What makes 108s deteriorate so badly?

[Magicarcher]

I have 108s on my E85 that need refurbishing. I really like the style of 108's but so often they appear to go really shabby. My car hasn't had a particularly harsh life, it has done 40k. In the four years I have owned it, I have garaged it as soon as the gritters appear. The owner before had it for 9 years and only did 8k. The rest of the time it was garaged.

I don't mind paying to get them refurbished but would be gutted if within a few years they had deteriorated again. I fear that may be the case.

My question is why do they deteriorate so bad compared to other alloys and can anything be done to delay the onset of deterioration if I have them refurbished?

 

[MKZ4000]

I think the general consensus is the bolts crack the paint when torqued up. They need to be removed for splitting prior to a refurb

As such water gets in this area and corrodes away.

You could try some sealant to prevent it before putting the bolts back in

 

[srhutch]

Many variables, kerbing, washing/cleaning products, road salt, stone chips.

I had two sets replaced one under warranty and one under goodwill. My corrosion wasn’t visible unless you took the wheel off. It had just started where the barrel met the spokes. The last set I sealed this area with silicone, no idea.how long that last east though as I sold the car, although that was probably a year later. So two replacement sets of wheels from bmw in under 4 years.

 

[Floydroid]

My 108's are starting to go around the bolt holes mainly on the rear wheels for some reason. They had been refurbished before I bough the car in 2017, in part due to a slow puncture, which turned out to be wheel corrosion. I bought the car in 2018 and while the wheels were pretty good, they weren't perfect.

4 years later and I have a slow 'puncture' on a rear tyre, which I've already tried to fix a few months ago... The rear wheels are now starting to look shabby but the fronts are fairing much better.

I'm thinking of getting them refurbished again and putting some 'caravan' sealant around the bolts to stop the water getting in - this sealant doesn't cure as such and remains somewhat 'wet' and pliable. Is there a special seal between the two parts of the wheel? Is there any Loctite on the bolts or are they just torqued up?

 

[brillomaster]

i do wonder if perhaps the 'wrong' way to refurb 108s might actually be the way to go? ie separate the face from rim, strip them down, but then rather than refurb them as separate pieces and then bolt them together afterwards, you might be better off bolting them together and torque-ing them up, and then refurb them over the top of the bolts?

 

[domsz4]

in answer to your question:

108s are the work of the devil, its written in scripture..

Corinthians 11:3
"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the wheel serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to pristine rims.

 

[groovy_hippy]

in answer to your question:

108s are the work of the devil, its written in scripture..

Corinthians 11:3
"But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the wheel serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to pristine rims.

Ha! I’m sure the same is true for any split rim. Our old 996 had them, and exactly the same happened to them too!

 

[craig3.2]

As said,its a lot of split rims this happens to.
One of my mates used to have early Pirsche Boxsters, that were only around 2 yeaold at the time, by the time he sold them 2 or 3 years later,they were only 4 to 5 years old,and the split rims on those looked badly pitted.

Mine on my first z4 needed refurbished just once,in 5 years of ownership, and still looked good when I sold the car,at 7 years old.

 

[GAZA62]

As above its a curse of any split rim but with a good quality refurb can look superb again i had mine done in 2015 and apart from some areas of the powdercoat starting to go on the inside of the rim and a few stone chips on the centre star they still look as good as the pics below the outer diamond cut lip is still spotless so if they only lasted another few years thats less than £100 a year to have the best looking rims on an E85 that money can buy.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gaza62/albums/72157628883260773

 

[domsz4]

see told you work of the devil.

i'd love to know how to get powder coat off at home. tried some of the old wives tales of high dichloromethane paint stripper but it seemed to do naff all.

 

[Smartbear]

i do wonder if perhaps the 'wrong' way to refurb 108s might actually be the way to go? ie separate the face from rim, strip them down, but then rather than refurb them as separate pieces and then bolt them together afterwards, you might be better off bolting them together and torque-ing them up, and then refurb them over the top of the bolts?

That wouldn’t work very well, the powder coating wouldn’t get into the furthest reaches of the assembled wheel & corrosion would start quickly
Rob

 

[Smartbear]

see told you work of the devil.

i'd love to know how to get powder coat off at home. tried some of the old wives tales of high dichloromethane paint stripper but it seemed to do naff all.

I worked at several powder coating places in the late 80’s, we used to dip the jigs into liquid paint stripper to remove the powder coat. I can’t remember what it was but you definitely couldn’t buy it in a diy shop even back then, it used to make your eyes water and you choked if you breathed it in. I’ve had stronger cups of tea than paint stripper you can get these days! :roll:
Rob

 

[domsz4]

see told you work of the devil.

i'd love to know how to get powder coat off at home. tried some of the old wives tales of high dichloromethane paint stripper but it seemed to do naff all.

I worked at several powder coating places in the late 80’s, we used to dip the jigs into liquid paint stripper to remove the powder coat. I can’t remember what it was but you definitely couldn’t buy it in a diy shop even back then, it used to make your eyes water and you choked if you breathed it in. I’ve had stronger cups of tea than paint stripper you can get these days! :roll:
Rob

Ah the good old days of heady solvent based chemicals ...

 

[Jamie2.5]

Just bought my E85 and they had never had the wheels refurbed they were a right mess as pictured I’m really happy with the new look and wheel just make sure to apply wheel sealant etc to see if it keeps them looking good

 

[dhobbs]

Just bought my E85 and they had never had the wheels refurbed they were a right mess as pictured I’m really happy with the new look and wheel just make sure to apply wheel sealant etc to see if it keeps them looking good

That's a great colour combo on those 108s

 

[Jamie2.5]

Just bought my E85 and they had never had the wheels refurbed they were a right mess as pictured I’m really happy with the new look and wheel just make sure to apply wheel sealant etc to see if it keeps them looking good

That's a great colour combo on those 108s

Thanks buddy

 

[Magicarcher]

I think the general consensus is the bolts crack the paint when torqued up. They need to be removed for splitting prior to a refurb

As such water gets in this area and corrodes away.

You could try some sealant to prevent it before putting the bolts back in

It certainly sound plausible and I imaging moisture wicks down the cracks where the spokes meet the rim. To try and reduce this happening on rebuild I did tywo things: liberally coated mating surfaces with Bilt Hamber Dynax UB which is an anticorrosion wax which sets quite firm. Found some 0.1mm thick stainless 7mm shim washers and put these under the heads of the bolts, the theory being that the bolt head wont be twisting on the surface of the "paint" and hence is hopefully less likely to crack it. I guess only time will tell!

 

[sticky]

Split Rims ,,,,, separate parts,,,,, bolts, more holes, ,,,, moisture will always find a way in,,,,, like everything else just a question of time. Unless you you weld the whole lot as a solid and do a 2 tone paint job,,,,,,,