[CAR ENGINE]
LARRY KOSILLA: Hey, guys.
I bought the car, and I'm so stoked.
The pre-purchase inspection we did last episode totally
helped me negotiate a fair price for the car.
As expected, there are few things on the 964 that need a
little love--
some engine work, dent removal, touch-ups, tinting,
and, of course, wheel repair.
Now, the wheels on the 964 are in pretty bad shape.
And I'm considering my options for getting them fixed.
So on today's episode, we're at Performance Industries in
New Rochelle, New York.
We're going to show you the behind-the-scenes look at how
one of the best shops in the world professionally repairs
scuffed and bent rims.
That's all coming up today on this episode of /DRIVE CLEAN.
[ROCK MUSIC PLAYING]
Inside this unmarked shop lies a maze of machines and
workstations designed to diagnose, repair, rebuild,
clean, paint, and even fabricate custom wheels.
Working as a detailer in New York, it's common to see rims
damaged from city streets.
And this kills the overall aesthetics of a car.
Simply replacing your rims is not the only option.
George, the founder of Performance Industries, is
going to walk us through the five steps he performs when
addressing a wide variety of rim issues, including bent,
scratched, and even cracked wheels, as well as simply
updating the color and texture of your current rims to change
the overall look and feel of your car.
LARRY KOSILLA: Hey, what's going on?
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Hi, what's up?
LARRY KOSILLA: Good to see you, man.
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Nice to see you too.
LARRY KOSILLA: What are you doing here?
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Well, this is the first stage of our wheel
repair process.
This is just a visual inspection where we'll put it
on a spindle here, spin it, and just take close
observation of any damage you may have.
If we see any hop in it, we'll mark it that it's bent.
If we see any gouges, we'll mark it that it
needs a little welding.
And I'll take you through the rest of the process now.
LARRY KOSILLA: OK.
All right, so what are we doing with this machine?
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Well, this machine is going to straighten
this bent wheel.
And in simple terms, we have a dial indicator--
it's a measuring device.
This is mounted on a spindle, and this wheel is perfectly
centered on this spindle.
So this dial indicator is going to tell us how
bent this wheel is.
LARRY KOSILLA: Now, when I touched this,
it was really warm.
Why is it so warm?
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Well, first, we'll take the chill out of
the wheel, we'll heat it with the torch.
Take the chill out of the wheel, and I'll keep
manipulating and pressing on the low spots, maybe bringing
down these couple high spots here and reshaping this wheel.
Bringing it to within factory specs.
Doing this all while not compromising the structural
integrity of the wheel.
So Larry, once we straighten the wheel, we bring them over
here and we strip them.
We developed this system, because when we first started
out in this business, we literally used to sandblast
the old finish.
We'd sit there for an hour and a half
sandblasting this wheel.
Well, I developed this system where we load eight wheels at
a time on these racks, and drop them into the strip tank.
And there's a stripping solution that's
environmentally friendly.
And within an hour, eight wheels are stripped of their
old finish and ready for a fresh powder coat.
All right, now we're in the powder-coating room.
And you see, this is a finished product.
But as you can see, we hang them like so
from the valve stem.
We mask off the lug bolts, so we can get proper torque
specs, so there's no powder coat build
up for the lug bolts.
The mounting pad also gets masked off.
This way, there's metal-to-metal contact, so you
don't have any powder buildup that can throw off the balance
of the wheel and the hub board.
If you've ever changed a tire and had to hit it with a
sledgehammer to get it off the car, it was probably because
this surface wasn't masked off, and the
fitment was too tight.
So you can see how thorough this process is.
But once it's done, it's virtually a new wheel.
You can't tell the difference from a new wheel
out-of-the-box or this finished.
LARRY KOSILLA: This looks better than new.
This is perfect.
GEORGE GJOKAJ: But the part that you don't see, Larry, is
this finish is super durable.
So when you're scraping at your wheel, trying to get that
brake dust off, you're going to appreciate this process.
So the final step is mounting the tire and balancing it.
It's very important that you fill these with, at minimum,
clean compressed air.
We ideally like to put nitrogen.
Nitrogen maintains the air pressure consistency over a
wider temperature range, which, if you were to fill
this with a typical air compressor, there's a lot of
moisture in that air.
So you get a lot of condensation build-up on the
inside of the wheel, which winter time could freeze,
could affect the life of the tire and the performance of
the tire in that it won't maintain the air pressure
consistency.
LARRY KOSILLA: And then you Road Force balance them
afterwards?
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Yeah, every wheel
gets Road Force balanced.
And the Road Force balance, a roller, mimics the way it
drives on your car.
So it literally measures the force that that tire is
pressing against the pavement.
Because if you don't have that feature--
you can balance a square, doesn't mean
it's going to drive--
LARRY KOSILLA: Got you.
GEORGE GJOKAJ: --nicely on a car.
LARRY KOSILLA: All right, so it's like you're in the car,
and it's pretending like--
GEORGE GJOKAJ: This system assures that you'll have the
right ride quality, balanced or not.
The Road Force is the key factor in determining that
vibration in your steering wheel.
LARRY KOSILLA: All right, So I bought a new Porsche.
I'm really excited about it.
It's got the stock rims on it.
It has scratches, a little bit's bent.
So what are my options?
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Let's go take a look at it first.
LARRY KOSILLA: All right, well here it is.
So what do think?
GEORGE GJOKAJ: You know Larry, I don't really think it's
worth putting any money into these 16s.
They've got some curb rash, and the amount of time we'd
have to spend to refurbish them, I don't think it's a
wise decision.
Let's pull this thing in and put it on the lift, and
measure this up.
We want these crucial measurements, from mounting
pad to the edge of the fender, so these things fit beautiful.
LARRY KOSILLA: Now that the car is pulled inside, we can
begin working on the crucial measurements.
Be sure to place the car in an area that is flat, and
properly lift and stabilize the vehicle before taking any
measurements.
With the wheel removed, George begins by measuring the size
of the disk brakes.
He continues by verifying the backspacing in both the front
and rear parts of the hub.
Backspacing is a crucial part of determining the appropriate
width and offset of your future wheels.
We want to benefit from the traction of a wider tire.
But at the same time, we also want to avoid poking outside
the fender or getting in the way of the wheel assembly
housed inside.
The overall vertical clearance is important to note as well,
as it will factor into your rim diameter.
Now, the previous owner most likely installed a set of
wheels whose total diameter--
this includes the wheel and tire-- that was too large,
which resulted in rub marks in the upper part of the fender,
as you can see here.
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Taking everything into consideration,
I think we need to sit down and do the math, and figure
out what tire sizes are available for this car.
Because the overall diameter for the front and rear, we
want it to be constant with the factory sizes.
And we want to figure out what quality tire manufacturers
offer a matching set, front and rear, in those tire sizes.
So we want, on a 265, I would say, an eight and a half, nine
inch wheel.
It'll give you a nice square profile on your tire.
It will look appropriate.
But we have room to put that wide of a wheel.
We do not have that room to put that wide of a tire.
So we want it to look professional.
We want the side walls to sit perpendicular to the floor.
We don't want them at a 45-degree
degree angle being stretched.
Or too narrow of a tire, and a wide tire bubbling over the
edge of the tire.
So we need to do this math, figure out what tire sizes are
available, and then we'll communicate some options here.
LARRY KOSILLA: Based on George's recommendations, we
ran some sizing options through the computer.
We further narrowed our list and proceeded back to the car
to confirm and to double check the final measurements,
including the bolt pattern and the center board.
This is to ensure the best possible fit.
GEORGE GJOKAJ: Four gauge, telescoping board
gauge, fasten it.
Make sure in the right spot.
And then I hate to sound obnoxious, but I don't care
what any book or manufacturer tells me.
I have this measurement, and this is what I'm going off of.
The overall diameter is very, very close to
your factory specs.
You won't have any clearance issues.
They are going to fit beautiful.
You're going to have less sidewall roll.
So this is a real great plus-size option for you.
The only question now is, according to those
measurements, do we go with a boutique custom built wheel
that I make?
Or do we go with a reputable aftermarket brand that can
meet these specs that I measured?
When I do the math and figure out the offset, is there a
brand out there that offers that offset for this car?
And we need to research that and weigh your options.
LARRY KOSILLA: George and the guys over at Performance have
been amazing at helping me figure out what my different
wheel options are.
Now, I've spent a little time thinking about the style of
rim that would best fit my 964.
And in the end, we decided on the OEM Cup I wheels to keep
that Porsche feel.
But George and I wanted to make the look a bit different
with a fresh bronze powder coat.
And I couldn't be happier.
For a PDF of the top five measurements needed to
determine the best wheel fitment and to check out our
gallery of our favorite wheel designs, visit ammonyc.com .
Well, that's it for me, guys.
Thanks, again, for watching another episode of /DRIVE
CLEAN right here on the /DRIVE network.
GEORGE GJOKAJ: This is a true story.
The first set of wheels I did for a Lamborghini Murcielago,
he said he wanted what the industry standard
at that time was.
I said, we need to do the math.
So I went back to do my math.
I said, I'm sorry, it's not within 3% of
that overall diameter.
It's going to affect your differentials.
And I almost lost the job.
Because how could all these big companies be wrong?
I said, look, I did my math, and I know what I'm
comfortable putting on your car.
And this is all I'm comfortable
putting on your car.
Sure enough, he listened to me.
And within four months, the forums were flooded with guys
in their Murcielagos burning up their differentials because
of the wrong tire sizes.
So this information is crucial.