Legacy FAQ page this replaces can be found here.

Can I Have Damaged Tires Repaired?

[KS] The owner’s manual tells you not to repair tires, but to replace them. Many people will tell you that it’s okay to repair a tire with a plug, or patch, or both, and under most normal circumstances that’s fine. But if you’re planning on driving at ultra high speeds, you may not want to take the chance.

Fix-A-Flat Warning

[SA – 99/10/8] I used a can of fix-a-flat on another car. I followed directions, emptied the contents into the tire and proceed to immediately drive the car to even out the material in the tire (per the instructions).
I drove about three miles at 30-40 mph but was then stopped by a train. I figured I had traveled long enough as the can states to drive 2 to 4 miles. After waiting close to 10 minutes, I went on my way. Upon reaching 60 mph, the wheel started to shimmy so bad I could barely hold on to the steering wheel. As you might have guessed, during my long wait for the train, the contents settle and hardened.
Now, I either have to get the wheel rebalanced or have the tired taken off the rim and the fix-a-flat stuff cleaned out, then rebalanced.
Moral: After using fix-a-flat, choose a route allowing continous motion.
Oh by the way, the tire no longer leaks air.

Can I Have Damaged Rims Repaired?

Touching up scratches

[GL] To those of you looking for touch up paint for the 15/16″ wheel, I touched up my wheels with the Sebring Silver touch up paint. The dealer doesn’t know if this is the right color, but I believe it is, if not a pretty close match. The paint code is NH-552M.
[FG] The 94-96 Wheels are Solaris Silver which is darker than the 91-93 wheels. Any dealer should be able to get it.
[DOH – 2000/4.10] Solaris Silver was a color choice for Acura Vigor cars. Paint code is NH-536M. The match is perfect.

Wheel Repair Companies

There are many wheel and rim repair shops listed in the back of almost any major automobile magazine. Here are a few with any available comments listed. If you havehad rims or wheels repaired please share your experience.
Company: EuroCal Wheels (610 363-8899)
Notes: “They were able to make the wheel absolutely flawless (better than when I bought the car) for only $200. (Though I paid an extra $100 to rush the job so I could have the wheel back by the end of the week.) – John Bradley
Company: Wheel Collision Center (800 292-RIMS)
Notes: Alloy wheel repair (pothole dents, etc.), nationwide mail order, advertise in the AutoWeek classifieds.
Company: Hoehn Acura
Notes: Cheap source for replacement wheels – $960 for a new rear wheel vs. $1,600 list price.
Company: Rim & Wheel Works (617-964-0226 or 800-261-0495) Newton, MA
Notes: Listed in AutoWeek classifieds
Company: Ye Ole Wheel Shop (410-796-8400 or 800-526-8260) Elkridge, MD
Notes: Listed in AutoWeek classifieds
Company: The Wheel Shoppe (810-415-7171) Fraser, MI
Notes: Listed in AutoWeek classifieds
Company: Precision Wheel Service (800-FIX-BEND) Branford, CT
Notes: Listed in AutoWeek classifieds
For magnesium wheel repair:
M.C. Wheel
Mark Moran, Owner
124 Old Gilsum Rd
Keene, NH 03431
888-mc-wheel
603-352-9270
Straightening Prices: Cars: $75 Motorcycles: $125
Paint Prices: Complete: $60-$90 Touch-up: $30-$50
Cracked or Chipped: $40 if safe.
[AVE] I popped a pot hole at about 35 and bent the inside and outside lip of the left front rim. It is a 16″ Hart type C three piece wheel. A new rim is $ 385 plus tax, etc. I had it repaired at “Downtown Wheel and Alignment” for $ 88.50. They did an excellent job, with ZERO vibration. They are located in Houston, Texas at 1621 McGowen. Highly recommended!
[JBE] I found a place in Oklahoma City that does excellent work on alloy wheels. It’s called ‘Wheel Connection’. Their phone # is (405) 947-2274 and their address is 530 N. Meridian, Oklahoma City, OK 73107. They are recognized by most insurance companies. They are friendly, fast, and reasonable.Workmanship is excellent.
[CA] I have a place in Dallas that does a good job on wheels… Wheels America 1-800-341-1501. 24 hour turn around, assuming you dont need any Chrome work. and the pice is usually around $90-100
[Natedish@aol.com – 2000/9/19] I had my alloy rims repaired at custom wheel refinishing in North Hollywood CA. They came out awesome, better than the other two.Eric, the manager there hooked me up, for less than 100 bucks a rim.The best place in So. Cal!

Chicago Area

[KS] My NSX wheel had a big bend in the outside lip of the inside face of the rim. I was slowly losing air from the tire and could not find any leaks, so I figured I really needed the repair. I took it to Transwheel. They quoted me $125 to straighten it out and completely refinish the wheel (strip, re-paint, etc), or $85 just to straighten it out without refinishing, plus another $10 to mount and balance the tire.
I had them just straighten it out (and mount/balance). I suspect the $85 option is only for repairs on the inside face of the rim; the repair process requires them to “heat it and beat it”, as they put it, and the finish gets discolored. If it were on the outside, it would require re-finishing.
They promised that the wheel would be ready within two business days, and it was. The wheel edge looked perfectly straight, albeit discolored around the repair. I’m very satisfied. However, because of the cost of the repair, it’s probably not worth it for most wheels, just NSX wheels.
I spoke to Keystone and they charge the same amount ($125) for the same process.
Keystone Automotive
3333 W. 47th Place
Chicago IL 60632-3041
773-927-9600
Transwheel Corporation
620 Morse Avenue
Elk Grove Village IL 60007-5102
847-290-8473
http://www.transwheel.com
[MF] I had the Transwheel near me fix one of the wheels on my Accord after it had a run-in with a drainage drain, and it was worth the money. I had just bought a set of 16″ BBS Moda M1’s, when within 24 hours of them being on the car, this drain just jumped out and took a big bite out of the outside edge of my rear wheel. The cost of repairing the very large gouge and bend in the wheel and refinishing the wheel came to about $125, and has a lifetime warranty on the outter finish. The wheel looked new when I got it back, and was about $100 cheaper than getting a new wheel. So it’s not just NSX wheels that benefit from this process of breathing life back into a damaged wheel.
[LCT] I’ve had my wheels fixed twice (painted and scratches) and the results were excellent.
The first time it was done by a shop that does the work for a Porsche/Augi dealership: The Ultimate Paint Shop Inc.28865 Nagel Court, Lake Bluff, Il. 60044 Tel: 708-295-7404). Ask for Joseph Young. It cost me $150 per wheel for taking out minor scratches and repainting.
The second time was a wheel that had a half inch deep scratch by about 5 inches. Pauly Acura sent it to their shop and the charge was $125. Call Ken or Roger at Pauly Acura’s service department and see if they will tell you who they send their paint/refinishing jobs to.
[KS – 99/12/28] Figure around $125 or so per wheel at Transwheel. They will make them look like new. There’s a purple NSX in the showroom at the dealer in Hoffman Estates (Illinois) with rear wheels that they refinished. They look perfect.
Tires and Wheels