Wheel House Alloys - Bend Straightening

At Wheelhouse alloys in Ipswich we have a wheel straightening machine.

Strictly speaking we do no straighten them, we re-bend / reshape them to remove flat spots or high spots!

A bent wheel is placed on the hub of the machine and spun up. Using a probe we can assess where the bends are and mark these areas. The wheel is then heated and a hydraulic ram used to re-shape the wheel. With severely bent wheels there is a small risk that they could crack during this process and may require welding if safe to do so.

Signs that you have a bent wheel may be a vibration in your steering wheel, your vehicle pulling to one side, uneven tyre wearr, poorly balanced wheels, or a slow puncture. Alot of bent wheels are referred to us either when new tyres are fitted or after an MOT. You do not need to fully refurbish the wheel if you have a bend repair although alot of people choose to because the paint finish will be damaged by the process ( heat and hydraulic ram ). In fact most of the bent wheels we straigten are identified during the refurbishment process and customers choose to take advantage of the reduced cost to straighten them during refurbishment.

We also see alot of bent wheels in conjunction with cracks. We repair the bend first before assessing the crack for welding. Some bent / cracked wheels are not safe to repair and will unfortunatley be a right off for safety reasons. Occasionally we will be able to repair a bent diamond cut wheel so that it can spin true on a lathe and be re-cut.

Pothole damage is one of the major causes of bent wheels and many car owners are unaware that it is possible to repair a bent or buckled wheel. We understand the inconvenience of this unexpected damage but we are able to repair bent wheels within 24 hours and in most cases we can keep your car on the road with a loan runner wheel while we repair your wheel.