Buckled Alloys / Wheels Advice

[PhilH]

Hi Guys,

 

A bit of advice please. I have 17 inch alloys on my Galaxy, I believe they came as part of the elegance pack when the original buyer purchased the car. I've suspected a buckled alloy for the past few months. I had damage to one alloy causing a slow leak repaired at the cost of 40 quid and it didn't fix it.

 

After an MOT yesterday, they confirmed that two of my wheels are buckled, both these tyres have symptoms of slow punctures. One of the buckles is at the front and causes pulling to that side and a bit of shaking through the steering wheel.

 

I'm now not really sure how to resolve the problem. I've read mixed things about having buckled alloys repaired. Plus, 17 inch tyres are expensive. The alloys look really nice, but at the end of the day, it's a family car that I want to drive well as opposed to look great. I'm tempted to check out ebay for some 16 inch steel wheels. What would you guys do? It's not urgent but I'd like a smoother driving car that doesn't pull. (I confirmed the pulling was the wheel by swapping left to right).

 

Can the galaxy take 15 inch wheels, or would that just look silly...?

Edited May 31, 2014 by PhilH

[xavier]

Do you have a "proper" spare or is it a space saver? That could save you 1 wheel. Try a scrap yard or ebay for the other. I've never had a buckled wheel repaired but I've had alloys blasted and refinished and was very happy with the results.

[PhilH]

Thanks for your reply Xavier. I have a full size 16 inch steel wheel as a spare yes. I'd still need a spare though. The other thing (trying to not distract from t he original question) is that I was told the two rear tyres are wearing in the centre, pointing to me over inflating. I understood from a post somewhere on here the 41 psi all round was correct for 17 inch tires on the galaxy. I can't get any official ratings from ford. Which is another reason for me wanting to drop down to 16 inch which seem to be "supported" and I can get some figures on them.

[PhilH]

Or maybe even 15 inch which are cheaper tyres still...

[insanitybeard]

I just got a replacement 16 inch refurbished alloy from px wheels for my Galaxy (the old one was cracked- a previous 'repairer' had tried to straighten a buckle with a big hammer, and needless to say, cracked the wheel but refitted it to the car anyway), I have to say the powder coat paint finish they used is very impressive, and much more durable than the original machined/ lacquered finish which flakes and looks horrible with age. They sell complete sets of exchange wheels for the Galaxy- see here, but that depends on whether they have the same style as your wheels listed as you have to exchange like for like- and serious damage of your old wheels may make them ineligible for exchange, you'd have to check. They also offer repairs and refurbishment of your existing wheels. If you don't want to keep your existing rim size/ style you could get a secondhand set of tatty but sound original Ford fitment 16" rims and get them refurbished, costs about

Edited May 31, 2014 by insanitybeard

[sparky Paul]

If you have 300mm front discs, make sure that you buy 16" rims that were intended for cars with them.

 

The mark 1 wheels, including 15" steels, and also the 16" Zetec 10-arch alloys which were also fitted to some early mark 2 cars, foul the calipers of later cars with 300mm discs.