why do two of your wheels have chrome and the others black?
can't you get the fasters painted / powdercoated?

because I was in an accident two years ago and when the two new wheels came in they had the black fasteners,,, Looks like Im gonna have to paint them because just about every vendor on here that supposedley has an inside man pretty much has the 'tuff luck kid' attitude, apparently these are the most difficult F-ing parts in the world to get hold of...

do you prefer the look of black or chrome/ silver, whatever other color you have

My wheels are at the shop now getting refinished(extremely pitted) but when they come back out they will have the Phantom treatment,,, Matte Black lip and barrell and Dark Quartz Metallic spokes with the SF Challenge details polished out,,, I would ultimately prefer the black anodized fasteners, there are 20 per wheel so I would need 40 of them,,, If it comes to it I will have to have them painted, but being so small I dont trust that paint will hold for long on them Thats why I wat them as they come black...

it's crazy that they're THAT hard to get. Sorry man, that sucks.

Yeah I know, the only reason I can think that Mackin Industries wont release sets to the public is that if put on incorrectly, ie wrong torque settings is that would make it a liability if the barrell would ever come off and cause a lawsuit,,, but I already have to take them apart to refinished them so in my eyes I say "WTF is the difference just send me the G-damn bolts", right?

Mackin' said they didn't carry them?

No they wont sell them seperately... you believe that shit....

no, it's bullshit. someone has to freaking sell these things...
I'd pull up RAY'S website, look at list of distributors, and send out a massive email (bcc FTW) to every one of them.
ONE of those guys has to be willing to sell them to you.

I'll try, but its not exactly like the distributors have spare parts lying around ...

I feel your pain Rotr8! Mackin Industries is too damn strict on their replacement parts. They wouldnt even sell me a set of replacement ce28 decals for my wheels...

I know, WTF,,, Im sure Mackin Industries wont like it when people come up to my car and say WTF is up with that, and all I can say is "thats just how they are, Mackin is so freakin tight assed that there is no way to get any replacement fastener bolts.."

I mean really, I have to disassemble them anyway to refinish them so what gives....

Im goin to be routing through McMaster Carr tomorrow and see if they have anything that I can accept as a substitute...

Japanparts replies
 

************************************************** **************
Here's WHY they don't sell 'em:

Believe these Bolts are *never* intended to be removed; something Mackin might not want to tell you...

Because these aren't intended as a "service" or "user-replaceable" part, you may have to visit an engineering shop + have some made

How do we know ( ? ): we've taken a Set of wheels apart to paint these + had the exact same problem

I would also caution: by removing the bolts you may have compromised the structural integrity of the wheel ( and therefore your own safety ) The Bolts go into threads that aren't intended for reuse ( because these were never meant to be undone ) + if you do replace 'em: every single bolt will have to torqued in sequence + exactly right to get the Wheel true again

Alloy Wheels flex a lot more than Steel + if only one of those bolts loosens + comes adrift, all the others will soon follow; something that would simply never happen with a "factory" Wheel

I'm not saying that rebuilding the Wheels is now impossible; but you will have to really be careful about how this is done

"Near Enough" will not be good enough! Get a tire shop to check each rims run-out after reassembly + if these pass inspection have the tire/wheel assembly balanced to perfection

If you have any doubts, consult expert advice, any company that rebuilds wire wheels will know all about this

You've already addressed the "liability" issue in an earlier post + you're basically asking for something that doesn't exist as a spare Part

**This is Not what you want to hear: but you did ask**

EDIT:

Use Stainless bolts + loctite ( plan on never undoing these again! )

Note if the bolts you need heads are flat, or dished ( countersunk )

You'll get more grip using capscrews + less likelihood of trashing a bolt

The Stainless aspect will eliminate any possibility of corrosion or electrolysis reaction with the Alloy Wheel you'll get with plain steel

*Use the Torque setting recommended by the Bolt manufacturer*

If that torque setting is; ( let's say ) 15lb/ft, take the bolts up 5lb feet at a time, each time checking the runout of the Wheel, and do the final torque before the loctites been on too long

So tighten to 5lb feet + check the runout at the rim
Then 10 lb/ft + check
Then 15lb/ft + check (IF 15lb/ft us required! )

Tighten at 12 O'clock then 6 O'clock; 3 O'clock then 9 O'clock ( use masking tape tags to show you where you are ) then "fill in " by torquing the bolts in-between the tags

That should pull the Wheel up evenly, but make sure there's no paint or crap between the Wheel faces

After you've run the Wheels for a week, recheck each torque setting by simply torquing to the max. setting but do *not* loosen the bolts

Worked for me: hope that helps you

GW

EDIT: link to an article on bolt torque specs

http://www.raskcycle.com/techtip/webdoc14.html

Capscrews are also called: socket head screws OR Allen bolts

GW

thanks GW,,,, youve been the most help so far,,, I do understand that type of mentality but they must realize that sooner or later someone is going to have to refinish the wheels and that proccess involves disassembling them...
Again thanks....

Nice advice Graham! I better check with my wheel refinisher and ensure they're following these protocols. I can't wait to get them back...GTS REMIXED!

your getting yours refinished too,,,
Are you going for a different color scheme or just resurfacing the lip...

Yeah, getting refinished. I was gonna live with the lips being cloudy, but shortly after, I hit a nasty pothole.

I am going with a different color scheme. Not as radical as the your Phantom effect, but should be a nice change-up for me. I haven't seen anyone with these color GTS. Close, but not exact. I'll post pics this weekend.

I may have a TPMS solution for everyone with 2-3 piece wheels as well. Stay tuned...

good deal,cant wait to see them mine wont be done till next week...

Japanparts replies:
 

Hope it helps you guys: :)

The Manufacturer doesn't recommend dismantling their Wheels

If you have an alternative to refinishing these without taking them apart, take that route ( ! )

Post your completed projects up here when you're done

GW
Japanparts.com
* Since 1996 *

Hear ya GW,
But I still think that the manufactuer should have a responcibilty to help out the community, its inevitable that someones wheels are going to get damaged, or like mine corrode horriby and buying $3K worth of new wheels every three years is unacceptable, Even if they offered a service where you sent them your wheels back and they did all the refurbishing in shop that would be a tremendous asset to have, if that were an option thats what I would do...

^^^Agreed!

I doubt the shop can fix the bent lip on the barrel without taking off the face. I think it's a risk I'll take to salvage a set of $2k+ wheels. Very expensive accident! :banghead:

Japanparts replies
 

http://www.mackinindustries.com/

These guys are supposedly the official US importer, so you'll have to take it up with them

Post your responses here as this will benefit other owners

GW

So I got in touch with a guy from Mackin, and they don't offer or have anything in place for a certified repair/refurbish service. They do have recommendations on wheel repair shops in their area. But it sounds like a one-off, not any different than my own research for a wheel repair place. So unless it's covered under warranty, you're on your own.

Although I can see why a company would not recommend taking apart their wheels for liability reasons, if an end-to-end solution is not offered by the company, the customer does not have a choice if he/she needs to fix the wheel(s).

I'm thinking of getting Gram Lights 57pros within the next couple of months. I cant find an 8 that has ran them yet. Any pix? Also I want to do 18x9 f and 18x10 rear but the highest offset I can find is +38 on the 10s. Will that fit??