those factory wheels. In one case, they experienced a slow leak (crack) on a trip and were able to drive several days (~500 miles) by airing up the tire each morning and keeping an eye on the pressures while driving. He has said that if they get a third crack, they'll go with forged replacements.
But what happens if a wheel becomes undriveable on the trip and he needs a replacement? Runflat tires and Slime will keep you going for a while but are only a "drive it someplace to get it fixed" system.
You can usually get a new GM wheel in a day or two, but that's throwing good money after bad.
Various wheel dealers, Discount Tires, etc; can supply aftermarket wheels, but how quick and how good?
Suggestions?
This isn't really my problem, but these are good friends and we don't want to leave them sitting in Baked Hubcap, Nebraska waiting for a wheel while we have fun out west...
"Next week..." I think it's too late to take foolproof preventative measures. Even if your friend could get one of both wheel sizes, will he have extra room to toss them in the back to drag around with him on the trip... just in case? It doesn't help, I know, but the time he should have gotten forged wheels was when he had trouble with the OEMs to begin with. I wish him the best.
A couple years ago a friend and I nursed his cracked wheel for a week or more going from one crack to five cracks by the time we were able to get a new wheel (from House of Wheels - painted rather than inset red stripe). Factory wheels were in very short supply. Towards the end we'd inflate the tire to 50 lbs and have to re-inflate about every two hours. Not fun.
I wouldn't go to far when knowing I had troublesome wheels on my 84k automobile.No matter how hard I tried to not damage them..SURPRISE,SURPRISE
I can be a smart *** and make a suggestion
Or reschedule your trip after installing the best looking and strongest alloy Forgeline wheels.Everything else is just getting buy and hoping for no problems
Being dun with the wheel BS is expensive and worth a safer trip.
Till the next crater you missed
^^^^^^
Good suggestion, almost any problem can be solved by photoshop!
Bringing any kind of spare won't work, the only solution if needed will be to order a wheel or whole set of wheels, from someone who can deliver in a hurry.
Fingers crossed...
Last edited by Gearhead Jim; 05-07-2022 at 11:39 AM.
All I can say is you don't want to be waiting around getting a wheel shipped to you while on vacation. I had that happen to me twice, and fortunately each time they were overnighted to me at my stranded location. Here is the kicker. Both times were on the same trip! Thank you GM.
Man, if I had to worry about whether or not my car would make it across a desert, there would be NO WAY I would take it. Sure wheels (rarely) bend but tires get flat, radiator hoses burst, cars overheat, way, way more. Stuff happens. Still worried? Sure forged wheels are expensive, but they're way cheaper than peace of mind. I've taken my Corvettes, OEM wheels, everywhere. No bent wheels. Ever.
We're home from the trip, so the wheel problem is something they can deal with some day in the future.
3,376 miles
24.7 MPG average
53 mph average
Burned 1/3 qt oil by lots of low gear time in the mountain twisties
Thanks for the suggestions.
BTW, a tip that I suggested to them and have used myself even with no wheel problems:
After starting up each morning, scroll through the dash readings and compare the tire pressures. If the car hasn't been driven and sunlight hasn't heated the tires yet, all four pressures should be within 1 psi of each other. Any greater difference means you should check for some kind of slow leak- nail, cracked wheel, etc. The TPMS won't give you a warning until down to about 25 psi, finding the problem at your hotel is much better than getting the Low Pressure warning in the middle of nowhere.
05-06-2022, 03:09 PM
Find A GS Wheel Quickly?
I think it's too late to take foolproof preventative measures. Even if your friend could get one of both wheel sizes, will he have extra room to toss them in the back to drag around with him on the trip... just in case? It doesn't help, I know, but the time he should have gotten forged wheels was when he had trouble with the OEMs to begin with. I wish him the best. 
