I purches a set of chrome cobra r rims from Belle Tire (I believe they are OE Concepts) last June. I cleaned the wheels regularly and including before I put the car in storage for the winter. So I'm polishing the wheels on the weekend before I put my car back on the road and I notice some 'pitting' on the chrome. CRAP, BS!!! I put less than 5000km on these wheels and they're already messed up!

I'm going to call Belle Tire this week and see what they can do for me. So my questions are... do you think they'll do anything for me? how can i prevent this in the future? should I go with a different brand of wheel?

If they're willing to replace it for me I might try to trade up to 18" chrome deep-dish bullitts.

[IMG]local://upfiles/16609/3666E959BF59495D9F310434B0A3BD1E.jpg[/IMG]

 

dont really know what im looking at maybe a pic from a little farther away.

 

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[IMG]local://upfiles/16609/12762E7BD1D142DDA38EE59793176582.jpg[/IMG]

 

I saw it on the first pic... that sucks alot man. Did you have any type of warantee on them from Belle Tire? If not then I doubt they'll help you out...

 

chrome on aluminum teands to pit quick, and there really is nothing to do to avoid it. The better the chrome, the better the chance of minimal pitting

 

Interesting, Pitting... looks like abrasive marks from something, road rash almost? it's tough to say without seeing up close. I have 7 years experience in metal finishing... Not much in chrome itself but a plating is a plating and all face most of the same variables. I'd expect to see more in the grooves and corners of the wheels first then on the crown or crest of a high spot. I'd be interested in if they're triple chrome plated. Are other wheels showing any signs of it, do you live where there is harsh winter weather conditions? Most wheels are plated as cheap as possible. Poor plating and rinsing conditions could lead to early failure. More so if they're not triple plated or not real chrome plated at all.

Sorry to see your wheels aging so fast, maybe you could tell us the make so we could all steer clear of the poor quality wheels.

 

There are some very minor spots on one other wheel, but not nearly as bad as that one. The other two wheels are just fine. I'm next to Detroit so winters can get bad. But my car was in storage from November until now. The spots weren't there when I put it away and I just noticed them last weekend.

 

Just confirmed that these are in fact OE Concepts part number OEC-C328517912. It lists them as triple chrome

 

you said your car was in storage... by any chance did you not completley clean off the wheels before you put it away for winter?

 

I did take it through a wash on the way to storage but i didn't hand clean the wheel or anything.