hey, I have a set of 96 gsr's that came from a friends car that had been on fire. one of the rear wheels had the tire burnt and this left some black smoot(sp) around the lip of the wheel. Is this wheel hurt at all? the wheel itself appears fine visually except for the smoot on it. a kid im working on a trade with isnt so sure, but i believe that they should be no different. also, i found that the temperature of a gasoline fire is around 250 degrees and aluminum doesnt melt until 1200+(at which point theyd be gone...lol). But anyways, I realize that powdercoating wheels requires temperatures in around or in excess of 250, so is the wheel hurt since the wheel wasnt what burnt, but the tire did, hench the smoot on the wheel from smoke. here is a pic of the wheel for reference.

 

It it's a little more complicated than that. There are a lot of heat treating processes like annealing and tempering. Sometimes being exposed to a fire can change the properties of a metal. In fact, although it won't melt it, it may have made it soft enough to slighlty be bent out of shape under its own wieght. I know enough as a mechanical engineer to tell you that I don't know enough to answer this question for you. Sorry.

Cheers!

 

right, i understand all of that, but assuming this was exposed to this heat; it would be pretty much like powdercoating...right? or wrong?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by old man neri &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sometimes being exposed to a fire can change the properties of a metal. In fact, although it won't melt it, it may have made it soft enough to slighlty be bent out of shape under its own wieght. </TD></TR></TABLE>

That is what i thought from the get go.
It is possible that integrity of the wheel could have been compromised?
Upon close look, it looks as if the wheel could possibly be burned. If not, it looks like it was hot enough to take the finish off.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondahybrids &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

That is what i thought from the get go.
It is possible that integrity of the wheel could have been compromised?
Upon close look, it looks as if the wheel could possibly be burned. If not, it looks like it was hot enough to take the finish off.
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somebody else may comment on this, but idk. but i dont think it got hot enough to take the finish off, heres a pic showing the finish underneath the "smoot". you might think im seeing things, but I see silver underneath that

 

Meh sand em down, respray em and rock em.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PA MATT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

somebody else may comment on this, but idk. but i dont think it got hot enough to take the finish off, heres a pic showing the finish underneath the "smoot". you might think im seeing things, but I see silver underneath that

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The word is Soot.
IDK if that can be sanded off, the wheel looks burned and it obvisously looks like it took the finish off.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PA MATT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">right, i understand all of that, but assuming this was exposed to this heat; it would be pretty much like powdercoating...right? or wrong?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's a little more complicated than that. When powdercoating the wheel is uniformly brought up to temperature and uniformly cooled down under control conditions. In this case part of the rim might have been exposed to high temperatures and then sprayed with water (fire fighters) and cooled down very quickly. This can warp the rim, it can also, in some cases, cause internal cracks and what not.

In the end, there is really no way of knowing. If it wasn't really exposed to the fire you should be okay, if it was in there in the searing flames, I wouldn't turst it......but hey, what do I know.

Cheers.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hondahybrids &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The word is Soot.
IDK if that can be sanded off, the wheel looks burned and it obvisously looks like it took the finish off.</TD></TR></TABLE>


aluminum doesnt burn...it melts. so thats incorrect. and that color shown is from whiping off the blackness from the rubber that had burnt. im just gonna media blast these and see how they look

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PA MATT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


aluminum doesnt burn...it melts. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Actually aluminium will burn. It's used in rocked fuels and fire works. Very hard to get it going though.

 

interesting...is that a specific aluminum alloy? im assuming regular wheels wouldnt fall into that category? not sure?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by PA MATT &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">interesting...is that a specific aluminum alloy? im assuming regular wheels wouldnt fall into that category? not sure?</TD></TR></TABLE>


Probably almost all alloys, al alloys are usually still at least 95% al. To get al to burn you need very very high temperature. A lot of wierd stuff will burn, if you don't believe me take a lighter to steel wool.

That being said, I am certain the rims did not actually start burning in this specific instance.

 

Have them balanced and if they balance ok, only use them for DD. A gas fire gets way hotter than 250* btw.

 

[QUOTE=dvp]Have them balanced and if they balance ok, only use them for DD.


definately take it to shop and see if the wheel is warped...i have seen wheels that get powder coated and be warped because the person doing it was an idiot...if it's not warped then i would use it....seen a vette get burnt and the wheels were perfectly fine looked just like yours and he got them re-polished and wheels have been fine

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vtecsi00 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">[QUOTE=dvp]Have them balanced and if they balance ok, only use them for DD.


definately take it to shop and see if the wheel is warped...i have seen wheels that get powder coated and be warped because the person doing it was an idiot...if it's not warped then i would use it....seen a vette get burnt and the wheels were perfectly fine looked just like yours and he got them re-polished and wheels have been fine
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good to hear....<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by dvp &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Have them balanced and if they balance ok, only use them for DD. A gas fire gets way hotter than 250* btw. </TD></TR></TABLE>

that may be true, im no expert; i googled gas fire temps and thats what i found