knightindustries2000

I was chillin on 24 East via Chattanooga in heavy traffic going 55mph while suddenly crumpled piece of paper appears out of nowhere.
I leaned to right of my lane as much as I could not to crash, hoping it will pass under.
Drove right through it.
It was a white rock.

There were no visible marks of anything happening on tire itself, however this happened to the rim:
and only found this, because it had a clicking sound and someone on the forum wrote it could be unglued weight, so I checked inside of the rim.
Clicking sound was that bump touching caliper.






besides that no visible damage to the wheel structure, looks round as it gets, it was vibrating though


Wheel was vibrating pretty much at 43mph up. Would you throw it out or give to somebody to repair?
I am pretty sure this is not my last wrecked wheel living in Nashville, may be useful to have backups.

aklim

Are those the rims that are easily bent or broken? If so, just toss them and get forged ones.

Avanti

Once again... get quality fully-forged aftermarket wheels, considering such just part of the price of admission. Use the other OEMs for coffee and/or end-table stands as others have done here, or sell the remaining good ones (if such still exists; often they too are found to have lesser bends), and drive on.

Bill Dearborn

I would take it to Discount Tire and ask them to have the mobile wheel repair shop that visits their location look at it to see if it is salvageable. $150-$200 to repair the wheel may be worth it although you should also talk to House of Wheels (forum sponsor) to see how much they would charge for a new OEM wheel.

The stock wheels aren't so bad that they automatically need to be replaced by forged wheels. From the pictures, it looks like whatever you hit may have damaged a forged wheel as well. Remember forged wheels may not be damaged as easily as cast wheels but they can still be bent and cracked when encountering road hazards.

Bill

Vetteman Jack

I agree with Bill - have a repair vendor take a look at the wheel and then decide if it is worth the repair. I think I would still get a new wheel and keep the currently bent one as a backup. Better action would be getting a set of forged wheels of finances allow.

CPB

https://www.awrswheelrepair.com/

They likely have someone nearby, this is basically a franchise.

76-Vetteman

So if the wheel can be made round again, does this mean it is as strong as it was when manufactured? I'm not sure one could say, 'Yes, it is as strong'.

I'd get rid of it. This could be the time to reshape the personality with a new design forged wheel set.

aklim

Was it that strong to begin with?

LS1AB

I had a bent (forged Z51)wheel that I only noticed after I took wheels off for a good cleaning. I found a reputable shop to do the repair. I was told before hand that it may crack, and it did. It is only about a half inch from the outer edge of the inside of the wheel. It still holds air and runs fine. Where your bend is would probably be more of an issue. I didn’t get a picture after the repair, but this is the before.

FireRoc

I’ve used Alloy Wheel Repair in the past for wheel repairs (4+ times) on my C6, with good results.

Aonarch

That big a bend will have weakened the metal.

Fixing a bent lip, or bent bead is fine, but that is a massive bend. Makes me think those wheels are no good.

I'd say the wheel is compromised and would throw it out.

Sleazy Rider

or recycle it.

aklim

Probably more trouble than you can get out of the scrapyard

redman76

In Nashville, I'd recommend Hubcap Heaven and Wheels near downtown on Murfreesboro Pike. I had a couple of forged wheels that they straighten for me. Yours look pretty bent though. May be worth a shot.

Are those GS wheels? They have issues with cracking/bending. If they can't repair yours, I have a stock black GS wheel that is repairable that I'll give you if you want to repair that one. I live in the Nashville area. I had both rear wheels crack so replaced with monoblocks.

aklim

IF they are the wheels that are weak to begin with, even if you repair it, it probably won't be any stronger. So you are throwing good money after bad by fixing a problem child. What happens when the next one comes along? Spend more money to fix it? Why?

redman76

You're correct. That's why I replaced mine even though they would have been covered under extended warranty. I'm just offering the OP a low cost option that would only cost them about $125 and buy them some time. It's their decision.

aklim

Good point. I suppose it's useful if you want the car rod look original but I would not dare to drive it. But for show purposes, it's OK.

MY04CE

I bought the Tire & Wheel warranty when I purchased my 2019 GS because of all the issues with the GS and Z06 wheels. Each year during the annual service, one or more wheels were found bent. The warranty covered the repairs. At the four year point, and 38K miles, both rears cracked and were replaced with new OEM GS wheels. At 40K miles I gave up on the OEM wheels and ordered Forgeline VX1S wheels. No more issues or worries.

In answer to the original question, if you plan to keep your C7 GS for a long time, I highly recommend you scrap the OEM wheels and purchase a set of fully forged wheels (Wheel Designers for OEM style), or at least a set of quality rotary forged (Forgeline) wheels for safety and peace-of-mind. If you plan to sell your GS near term, find a replacement OEM wheel and drive on. Good luck.

knightindustries2000

A lot of people on the forum are advocating forged wheels, but I don't know. This is Nashville. I don't know if you seen the typical chill drive on I-40:
I want to be able to fix broken wheel within a week max. With forged ones you can rarely order them that fast, not to mention single one.

Thanks. I used a backup wheel this time. Had one that was replaced incorrectly on the front, as rear was causing the vibrations.

I tried calling few places. The fix cost was something like 300$+. At the time I needed rear wheel, so I just got new Factory Reproductions FR 25 for similar price that I would pay for fixing.
They are not selling them anymore for some reason, so I will revisit that idea. I'm a little scared to drive on fixed wheel though.
I have air leak on rear passenger now, single crack on inner rim (drops like 2 PSI per day).

449er

I wouldn't trust that wheel anymore, go get a replacement