View Full Version : Halfords-BK wheels
Be careful if you buy alloys from halfords (if you are ever likely to!) someone I know bought a set of BK racing 5 spokes on saturday, had them fitted there and then by the Halfords 'mechnaics' and drove up to my mates workshop to show him...only three of the four wheels weren't round anymore! they had buckled out from the lip of the rim and had a kink as they rotated. There is no kerbing damage or any other sign of grazing on the wheels so I can only guess it must be a faulty batch made of a very soft alloy, Beware!
with the amount of mark up they put on there wheel/ tyre combo's i wouldn't touch em, i got a price for there 100+tornado's in 17 inch =nearly a grand,tried euro car parts and fast fwd both were 595 with the same tyres ,bought plug leads off them two were too short and the red i asked for was a quite girly pink.
there answer to the plug leads was to order some extra long ones that would probably become unplugged when i changed gear ,they were that long,use them with extreme caution:cheers:
cordobabrendy
12-02-2002, 19:41
halfords is the place where you go to get a feel of the goods, then go elsewhere to purchase!!! thats my experience speaking!!:devil:
Originally posted by cordobabrendy
halfords is the place where you go to get a feel of the goods, then go elsewhere to purchase!!! thats my experience speaking!!:devil:
What, bit like a nightclub and then brothel eh Brend?
cordobabrendy
12-02-2002, 22:30
gotta window shop before you make your purchase eh!! ;)
I have heard from someone that the quality of BK alloys are crap. Its something to do with how their cast e.g in sand and how old the metal is that they use.
This bloke is a boss at a tyre centre that also sells alloys & zorsts etc. He's seen a lot of people come in with BK's that have fractures.
I guess u gotta stay well clear of these!
hopkinsgm
13-02-2002, 20:06
It's a sad fact of life that if you want quality, you generally have to pay for it. BK wheels are cheaper than other brands for a reason - this could be down to any of the following:
a) cutting corners in the manufacturing process
b) use of lower quality materials
c) tighter profit margins
Or any combination of the above. I don't know enough about BK as a company to comment on how they make their savings, but it's a simple question of economics - to produce a product at a lower cost means making savings somewhere...
Bear in mind also that these days we seem to have deviated from the original point of fitting alloy wheels, which was to minimise unsprung weight and hence improve suspension performance. Apart from at the very top end of the market, no-one uses the lightweight (but expensive) magnesium alloys that made the minilite such a success. Take a trip to a tuning supermarket with a wide range of wheels and compare weights of brands such as BK against something like an OZ or Speedline - THAT'S what you pay extra for...
G
hopkinsgm
13-02-2002, 20:09
Forgot to mention - it's quite common for a 'road' alloy wheel to have a rollout of anything up to 3 degrees, and that's as manufactured, let alone after you've hit a few kerbs. These kind of manufacturing tolerances would not be acceptable in a 'race' wheel where the tolerance is likely to be 1 degree or less...
G
ibizacupra
13-02-2002, 20:48
Originally posted by hopkinsgm
Take a trip to a tuning supermarket with a wide range of wheels and compare weights of brands such as BK against something like an OZ or Speedline - THAT'S what you pay extra for...
G
My comment on this would be that Speedlines (road ones) are not a lightweight wheel either. They probably do a motorsport version of the styles which are mag based though at a price.
Mag wheels and the latest OZ's are light, but I have heard of the leggero(spelling) being very easily bent.. they are very light (1/2 weight of their std rim of same size)
Revolutions were also a light wheel.
Bill
hopkinsgm
13-02-2002, 20:52
Originally posted by ibizacupra
My comment on this would be that Speedlines (road ones) are not a lightweight wheel either. They probably do a motorsport version of the styles which are mag based though at a price.
Indeed they do make motorsport wheels which certainly ain't cheap - but that's not say that their road wheels are at the economy end of the market!
More sad facts of life - lighter weight USUALLY means more fragile. Isn't life full of compromises...
G
ibizacupra
13-02-2002, 21:14
Originally posted by hopkinsgm
Indeed they do make motorsport wheels which certainly ain't cheap - but that's not say that their road wheels are at the economy end of the market!
More sad facts of life - lighter weight USUALLY means more fragile. Isn't life full of compromises...
G
i would say except for Revolutions... Those things were amazingly strong..
Speedline are a good quality wheel but I was surprised personally that they were as heavy as some cheapo rims I run on.. So long as their round and stay round, I'm happy enough.:D
Bill
Steve3961
13-02-2002, 21:25
Does anyone have any experience with mag (the metal not brand) wheels?
Ive heard they are very light but crack with age very quickly, somthing like a 5000 mile life expectantcy?
Any info would be appreciated.
Originally posted by Steve3961
Does anyone have any experience with mag (the metal not brand) wheels?
Ive heard they are very light but crack with age very quickly, somthing like a 5000 mile life expectantcy?
Any info would be appreciated.
this is what i remeber from college,
magneseum alloy wheels widely used in rallying, single seater racing and touring cars are by far lighter than conventual alloy wheels.
but the life span is a limited one becuse they are more prone to fatigue and they are heat treated (anealled) after a certain amount of use to prolong the life of these wheels
dunno how accurate this is tho...
When I bought an Impreza Turbo back in '96, I ordered Gold Speedline Safari alloys as an option. The car arrived, but on std alloys. A guy from Prodrive rang to apologise for the non arrival of the option, as McRae and Co had all the stocks of them in Greece! I guess some manufacturers offer the same quality to us as they do to the "big boys".