I had a track day last week and hit a bump going 70 and I thought my balance weights had fallen off turned out I bent my front pass side rim. I know the 997.1 gt3 wheels are forged but man didn't think it would bent. Feedback on this would be great. Also it's cost is about $2200 anyone know of a cheaper place to find oem rims??
Thanks

 

I'm pretty sure they are cast wheels, not forged... Try Jeff @ sunset porsche... GL

 

The OEM Porsche wheels are cast aluminum.
PM me and I will quote you some track wheels that won't bend, and will save you 30 lbs of unsprung weight..

 

Suncoast lists a set of stock wheels at ~5200. That works out to ~1350 per wheel. Talking to them they might sell you one wheel for around that.

 

There's a shop in Elkridge, MD that repairs rims, and they do GREAT work.
It's "Ye Ole Wheel Shop."
Call them at 1-800-526-8260.
It'll be lots cheaper than a new rim.
Mr. B

 

Take it to Pico Wheel in North Hollywood. They straightened out several wheels for me, including my 997 GT3 wheel yesterday. They've been doing this for the Porsche racing community for many years now.

 

Common occurrence. Someone local can fix the bent wheel.

 

I've been to Wheel Enhancement (www.wheelenhancement.com) several times. They are very good and only work
with Porsche. You should at least talk to them. I'm also curious about getting back on the track with a "fixed" rim. I'm not a metallurgist but I don't know if a "repaired" rim maintains its original strength.... I would hate to find out at high speed.
good luck.

 

Cast wheels use an alloy called A356.
The alloy uses up to 7% silica (sand) to help the liquid metal flow in the mold at high temps. When you examine this alloy under a microscope, it has a loose, popcorn-like structure. The structure is fairly brittle and will allow air to pass through the metal in about 25% of all cast wheels produced. This cannot be eliminated and therefore all cast wheels are completely painted or plated, even in the bead seat area.
Cast aluminum lacks ductility and elasticity and will fatigue easily if allowed to flex. When bent, the material is permanently weakened. Most repairers use heat to soften the metal and allow it to be restored to the proper shape. This process WILL weaken the material further.
In the end, the repaired wheel will look cosmetically fine but will lack some of the strength as when it was new. (you never know how much) It will therefore bend more easily the next time, and will begin to form microscopic cracks in the grain structure. This can lead to a catastrophic wheel failure.
You can probably tell I am not a fan of wheel repairs. The bottom line is that you will never know how much strength, or lack thereof, is present in the repaired wheel.
I suggest you hunt for a used wheel that has never been bent.
Sorry for the long post.

 

Thank you everyone for all the feed back... Took my car to the auto gallery and they said they can't repair it so I am gonna get 2nd and 3rd opinion