(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4316213233_ccf1fa7cbc_o.jpg)
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2722/4316240585_20280ff2ed_o.jpg)
Finally got round to taking a few pics of my S3 refurbed wheels.
Got all 5 done,new mazda centre caps & Yokohama 205/60 R14 tyres.
Got valves done in stainless.
Any dinks were filled with new alloy & ground flush,corrossion ground out,faces diamond cut & polished,inserts sprayed silver & finished with a clear coat lacquer.
They look brand new,well pleased with the result.
Done by Wicked Wheels in Byfleet,surrey.
New mazda centre caps are still available if yours are manky, part nos
H11537192 @ £15.27 inc vat each.
Ta Stu;)
your pics done work :wiggle:wiggle
No pics buddy!!
How weirds that,the pics were on the preview page before i hit submit,i\'ll see if i can sort.
ta stu:3Confused
(http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4317415682_3346d7d764_o.jpg)
Very nice, really does give the car a lift.
Mine had been done just before I got the car.
I saw the wheels and bought it.
(http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2728/4316720689_beea90e0c3_o.jpg)
I look forward to seeing a pic of the car when they are fitted.
Those valves are great..
Keith...
Thx myatt i remember asking you if yours had been done.
Had thought about getting different alloys,but i like these & wanted to keep original.
Ta stu:WaveBye
They are nice Stu.
We (She who makes the decisions and I) both like the standard wheels.
So much so that I\'ve just bought 2 brand new S3 wheels for Gus. Never been on a car.
Here\'s the problem, really I need to get my worst 2 refinished to match them. But will they come back from the finishers a match or not ...don\'t know.
I will plan the tyres to run 2 wheels the same each side....complicated business eh?
Was thinking about Pristine Wheels in Milton Keynes?....bit nearer than Byfleet.
I thought about pristine wheels,but too far from me,think they charge approx £80 a wheel depending on work required.
Get some pics up of ur 2 new wheels,see if their a close match to mine.
The machining process will be the same,but maybe ur new wheels may have faded or the lacquer gone slightly yellow/opaque?
you could stick the new ones on one side & the machined ones on the other,you would,nt notice then,i don\'t think.
You should get 2 of your best wheels on the car machined,it costs extra to get kerbing scuffs & dinks filled with new alloy,also the less corrosion under the lacquer the better & cheaper it\'ll be!
Makes a big difference to the look of the car,in sunlight they dazzle you,like a mirror!
ta stu...
Wheels here in a week. They\'re at a friends in Cheshire who accepted delivery from Shropshire (via Bristol) for me...Dooh. Us old geezers like to get free deliveries even if they do take 3 months.
Yes, thats the plan, 2 that are a match on each side.
Where you parking Stu? Kerbing Dinks!!!!!
My best 3 wheels are virtually unmarked, therefore a shame to refinish them too soon? Good point about the laquer though. \'Costs extra eh\' a very good point indeed.
Kerbing dinks were from previous owners over last 25 years,nowt to do with me.
Has any of the lacquer on your wheels bubbled & white deposits showing underneath?
If so,ur alloys corroding,if not ur lucky!!!
ta stu...
Lovely and shiney !
Shaun
Quote from: syebba;669086Kerbing dinks were from previous owners over last 25 years,nowt to do with me.
Has any of the lacquer on your wheels bubbled & white deposits showing underneath?
If so,ur alloys corroding,if not ur lucky!!!
ta stu...
Yeh..little tiny bit only on 3 wheels though.
Guys at wicked wheels told me think of the white deposits as white rust!
They also said if left untreated it will put deep pits in the alloy & can be difficult to grind out without affecting the strength of the wheel,like a veruca,dosent look deep till u try & cut it out & find all those long threads still in ur foot,ouch!
ta stu..
Iam thinking of using these people, they talk a good job on the phone.
http://www.ctc-powder-coating.co.uk/index.html
I\'ve been doing a bit of research into getting factory s3 wheels refurbed.
The main problem is that to get the factory finish, the wheels need to be diamond cut.
Painted or powdercoated finishes are available anywhere but I want the factory finish.
I\'ve had painted S3 wheels on a car before and they just didn\'t look right to me.
I had a good look at the wheels on Keiths car and they are gorgeous. I had a few conversations with Dom who used to own the car and had the wheels done at Prestige and they have the correct pattern pre loaded into the computer to cut the s3 wheels. They powdercoated them and then recut the faces, finally finishing off with plenty of protective clear lacquer.
Dom had the 2 new wheels for sale last year( maybe the ones that Dave has bought?) and when put together, they were very very close. He states that the only discernable difference being that Prestige put much more lacquer on the wheels than the factory wheels had to afford a bit more protection which made them a bit less reflective.
I suppose it\'s a trade off. You could ask for less lacquer but then end up refurbing them again at a later date.
For all year round cars, I suppose a 2nd set of wheels, maybe painted, may be the way to go. Use them in the winter and the refurbed ones in the spring / summer
Stu\'s wheels look very nice too, also having been recut.
If both companies are comparable, I suppose it comes down to location.
Prestige are maybe the closest for me.
Still open to suggestions though!
I think Diamond cut as well. Thing is Prestige have a series of agents who (I think) are careful tyre fitters in their own right. They will take care of the ugly business with that brutal tyre machine thingy and see to the shipping to and fro\' of the rims as well. There\'s one in my area whom I think I\'m going to go and pressurise for info. (Pressurise - get it- I didn\'t at first. Senile or what).
Yes Watson, those were Dom\'s 2 wheels
The correct proceedure for S3 wheels.
1]chemical dip to remove grime & debris
2]Dinks/dents/corrossion ground out & filled smooth with new alloy
3]entire wheel powdercoated
4]wheel faces diamond cut & polished
5]top clear coat lacquer applied[the more coats applied,the less the shine,but more protection against future corrossion]
6]if ur really fussy,get stainless valves,they dont rust,chrome valves can rust & lift the lacquer around the airvalve leading to premature corrossion.
I find it amazing that wheels a quarter of a century old can be restored to factory finish,it takes years & years off the car,it\'s even better than 10 years younger on tv!!i\'ll stop now the gf thinks i\'m sad,hehe.
Ta Stu..:Thumbs-up
Ian if you\'ve seen prestige\'s work on S3 wheels,i\'d go for them,even if it involves shipping costs,powdercoted S3 wheels look ....e,they need diamond cutting.
I remarked many months ago how good keiths[myatt] wheels looked,in fact that\'s the reason i got mine done!
recommendation is the best advertisement as they say.
Ta stu..
I think we\'ve got mixed up here? We all mean Pristine Wheels in Milton Keynes don\'t we?
Not Prestige??
Quote from: David Nock;669354I think we\'ve got mixed up here? We all mean Pristine Wheels in Milton Keynes don\'t we?
Not Prestige??
Yeah Pristine
Haha,yeah pristine.
Where\'d prestige come from?
Ta stu..
Quote from: syebba;669370Haha,yeah pristine.
Where\'d prestige come from?
Ta stu..
I said prestige in my post but we all know who we\'re talking about don\'t we?
Yep,pristine wheels sounds like ur best option.
Ta stu..
Have just had a set of wheels back from Pristine Wheels Woburn Sands - admittedly mine were different sizes / make / weights etc etc... but v good service and good value for money too.... lovely gun metal / anthracite finish ;) Desmond RegaMaster\'s FTW ;)
(http://www.k-p.co.uk/fil_auto/rx7/regamaster%20gunmetal.JPG)
(http://k-p.co.uk/fil_auto/rx7/M786TNT&Rega_Gallery/images/M786%20TNT%20-%20New%20Rega%5C's%20005.jpg)
Quote from: fil_auto;669407Have just had a set of wheels back from Pristine Wheels Woburn Sands - admittedly mine were different sizes / make / weights etc etc... but v good service and good value for money too.... lovely gun metal / anthracite finish ;) Desmond RegaMaster\'s FTW ;)
(http://www.k-p.co.uk/fil_auto/rx7/regamaster%20gunmetal.JPG)
(http://k-p.co.uk/fil_auto/rx7/M786TNT&Rega_Gallery/images/M786%20TNT%20-%20New%20Rega%27s%20005.jpg)
They look realy good on your car.
If you dont mind me asking what was the cost per wheel ?
They look G8 on ur fd.
The paints got a good glossy finish.
ta stu..
cheers guys. well mine were prob at the bottom end of the moneyz for refurb. 3 of the 4 were true n straight - lightweight forged ali anyways, so strong too. 1 needed a slight repair as it had 2 v small flat spots n that was only 15 quid extra, so must have been minor. 45+VAT each wheel for acid / chemical dip, then powdercoat / gloss finish!
now I just need to get the car painted as it\'s letting the wheels down! ;)
Phil
Thats a G8 price you got,work quality looks spot on,looks like pristine wheels may get a few enquiries.
ta stu...
Cheers Phil
Dibs
Yes thanks Phil, useful stuff.
looking good Phil, i need to get some scuffs out of a couple of mine so i\'ll be giving them a call!
Quote from: Dominic;228880Cheers Mark, I\'m only after 2 cos I have 2 BRAND NEW wheels that have never even had tyres on them! (and am building up quite a collection of spare wheels as well), so would only really be interested if yours are in very good nick/like new (i.e. lacquer still on and not scratched) so that they match OK. Think this may be asking too much though. No worries if not cos Pritine Wheels have given me a very good quote of around £45 per wheel for chemical cleaning, bead blasting, powder coating, diamond cutting, and lacquering.........and shipment back to Protyre near where I live! I\'ll hold off the job until I hear back from you as to the condition of your wheels.
Thanks
God,i\'m good to you guy\'s!!:Giggle
ta stu
So now I\'ve got those 2 new wheels (well on Sunday I will have).
But yeh Stu - £45 is the key thing there.
But I think sending 2 wheels alone (to refurb) will be pro-rata a bit more than 4 though.
(http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19184&stc=1&thumb=1&d=1212523920) (http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=19184&d=1146650866)
These ur new wheels dave?:Tongue1
ta stu..
Quote from: David Nock;669979So now I\'ve got those 2 new wheels (well on Sunday I will have).
But yeh Stu - £45 is the key thing there.
But I think sending 2 wheels alone (to refurb) will be pro-rata a bit more than 4 though.
Dave,
I think that you will struggle to match refurbed wheels to the new old stock wheels.
Of all the refurbed 1st gen wheels that I have ever seen, I have never seen any that exactly match the finish on the new factory wheels.
This isn\'t to say that the refurbs aren\'t excellent and aren\'t as good as the factory finish, they are and they look gorgeous, but due to differences in lacquer, powdercoating, etc, there always seems to be a very slight difference.
It would be the same if you compared 2 refurbed wheels from different sources, there would be a variation.
I would take your new wheels to one of the big meets and compare them to some refinished wheels to see which most closely match before shelling out.
You could put them on opposite sides of the car if there was a noticable difference... if you could live with knowing that they didn\'t match.
I tried to buy those wheels off Dom but you beat me to it!
I was going to hold on and try to find some more new old stock wheels, even if I had to bite the bullet and import them.
There must be another 2 out there somewhere to make you a set.
I,d agree with Ian,if u want to match all the wheels,all of them need to go to pristine.
The lacquer looks scuffed on the wheels above,you\'ll never find new old stock without scuffs unless theyve been bubblewrapped,for 25 years.
It\'s your car,so it\'s ur choice,obviously!
ta stu..
Even if the lacquer on those wheels is slightly less than 100%, I don\'t think it really matters on a car like Gus.
The car isn\'t used every day, doesn\'t go out on salted roads and as long as the brake dust is washed off very often, these wheels won\'t deteriorate for a long time.
I\'d use them as they are if I could get hold of 2 more in original condition.
Quote from: syebba;669988you\'ll never find new old stock without scuffs unless theyve been bubblewrapped,for 25 years.
ta stu..
That\'s the beauty of the internet.
20 years ago, you\'d have practically no chance of finding any unless you went to a main dealer and remortgaged your house.
These days, you can search the globe from your armchair! Great!!
I bet there\'s a pair of new wheels sat on a shelf all bubblewrapped just waiting to be discovered somewhere!
Hmmm.....I might get a price for Pristine to clean off, repaint and relaquer those 2 wheels with my other 2 being completely redone? A bit more expense but if the carriers making the trip anyway, might not be too much. And then it\'s done once and for all. We\'ll see next week.
Glad you\'ve seen \'em guys, been months since I bought \'em. Get \'em on Sunday Yippee.
Good 4 u Dave.
Months since u bought them,how come it\'s taken so long to be delivered,is someone walking them to you from cape wrath.?
ta stu..
Well it\'s a bit of a long winding route this..... I bought the wheels off Dom who\'s in the Bristol area. The wheels were in Shropshire, at his mums. Mum was visiting Dom so he said to her \'bring the wheels here please Mum\'. BUT.....mum lives not too far from friends in Cheshire and went past their area quite a few times a week. So the wheels went back to Shropshire. Then mum was ill for a while and the wheels didn\'t reach my friend\'s until just before Christmas, nicely in time for us to make a regular trip to see them over Christmas/New Year. THEN......8" of snow here, same over in Cheshire a few days later and motorway over the top (M62) the only road over and a real trap for the unwary for quite a few weeks.
Now the snows gone (well a bit came back last night, but not traffic stopping amounts this time), so we\'re meeting our friends for Sunday lunch near Bakewell in the Peak District this weekend.
The wheels have done many more miles than the car they\'re destined for over the last 3 months!!
Looking forward to seeing \'em. (Wheels and Friends)
Just in from the met office.
Severe weather warning for Bakewell in peak district this sunday lunchtime.
Gale force winds & torrential blizzards are not predicted,but inevitable.
Avalanches frequent,mass hysteria & hypothermia will break out,it\'s citizens
will hold you captive & be forced into cannibalism to survive.
You still want those wheels,that bad!???:Giggle
ta stu..
Yep, friends have got 2 kids....We can feed them to the locals to fend them off for a while.....But hey, anyway, they\'ll probably want local kids for local people to eat in that part of the world.
Must get wheels!.......Must get wheels!.....
Here they are then.....
The best one has a valve in it; interestingly they\'re both stamped Aug \'95 so I guess they\'re OEM aftermarket spares. No matter, aren\'t they beauties?
They look great...............you should sell them to me to go with my carb.
They look g8 dave,a good find.
ta stu..
They look very nice David.
I seriously wouldn\'t consider getting them recut.
Bide your time, there are bound to be 2 more new ones out there somewhere.
Quote from: A7RXY;671011They look great...............you should sell them to me to go with my carb.
Nooo....Now I now the carbs OK I want to buy that off you.:Thumbsup!
Quote from: Ian65;671065They look very nice David.
I seriously wouldn\'t consider getting them recut.
Bide your time, there are bound to be 2 more new ones out there somewhere.
Now I\'ve seen them I\'m deffo going to use them as they are.
Spoke to Pristine this morning and they say their agent has colour swatches to match the paint colour to. Maybe not absolutely exact, but should be fine with both wheels fitted on same side.
They also said send the 2 worst wheels. The diamond cut process takes enough metal off to make it irrelevant which wheels, so hey, keep the best 3 old wheels back here, send 2 shabbies down.
Agent says much the same, going on Thursday I think.
I let you\'se all know.
Quote from: syebba;671014They look g8 dave,a good find.
ta stu..
thanks Stu. It always amazes me how much new stuff is still out there, even for a 1926 whatever-it-is. Someone and their descendants have often had a new bit on the shelf for 80 years
Ur new wheels look so good,i\'d get the other 2 on ur car refurbed to match,but leave ur new wheels as is.
ta stu
Quote from: David Nock;671087Now I\'ve seen them I\'m deffo going to use them as they are.
Spoke to Pristine this morning and they say their agent has colour swatches to match the paint colour to. Maybe not absolutely exact, but should be fine with both wheels fitted on same side.
They also said send the 2 worst wheels. The diamond cut process takes enough metal off to make it irrelevant which wheels, so hey, keep the best 3 old wheels back here, send 2 shabbies down.
Agent says much the same, going on Thursday I think.
I let you\'se all know.
Dave,
did you ever send your wheels to pristine?
Yes, Yes, Yes.....Superb Job.
I\'ve fitted \'em on the nearside, with the new wheels on the offside, but you can\'t tell them apart, except the Pristine lacquer is heavier.
The date coding engraved on the very outer rim goes with the diamond cut that\'s all.
A pic of the nearside front is attached (squeezed up in my garage) and I can honestly say I don\'t know whether it\'s my car\'s original wheel or the scrapper wheel I sent to Pristine with it.
The big surprise was the inside. Somehow I expected grotty muck still in the back of the wheel but noo.....gleaming bright as well.
Pricing £165 for 2 wheels, but that includes £40 for 4 No. tyre refits, new valves, balancing etc at the Agents I used.
It was handy having spare wheels gallore, but I\'ve now got 12 Series 3 wheels. I\'d offered 4 shot blasted wheels (but servicable - been my winter set) to Bill in Scotland and he\'d accepted but, like you Ian, not heard from him recently. I\'ll hang on for a bit.
They look brand new & good price
ta stu..
Quote from: David Nock;678584Yes, Yes, Yes.....Superb Job.
I\'ve fitted \'em on the nearside, with the new wheels on the offside, but you can\'t tell them apart, except the Pristine lacquer is heavier.
The date coding engraved on the very outer rim goes with the diamond cut that\'s all.
A pic of the nearside front is attached (squeezed up in my garage) and I can honestly say I don\'t know whether it\'s my car\'s original wheel or the scrapper wheel I sent to Pristine with it.
The big surprise was the inside. Somehow I expected grotty muck still in the back of the wheel but noo.....gleaming bright as well.
Pricing £165 for 2 wheels, but that includes £40 for 4 No. tyre refits, new valves, balancing etc at the Agents I used.
Wow, that looks the business doesn\'t it?
What was the turn around time Dave?
Do they specify which agent you use?
Turn around - I rang after a fortnight and they\'d been back awhile then. So I\'d say 7/10days.
You can go to any Pristine Agent but the one I used in S Yorks had a good write up in a blog somewhere. I tried a couple of agents but he had the best price as well.
Torque Tyre in Doncaster, Brian the man. (01302 888833 from memory)
so they give you a list of agents and you choose one??
I think I might have looked at Pristine\'s web site and found some reference blogs on it.
Or I might have rung Pristine and asked for local agents?
Sorry Ian, don\'t really remember how I ended up at the Agents but I suppose they have to be good for Pristine to involve themselves with them.