I know the RPF-01 is a very popular rim around here so I thought maybe someone could help me out. Recently I hit a huge pothole and bent my rim. Drives perfectly fine, feels fine, but when driving it is incredibly wobbly- visually. Rim looks perfectly fine at a standstill, no dents, it's just not straight. I also know it is my rim because I have swapped it to a different location and it wobbled there.

That being said, what should I do? Are these rims repairable? Or will it weaken my rim? Basically if it were your car, repair or replace?

Repair- guessing around $100-$150
Replace- $250

 

I would replace and not bother with fixing since they are so cheap.

 

So there is no visable damage? I would take it to a tire shop and have them try and balance it. It is possible you just lost a wheel weight or something. If it is bent it really depends on how it is bent in terms of fixing it. If there isn't a visable bend it probably means the rim is no longer true and I am not sure they can fix that. Getting a replacement should be pretty easy since it is an incredibly common rim. Take it to a wheel and tire shop and go from there.

 

How much for a newer one?

 

They can fix it. Save yourself some money.

 

If the wheel is warped in the barrel, it's probably fixable. If it's in the face as well, don't bother.

To fix it, they'll heat it up (the heat will hurt the metal) and use rollers to shape it back to a circle.

RPF1's are relatively cheap which is why most track guys go with this wheel. Light, strong, cheap. If you damage one, just replace it. I can't say to do this with say... HRE's since they're +1k each... If that was the case, I'd pray it's fixable. lol

 

It drives me nuts when people call rpf-1s strong. They're not. I went to a track event where 4 separate guys bent at least one of their 17x9 +45 rpf-1s.

cheap and lightweight yes. Strong? No.

Anyway, to the op. Track guys consider rpf-1s disposable and treat them as such. Replace, not repair, maybe if street use only then repair if cost is under 100.

BTW, if it was an HRE or Volk, it probably would have never been bent in the first place.

 

replace them

 

They're strong. Any wheel can bend, don't let anyone tell you they won't. People think expensive wheels are indestructible for whatever reason...

 

completly not true. I have hre and my very first set of 20" hres i had on my TL did bent due to a pot hole on a la freeway. Not saying it is weak by any means but they can be bent, just take a stronger hit i pressume. $100 dollar later it was fixed with a free repolish of the lip and it look like nothing ever happened compared to 1200 for one brand new one and a wait time of 5 weeks.(BTW I have a set of hre for sale if anyone is interested 17x9 +55 18x10 +44)

replace wheels since they are dozen of them and enkei produce them like no tomorrow. HRE on the other hand are built to order so you will be waiting quite a bit and put a pretty penny if you were to replace one.


I personally would vote for replacing the wheel for 250. for 250 you know you have a brand new wheel that is straight and true. plus no curb rash or any of those other stuff you have on your current wheels. you can even sell your bent rpf1 to someone to recoupe a little of the price back maybe $50.00 or more!