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Hi all,
When I resored my Cutlass back in 2005 I installed a set of 14X7 SSII's on the car. I always had a slight vibration in the car but assumed it was the suspension and never really thought much about it. Fast forward to 2019 and I decided to purchase 5 14X7 SSI rims from Wheel Vintique to bring it back to the look when my Dad owned the car, ( I still have the originals from my Dad owned it ). Big mistake only a year after I put them on the car and about 750 miles on them,these pieces of crap rims started loosing the black paint and the chrome started pitting. I contacted Summit Racing where I bought them, They wouldn't back the product, Then Coker who now own Wheels Vintique and the same responce. Ok enough of my rant. So Off they came and back on with the SSII's. This week in prep for my trip to Maine I took them in for re balancing due to washboard vibration in the front Driver's side. The front rims balanced out ( Non Static Balance ) with Lead MC weights outside back of rims and stick weights inner rim they balanced out. But rear passenger rim called for 8 oz. of inner rim weight. Not good. so I swapped the spare tire also SSII rim which requeired less weight but still high weight wise. On the balancer The rear Pass and spare did not track visually as perfectly round.
So now the bad rims are on the rear Pass and spare agin. After this long winded explanation my question is. Is it possible the have these steel rims retrued to perfectly round? Or is there a company out there that sells the old JJ 14X7 style rim, beside Wheel Vintique / Coker that sell good reproductions. I don't want to buy used ones again 50/50 chance I could get rims with the same issue. Or is there anyone trustworthy here that sells good original rims that would stand behind the trueness of the rims? Pictyres are for reference.
Car just after coming down from Maine.
SSII Rims added during Restoration and back on the car now.
Coker SSI rims just after install fall of 2020
Coker Crap Rims Spring of 2021 after low pressure garden hose rinse. Prepping for first show of the season, and only mild soap and water were ever used on these rims.
Oh and aftermarket center caps also started pitting. Installed the same time as the rims. Quality is no where what it used to be !
There is a possibility the out of round wheels can be straightened. Years ago a coworker put his SHO into a curb and bent a wheel. He found a place in Houston that was able to straighten it.
How do you know it's not the tires? We're they stored flat or standing up? I agree that the Wheel Vintiques are junk, but Nev-r-dull will remove most of the rust. Then, they need a good wax, too.
The SSII wheels need to be balanced with a lug centric adapter on the spin balance machine. They may not balance properly using cones on the machine because the wheels don't have a center register as most factory wheels do. (hub centric) Maybe Joe will pipe up about this, I learned this from him.
The SSII wheels need to be balanced with a lug centric adapter on the spin balance machine. They may not balance properly using cones on the machine because the wheels don't have a center register as most factory wheels do. (hub centric) Maybe Joe will pipe up about this, I learned this from him.
Forget, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. The coker/wheel vintiques rims are really the cheesiest. The entire quality blanket is hit or miss. Some have better luck than others on the finish, as well as the straightness. One of the shittiest vendor products out there. It looks pretty good right out of the box, but I've had balancing issues with many, as well as chrome staying on the rims. I have had luck with a handful, though, although they're super-easy to spot as aftermarkets because they have no idea what they're doing as far as factory backspacing.
If you have a set of OEM rims, get those repaired/refinished as needed. It may be a bit pricey, but then you won't have to deal with all the headaches later. Pay once, cry once.
I have had balance issues with my SS1, and SSII and other non Olds/ newer cars over the years with new tire installs .If the place has other locations, I just go there and most times I get a good balance the second time. I had an issue with the tires installed on my SS1s last summer. The tech installed weights on the back side only to avoid the appearance of the weights on the face so balance was comprimised no idea why they did this..Once I had them relanced and weights installed where rebalanced it rod much better. I just take thme back untill they are correct..
September 7th, 2022, 10:01 PM
