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Sammy
04-04-2005, 07:41 AM
Hey Guys,

Just wondering if anybody with winter tires with RAV4 steelies (purchased from ESPEC) has noticed that the rims are rusting! I\'ve only had them for a few months and there is some really noticable rust on 3 of the rims. Any suggestions on what to do? I tried emailing ESPEC, but haven\'t received a reply yet. My rims are only 3 months old, I hope I can get them replaced under warrenty. Any ideas if ESPEC even has a warrently? Any suggestions would be really helpful!

thanks,
Sammy

SoopaBanana
04-04-2005, 09:23 AM
Keep on e-mailing... I sent ESpec an e-mail 2 weeks ago and have yet to receive a reply... After a while i just started to lose faith in ever receiving a reply.

majic
04-04-2005, 09:29 AM
are you NEW?

not getting into chemical equations.. here\'s the layman\'s version

iron(steel) + water + oxygen = rust

your wheels \'steelies\' are made of steel, they will rust, just like you will die.. it\'s a course of life.. deal with it and stop bugging e-spec about it.. btw, did you see autexe\'s picture post about his \'crazy rusting (http://torontomazda3.com/forum/read.php?TID=2002)\'... same deal.

now, i e-mailed him recently about some other stuff and he got back to me so i can tell you he\'s busy and he\'ll get to your e-mail sooner or later. if you can\';t wait for some stuff (ie. you must buy now) call tires23, otherwise plan ahead.

Sammy
04-04-2005, 11:19 AM
Majic,

I\'m not that NEW, I\'ve probably been around a lot longer than you. As a fellow engineer, would you design a tire Rim that rusts in three months (knowing fully that they will be used in wet winter conditions). Don\'t they coat them with something to prevent rust or even add an \"agent\" in the mix to slow down the oxidizing process. Anyways, thanks for the reply.

majic
04-04-2005, 12:18 PM
Originally posted by Sammy


Majic,

I\'m not that NEW, I\'ve probably been around a lot longer than you. As a fellow engineer, would you design a tire Rim that rusts in three months (knowing fully that they will be used in wet winter conditions). Don\'t they coat them with something to prevent rust or even add an \"agent\" in the mix to slow down the oxidizing process. Anyways, thanks for the reply.

they do that to mags/rims not plain old steelies (or not the lower quality at least..) you should know.. it\'s all about cost cutting.. and yeah.. it\'s called galvanising (steel) and anodizing (aluminum)

galvanising - they dip the steel in a zinc solution and that in turn provides a coat of protection, like sunscreen, and prevents the oxidisation of ferrous materials since they are no longer exposed to oxygen.

anodising - unlike iron, aluminum has this nice property that once it rusts, it protects itself from further dmamge.. kinda like sunburn. so here they expedite this process by electrolysis (separation of compountds by passing electric current through them) and the aluminum oxide creates a thicker layer of oxide that is harder and corrosion proof.

so there you have it.. even if it\'s NOT an expensive process, why waste money on it? most of the time it\'s surface rust and as with the car\'s body, you can\'t make a claim until it rusts through. my steelies are painted black.. i\'m not sure if this paint has ANY rust \'proofing\' abilities BUT when i got my wheels they were pretty greasy.. greasy you ask.. yep.. a nice grease sealant a \'cheap\' but working rust inhibitor... so go wash your wheels and put some lube - not the water based ;) on your wheels and accept the fact that rust is to wheels like death is to humans - it\'s gonna happen! :)

and lol.. by \'new\' i didn\'t mean new here .. my buddy uses it all the time and it\'s funny as hell .. imagine Napoleon Dynamite saying it :) i guess it wasn\'t here :p

Sammy
04-04-2005, 01:21 PM
Napoleon Dynamite - that was the weirdest movie ever. Thanks for the info. I\'m glad it was just my cheap rims and not my car, I Hope to put my stock rims and tires on soon - but I want to use the winter rims for at least a few more winters!!

mEtH
04-04-2005, 08:41 PM
paint em, as good as new.

PlatMS6
04-04-2005, 09:31 PM
yah i got the same thing with tires23 black steelies but its only light surface stuff that leaks on to the tires...one pass of a coin-op pressure washer and everything is new again...i seem to only get it where the tire meets teh lip of the rim, again its only rustic water type of stuff....np once i store em ill cover the wheel and tire (only sides lol) wiht some tire wet and tehy will stay brand new till next winter :p

iconicrocket
04-05-2005, 09:35 PM
Has anyone tried to spray their steelies with clear rust paint. Its an enamal paint so it shiny like a gloss.

http://www.epinions.com/content_87125560964

ESpec
04-12-2005, 05:10 PM
Hi Ssammy,

sorry for the late reply. Been extremely busy.
Anyhoo, it\'s not uncommon for steel rims to rust. It is just steel afterall and it\'s a cheap replacement so your nicer rims don\'t have to get eaten by the salt. The rust you see is just surface rust, nothing that damages the structure of the rim at all. The rust might of formed when the rim was curbbed or got chipped by stones and pebbles while you are driving. Once the protective paint is broken, salt water would react with the steel to form the surface rust you are seeing now. If you are worried about them, you can drive down to our temporary location in Mississauga and we\'ll sand and respray it for you.

Thanks.
E-Spec.



Originally posted by Sammy


Hey Guys,

Just wondering if anybody with winter tires with RAV4 steelies (purchased from ESPEC) has noticed that the rims are rusting! I\'ve only had them for a few months and there is some really noticable rust on 3 of the rims. Any suggestions on what to do? I tried emailing ESPEC, but haven\'t received a reply yet. My rims are only 3 months old, I hope I can get them replaced under warrenty. Any ideas if ESPEC even has a warrently? Any suggestions would be really helpful!

thanks,
Sammy

black305
04-13-2005, 08:59 PM
e-spec, that\'s good customer service - there\'s no replacement for keeping your clients happy/satisfied
you\'ll definitely be hearing from me when i\'m ready to buy new rubber and rims!

Sammy
04-14-2005, 09:41 AM
Thanks - I agree, great service.