225 an 255 Michel Pilot Super Sports - Ready to order...

Oh dear... that's not gone well...

So Rob from event tyres arrives, I have a chat, and leave him to it. He tells me 40 minutes and I'm surprised to hear a knock at the door just 10 minutes later. The guy takes me to the van to show me the first/front wheel on the machine, with a nasty scrape in the lip which has removed the laquer and damaged the metal.. asking me 'I can't be sure if I've done this or not but I don't remember seeing it on the machine earlier' I said 'I'm fairly particular and while I can't be 100% I'm fairly sure there's only one wheel, a rear, with a slight nick that I put in it'. The tyre guy was gutted, he was really upset with himself. No point making a massive deal about a damaged £650 wheel, lol, so I just asked their HO guy to call me so we could work out the next best step. He stopped working at this point as he was worried he might damage the others and has gone now to get another van with newer kit in the hope it won't happen on the rest.

They want to take that wheel away for refurb, so I'll be running on one 296 and three 313s lol. I've not decided but I think I might just do a cosmetic repair and lacquer myself as its inevitable the whole set at some point, given they're diamond cut, will need doing. My worry getting only this one done, or this and the other I nicked done is that they might come back from refurb a slightly different colour (the 313's are two tone inner & diamond cut) hence I didn't get my original one that I nicked sorted, waiting to get the whole set done at some point.

What would you do, get the one done by them and run on the 296, or strike a deal to get the rear I nicked and the front they nicked done, or as its only about 8mm square damage, just do a cosmetic touch up to stop it corroding and get a discount on the order. I'm leaning to the latter so I can get the whole lot redone in a year or two. Actually felt sorry for the tyre guy, he was genuinely shaking he was so annoyed with himself. Could have been a faulty machine at the end of the day. I'm not kicking up a fuss so long as its sorted some way or another.
 
Bad luck, I feel for you! :thumbsdown: Nothing ever goes smoothly does it...

If its a front and a rear that need doing, as long as they are on the same side, a slight variation in colour to the originals wouldn't be an issue would it?
 
Z4_Gaz said:
Bad luck, I feel for you! :thumbsdown: Nothing ever goes smoothly does it...

If its a front and a rear that need doing, as long as they are on the same side, a slight variation in colour to the originals wouldn't be an issue would it?
Click to expand...

True and I had considered that, but tbh if I sold the wheels at any point, say I sold the car, then I'd have two with a possibly slightly different finish, hence thinking, well its inevitable I'll nick another at some point so just get them all done in a year or two to keep them all the same and looking nice.

TBH the damage they did is so minor its hardly worth refurbing them for it. I did more damage just parking the car when I nicked the back wheel.
 
This is it. I could finely sand this down to remove the darker material and just lacquer over it for now. Lets see what Event Tyres HQ say.

Up close;
10082957335_6da45b1f75_c.jpg
Full wheel (damage is 1 o clock)
10083037146_ab49a90e27_c.jpg
Half wheel shot (damage at 1 o clock)
10083093283_3533eaa016_c.jpg
 
How about cleaning out the dirt with some IPA and layering clear laquer to make if flush?

A decent refurb is likely to cost 100.00+ and the mark-up is huge on car tyres, so a discount of £200.00 seems reasonable?
 
Bummer.

I do lots of my own tyres at home and it's always a risk that you get the arm too low or a lever slips off the arm and down onto the alloy rim when you're lifting the tyre over onto the arm. Usually they have really good rigid mounts/supports for all this on any half decent modern machine so I'm surprised he managed to damage it.

It's hard to tell from the photo but that doesn't really look like a lever mark or a mark from the main arm that sweeps around as the wheel turns... given the guy was honest enough to say he thinks he did it then he probably did do, but I wonder what he did to do it!? Got the tyre off, was lifting up the rim and chinked a corner on something in the back of his small van? Probably more likely these days than damage on the machine...?!




Given my experience with clear over polished I'd say any recondition by random company XYZ will just be a waste of money and fail shortly after. Given it's just happened and is 'clean' I'd sand it back and repair it yourself with good materials... then when the expected bubbling around generally arrives, get them re-done properly.

Doing sides is ok but if you ever need to run a wheel from one side at the other it'll become instantly noticeable and you'll regret it. I had it once and had to sell the wheels as individual spares and get a proper all matching set hehe.


In the end at least all your wheels are still round, still look good, and you're getting great tyres on there. Lacquer over polished WILL fail eventually so in the long run I'd not worry too much. Just try get £50 off and repair yourself :D


Dave
 
Oh dear! That is unlucky. I agree with Dave that a quick refurb is probably not worth the time and hassle.

I'd ask them to discount their price and get the other wheels done with the newer machine. Then stick the money in the bank for a full refurb at a later date. It would also be worth asking the chap to put the damaged rim on the balancer and just show you that it is still true for your own peace of mind. I think that he would be happy to do that, based on what you have said about his attitude.

Pretty sure this will all be worth it - Bridgestone runflats are horrendous. :)
 
Fitter is back and on with the other 3 wheels now. Spoken with his manager, £50 off or a refurb is all they're offering.. After a bit of argument, no further than that. So I've taken the £50 on the proviso that when I come to get the wheels re done down the road, all are done for me at trade prices. Best I could wangle. Not hugely impressed. 'More than £50 will put the job into serious red mate' 'er, yes but I wouldn't be in this position if you didn't damage an expensive alloy' ... 'silence...'

I felt positive earlier and I no longer do.. I've dug out the lacquer, I'll wet sand it later and lacquer it up, should be able to get it 80% judging by the nicks I repaired on the rear. Lets hope the tyres can lift my rather dampened spirits.
 
Just had my first local and motorway run on the PSS

I can't say they're night and day over the Pirelli p zeros but they are a lot quieter, the ride is much improved, all the high pitched vibration from the road surface is gone through the steering and seats plus bumps are now a thump rather than a bang.

I'm not sure if that odd oscillation at 25mph is gone yet, I can't be sure. If it's still there then maybe the indy was right and I've damaged a bearing/hub. Something to look at next year now as I've had enough of spending. At least I feel less fearful of wheel damage and the ride is more comfy.

They need time to bed in now.. A good excuse to have fun with them this weekend!!

Stay tuned for some P Zeros part worn for sale.
 
Just seen thus thread Maniac and sorry to hear your tale of woe.
If it's any consolation my four PSSs set me back £871 at my local fitters - but they didn't scratch any.
They did once though but readily paid out for a full refurb.
I now only let one of the lads do any work on my cars ;)
 
Me too but I'm fancying the puncture seal stuff that just sits dormant in the tyres.
I've made enquiries but not yet had a reply. I'll let folks know the outcome in due course :)
 
Ok so today is the first day where I've driven my car in my normal routes to go shopping etc

For anyone that thinks the grip on their car isn't quite what it should be or the handling is fidgety or understeery or the ride is harsh or any other failing related to ride comfort or handling.. Get over your concerns about changing from run flats because these PSS left me giggling like a schoolgirl today and assuaged any doubts about keeping the car.. They're that good.
 
Titan said:
Me too but I'm fancying the puncture seal stuff that just sits dormant in the tyres.
I've made enquiries but not yet had a reply. I'll let folks know the outcome in due course :)
Click to expand...

Would be interested to know Terry as I always thought puncturesafe wasn't successful with low profile tyres?

Tim.
 
Maniac said:
Ok so today is the first day where I've driven my car in my normal routes to go shopping etc

For anyone that thinks the grip on their car isn't quite what it should be or the handling is fidgety or understeery or the ride is harsh or any other failing related to ride comfort or handling.. Get over your concerns about changing from run flats because these PSS left me giggling like a schoolgirl today and assuaged any doubts about keeping the car.. They're that good.
Click to expand...

Awesome result. :thumbsup:
 
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