civic_slayer

Hey guys I am looking at a pair of racing hart c2's and the guy said one of the wheels needs to be re siliconed. What does that mean and how much does it cost? Also how do I know the lug patern. All the guy knows is they are 4 and 5 lugs. the ones I am looking at are the 18x7.5

Andrew Slane

Our lug pattern is 4 x 114.3.

civic_slayer

yeah I know our lug pattern I am asking how I find out the lug pattern of the wheels the guy is selling, because he does not know. does it say on them?

Andrew Slane

The easiest way would be to measure diagonally from one of the lug holes to the one directly opposite it - It should be right between 14cm and 15cm from the center of one hole to the other. Using a ruler or tape measure you should be able to get a close enough measurement to tell (I think the next closest pattern is like 4 x 100.)

Dez97CandyCL

u beat me to it drew.... make sure u measure from the center of the lug holes...

civic_slayer

anybody know what re siliconeing them means?

CLpwner

Siliconing again...

Andrew Slane

Silicone is usually used as a sealant or protectant, so something along those lines would be my guess. I've never owned multi-piece wheels or wheels that needed to resiliconed, so I can't say for sure :p

NitiNiteZ

iTrader: (1)

just ask him what he means by silicon? Are the rims damaged? Are they bent, therefore needing silicon to fix them? Hopefully ur not paying an arm and a leg for them... doesn't seem like the guy selling them has any knowledge of the rims he owns. be careful.

lnsyone

3 piece wheel construction is self explanitory. The wheel itself is divided into 3 seperate pieces. You have the face; and also the wheel in 2 pieces. The outer piece is the "lip", added to the wheel. Lip sizes vary pending on several things: First and foremost, wheel manufacturer; disc pad; and offset--to say the least. I'm assuming they use silicone to line the welds of the wheel against rust or corrosion. Something along those lines.

civic_slayer

so I should be able to just take them apart and put silicone in them to seal them correct?

saiko_cl_duck

They don't just "come apart". Unless you want to re-weld the wheel back together.

Take a look at the welds on the wheel itself, you should see where the pieces were put together. If it you need to, gently removed the old silicone, wipe the area clean with mild soap solution, and re-silicone the welds.

Normally this is done on the outside well, meaning the outside where it is covered by the tire.

Just by some clear RTV silicone sealant, tape the area off, and re-seal. This prevents contaminants from invading the area where the pieces meet.
You don't need to glob it on, just a light coating is neccessary. When you are done, use a flat piece of plastic to scrape excess off before it dries.

civic_slayer

alright thanks a lot saiko_cl_duck I had no clue when it came to three piece rims

dragon084

I donno,

I'd be leery when buying rims after someone gives a conditional statement like that.

"Oh they fine, you just have to re-silicone them"

First things first get some toothpaste and brush your headlights, It'll take off some of your fog.

civic_slayer

Alright thanks a lot guys I am picking them up tomorrow. Got all four with good tires for $450. and found out I can get the one wheel re siliconed for 40 dollars. I will have pics up in a couple days.

hornedfrog2000

hope it works out for you homie.

civic_slayer

well picked up the wheels today and took the one wheel that needed to be "re-siliconed" to a shop. guy at the shop said they are leaking because of a bend in them, and there was nothing anybody could do to fix them. Also I found out that they were 8" wide instead of 7.5" like the guy said. Long story short I returned them to the guy and got my money back. Decided to tell the guy they didnt fit instead of telling him the wheel is screwed up!

OscarCL3.2

Good you got your money back; I know I'm late on this thread, but just so you know, as you probably saw, that silicone is usually placed where the lip, face, and rim meet together...I'm surprised they said there's nothing anyone can do about it, I thought ease of repair was an advantage for 3-peice wheels over cast 1 peice wheels.

civic_slayer

to fix a bend in the lip of a three piece rim you have to take it all apart and then get the bend out but then after that the part where the bolts are probably wont be straight and air will leak. So if you have spare lips laying around your fine other wise your out of luck as I understand. So basically the guy at the shop told me to stay away from 3 piece rims because 1 piece rims are a lot cheaper to fix and just as light as old 3 piece rims

240z4u

As was previously mentioned. 3pc wheels are NOT welded together. They are bolted.

I just wanted to clarify for anyone searching in the future.

Ill take a 3pc wheel anyday (if its a $$ rim) because the lips are replaceable incase of damage.

He may have been right about C2 weight though. I am not sure.

Evan