I have a set of Enkie NTO3 in OEM Silver. I was told powder coating can weaken the wheel and cause cracks, early issues, etc...Is this true for all wheels? Forged wheels? Thanks for any input.

 

I think you'd be better of posting this in the wheels section, the guys there might be able to answer your question a little more in depth... I've never heard of powder coating weakening a wheel as I use to own powder coated wheel on my Mustang. If the powder coating/clear is cheap, it becomes highly susceptible to paint fade/haze due to uv rays, which would eventually lead to pitting...

 

I'm sure someone with the "general" forum will have input. I hope...

 

I heard that powdercoating can only weaken forged wheel because of baking.

 

Any idea how much it weakens the wheels? I wonder if it's minor or? I want to go with WHITE wheels on my WW EVO X.

 

I've read on another forum that if the baking process is done incorrectly, it adversly affects the wheel's integrity. A reputable shop that specializes in powdercoating should be able to take care of you.

 

I don't think the baking process for powdercoating gets hot enough to cause any damage to the metal that wheels are made of. Think of how hot the wheel gets after a track session...

 

or how hot they are when being forged..

 

well, orignal colro is always better, but about weaken weel after powdercoating, i haven't heard of that b4.

you can always try paint.

 

Remembered coming across this when i was looking for some wheels, obviously heating temps and process is the relevant issue, but as mentioned a reputable coater should be able to advise........
http://www.rarerims.co.uk/rarerimsblog_ind.asp?id=34

 

Thanks. This was what the tuner that put on my tires told me. I guess it's a risk, but I've seen so many types / makes of wheels powder coated that I'm sure the risk is minimal...

 

Good info!

 

Search on nasioc. There was a big thread about powdercoating vs wheel's integrity.

 

It's mainly a scare story... Just look at how many people have powder coated their wheels and there's no breaking around. People have powdercoated everything from volks to bbs to enkeis to stock 8 and 9 wheels so many times.

There's also an old post somewhere by some guy who is a bit fond on the subject and he explained that theoretically it could crack but with the temperatures that are actually used in a normal powdercoating facility, you make the wheel weak and stronger after it cools down because the molecular structure readapts to itself back to perfection when it cools down.

Go ahead, sand them down and toss them in the oven. You'll be fine. Just have some shop do it who does a lot of these.

 

If it bothers you you can get them painted at a local paintshop. Its probably more expensive. I know here we hate doing it so its around $100 a wheel but it'll give you that peace of mind.