Corrosion/Oxidisation - Alloys

PoloGTi · Post by **PoloGTi** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:39 am

Has anybody else experienced some kind of corrosion/oxidisation on the outer rim of their GTi BBS alloys?

When I was looking at a few cars for sale, I came across one with bad corrosion/oxidisation on one of the wheels and now it has started to appear on my wheels

Is it just me?

If anybody has, how do you get rid of it? - Costs?

Cheers

KarlM · Post by **KarlM** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:34 pm

It happens when road salt and other rubbish gets in the gaps of your wheels, one of the draw backs of split rims.

you can get the wheels refurbished, but i'm not sure how much this would cost

Blk6N · Post by **Blk6N** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:39 pm

I know 2 people who have these cars. My mother (LOL) & a guy I work with. Both are silvers cars and are around 2000 reg year. Andy bought his car as an ex-demo model when it was 6 months old. He is very fussy (almost as much as me) about the appearance of his car and tried to keep these wheels looking like new. Despite all of his efforts the outer lips still got "white spiders" underneath them and 1 wheel started to bubble around the bolts.
My mothers wheels - don't even ask! LOL

If you are brave you could attempt to do this yourself. Andy has upgraded his wheels to 16" versions (the ones found on Avantgarde Golf Cabrio IIRC). These were refurbed before he bought them and they look great! The outer lips are unlacquered and very shiny. I believe they were wetsanded with very fine paper then buffed up with Autosol

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 12:51 pm

I think that's exactly the problem;

They're polished (somewhat) and then laquered. If there's no laquer, there's no white spiders and cracking of the finish.

The R10s I have are prone to this problem too, as are loads of other similar finished wheels.

Bummer.

MYpoloGti · Post by **MYpoloGti** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 5:57 pm

i had that problem on all 4 of my bbs rims , why i got a som new ones

live2themaxuk · Post by **live2themaxuk** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 6:17 pm

Yeah i had same problem, complained to dealer. 4 new ones under warrenty

i suggest u do the same. VVVVV common problem

Post by **Josh_PoloGTi** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:06 pm

I have had 2 replaced under warranty for this problem.

Unfortunately my warranty has now run out, that's why I'm desperate to swap my wheels before they start "gritting" (salting) the roads.

PoloGTi · Post by **PoloGTi** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 11:42 pm

Unfortunately warrenty ran out in July, I'll just have to try and keep them clean and eventually get them refurbished!

DOH!

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Oct 15, 2003 8:52 am

when i went to see my gti for the first time, there was oxidization on all 4 alloys, the salesman told me that it was due to the previous owner using an acid based cleaner to clean them with (i got them replaced however). Don't know what products you have been using to clean them with, but could that be the problem?

live2themaxuk · Post by **live2themaxuk** » Wed Oct 15, 2003 5:33 pm

*cough* bol-locks *cough*

Blk6N · Post by **Blk6N** » Wed Oct 15, 2003 5:43 pm

EDIT: My Bad

What happens to the wheels the dealers take back

KarlM · Post by **KarlM** » Wed Oct 15, 2003 7:40 pm

I think he means the acid based cleaner was responsibe for corroding his alloys

simrich · Post by **simrich** » Tue Oct 28, 2003 11:37 pm

Josh and all,

I am a little concerned about the corrosion of my BBS alloys over the winter months too. All 4 were refurbished when purchased car but 1 had started to bubble slightly on a spoke (was like this when purchased car so let salesman know that i may be pestering him soon!) and one has just started to show peeling on the outer rim (only had car 3/4 months!). What with all the salt, etc. on the roads now, i am a bit concerned this will get worse. Car is still under the 1 year used car warranty they offer so am i able to get the affected alloys replaced/refurbished under this? I know you guys have had yours replaced, was this straight forward to sort out with them?

Cheers,
Simon

Speedlaw · Post by **Speedlaw** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 11:00 am

Keeping them on in wintertime is a sure enough way to let them corrode. Even if you intend on getting them refurb'd (again?) then you might as well get some winter wheels in the meantime. My wheels started to peel slightly too, and I have no garantee (sp?) at all - so they're off for the season.

blackgti · Post by **blackgti** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 11:45 am

Hey all,

I've got the same problem too. All four alloys are corroding and I can't get it replaced under my warrenty as the previous owner couldn't drive.

But I have phoned around and Wicked Wheels Say they can't refurbish them, and another company said it would cost Â£60 per wheel and an extra Â£15 pounds if there split rims.

Oh well

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Corrosion/Oxidisation - Alloys

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