[joegals]

Decided to give my car (whose 3rd birthday is tomorrow, Sunday 23rd) a present in the shape of a wheel refurbishment. Despite the various other mods I've made to the car during ownership, I never quite got around to fitting the 20s, besides, I always liked the S5 wheel design and how it suited the car's curves pretty well.

There was nothing major wrong with the rims save for a small 1" graze on one outer edge - but frankly, the paint job on them ex-factory was never particularly good, especially inside.

So after a bit of research into the (many) options, I plumped for The Wheel Specialist, specifically their Swindon franchise, run by husband & wife team James & Shelley (who are really good people). One of the reasons for that choice was the same-day service offered, plus the fact that they'd host me in their office so I could crack on with my work whilst they did theirs, which they carried out yesterday.

I was not disappointed. One word - utterly fantastic job. (Okay, so that was three). Car was in at 9 - by 4:30, wheels had been removed, tyres removed, wheels stripped & carefully checked, graze fixed, wheels powder coated, dried, painted, dried, lacquered, dried, tyres back on, wheels balanced and hey presto!

The pictures, shot in this morning's gloom don't do the final product justice but I was like a little kid when I saw the results. Even when I arrived I hadn't been sure what colour to go for and didn't really just want 'same again silver' but after some discussion with James, we decided to try their 'black chrome', an effect derived by powder-coating the wheel black, then applying a 'chrome effect' silver to the front face so that it flows back into the black, creating real depth in the finish. It's brought an already attractive rim design to life, presenting different effects depending on where it's viewed from.

And the quality of finish is simply outstanding. The entire wheel is coated in durable layers of high-quality powder/coat, paint and lacquer and, once I've applied my Jetseal tomorrow, look as though they'll simply shrug off brake dust and road grime for years to come.

And all this for notably less than the price of one single new wheel from Audi.

So, if you're thinking of tidying-up your wheels, and/or maybe going for a more individual look, you could do much worse than use this outfit (they have franchises across the UK and Scotland and whilst I can only vouch for the Swindon one, the franchisor's processes and training seems excellent so I doubt you'll encounter a bad 'un.....)

Some more pics.....

[Spinner]

Nice job Joe and that black is will certain they stay looking clearn for longer!

Brake dust has started pitting the lacquer on the one I had fully refurbished which had got me thinking about new wheels just before I handed the car over to MRC. This looks like a good alternative so might consider it if I don't go the full hog on light weight 20's. What's the approximate total cost?

[joegals]

Originally Posted by Spinner

What's the approximate total cost?

Cheers Spinner - rather than specify what I paid (as I sense that James believes in setting a realistic price based on specific wheel types and individual customer needs....), let me just say that the original 'standard' quote was just over £400 all-in (inc. VAT), but that once he saw pictures of the wheel design and could estimate the work involved, he agreed on a lesser figure. Frankly, even £100 per corner for customer service and quality of this level, plus the 'while-you wait' service, would be good - any less = an absolute bargain.

True - they're the same ole wheels and you may instead want to use that cash as a down-payment on a nice forged set, but as I said, I've always liked these wheels on the car and their new look is so much more 'technical' (the inner centre of the wheel is effectively black, which has the effect of minimising the bulk and 'framing' my nice EBC discs ;-) when the wheels are viewed in profile from a distance.

Plus, as I've also previously mentioned to you - I'm not going to spend any more money on this car.....

[Spinner]

Sounds fair pricing. If I recalled I paid £80 for the full refurb I had done at Wheel Works and it took 3 days although the process is a tad more complicated it still means car off the road and they wouldn't do a anything more than a standard colour for that price either.

Look forward to seeing them when we next meet mate

[Tym2Share]

Wow, that does look good. I think that would be a nice fit on PBM, Which I have

[joegals]

Agree, think they'd look great on a black car. They also offer a darker version named 'smoked chrome', enough silver to maaintain the definition of the wheel design but overall darker appearance - would look excellent against a black body.

[zee007]

I think they look superb - the finish on those wheels look fantastic. Really sets off the design well...

[joegals]

Thanks Zee - I was a bit frustrated because my little point-and-shoot Ixus fails to capture the richness and complexity of the finish and I was SO excited when I saw them (I've calmed down a bit since....) that I just had to share! ;-)

[scratch113]

Joe,
Loving the finish and great write-up. I couldn't find any mention of a Swindon franchise on the website you linked to - do you have a contact number as they'd be my nearest one too?

My 19" Y-design alloys are now getting to the point where they need a good refurb - a few minor scrapes and a small amount of pitting/bubbling starting to show, but hey, they have done 73k miles! I still love the design, so I'm not thinking of changing them (can't afford it anyway!). £100 per corner is what I was working on, but that was the type of refurb that doesn't take the tyre off and is really only cosmetic, so a full refurb for that sort of price sounds fantastic.

BTW, do you have spacers fitted? If so, what size - I've been thinking of getting 10mm front/15mm rear but not sure if it's worth the money. (edit: ok, see now that you do - I was on my iPhone so no sigs visible...)

[Bader.Abbas]

love the finish

[joegals]

Hi Scratch, apologies for the delay, just saw this.

You're right re. the Swindon franchise - I received an email about a month ago offering the franchise out - seems that James and Shelley have moved on, which is good for them but sad for me.

I've acquired a spare S5 alloy and, given that I now have essentially a custom paint job, thought I'd get if painted to match the other 4 (which is how I formally learned of the demise of the Swindon branch). I now plan to use the Fareham (Portsmouth) branch to do this for me - I nearly went there in the first place given that I'm pretty much equidistant between the two. Or one, now. They seem to have equally good reviews and of course, use consistent processes and finishes.

I gave the car a bit of TLC today and I can honestly say, 7 months on, the wheels look (and feel - see below...) as good as the moment they were finished. Sad this, but I'm still loving sliding my Autoglym Wheel Sealant-coated microfibre inside the wheel to tease off the minimal amount of dirt that adheres to the beautifully painted inner surface. Poetic.

[TheDonOne]

Gents

Had my 20" RS4 style alloys refurbished and done in gloss black down at the Derby branch. Very professional job and great customer service. They can do any finish you require at no additional cost and a same day turnaround.
I have curbed a couple of them since and was looking at getting them re-done.
If any one is interested in a possible group buy I will try and negotiate a discount. Derby or Leeds are good for me but am willing to travel further depending on how many people and where everyone is?

[scratch113]

I've just booked my car in for the end of this month at the branch down in Fareham. Original quote (by email after I filled in their online form) was £416 for all 4 wheels, including removal of the tyres, full strip and refurb, refit tyres and rebalance, however I was a bit cheeky and asked if this was their best price and mentioned this thread and A5OC. They weren't aware of A5OC, but did reduce the price to £372 over the phone - result!
I've at the moment specified the Black Chrome finish (as joegals has) as they look good, but then I've only seen photos so will reserve judgement until I'm there on the day and can see their sample wheel.
I also asked about them applying wheel wax and it would be £5 per wheel extra, so think I'll go for it, but might not buy their wax but buy some RimWax from SmartWax which does look good (from what I've seen and heard) and then apply that in a couple of month's time, before winter really sets in...
Also looking at getting some valve caps to match the wheel finish, which they also do and see that joegals has these (or similar - you may have had them already...)

Anyway, intend to let everyone know how it goes - I'll try to get some before/after pics so that people can compare and I also intend to speak to them about A5OC - always worth having group discounts available if they're willing!

[joegals]

Good to hear Scratch - looking forward to hearing your impressions when they're done!

A tip for you - make sure they use black balancing weights - I'm sure they'll do so as a matter of course but you may have to mention it - pretty much invisible on the black inner surface and definitely the way to go!

[RazS5Cab]

Originally Posted by TheDonOne

Gents

Had my 20" RS4 style alloys refurbished and done in gloss black down at the Derby branch. Very professional job and great customer service. They can do any finish you require at no additional cost and a same day turnaround.
I have curbed a couple of them since and was looking at getting them re-done.
If any one is interested in a possible group buy I will try and negotiate a discount. Derby or Leeds are good for me but am willing to travel further depending on how many people and where everyone is?

Hey Don, Have you got any pictures of your wheels, you can post on here??
I would love to see what they look like with a gloss black finish !!

[scratch113]

Originally Posted by joegals

Good to hear Scratch - looking forward to hearing your impressions when they're done!

A tip for you - make sure they use black balancing weights - I'm sure they'll do so as a matter of course but you may have to mention it - pretty much invisible on the black inner surface and definitely the way to go!

Thanks, joe - hadn't considered that, but sure they'll do the right thing as they seem a pretty professional outfit by all accounts.

Are black balance weights commonly available? What happens when I next change tyres and the local tyre fitter doesn't have them?

[joegals]

Originally Posted by scratch113

Are black balance weights commonly available? What happens when I next change tyres and the local tyre fitter doesn't have them?

LOL, really good question Scratch and one I'd pondered myself. I don't know the answer but suspect that they may be offered by most national tyre chains but if the worst came to the worst, they're freely available on the web - example here: Wheel Weights Self-Adhesive Black 50X60g strips: Amazon.co.uk: Car & Motorbike

[satchmo123]

I just went to have my wheels powder coated at Wheel tech in Highland park Il. I will have the car back Friday morning and will post pictures.

OEM wheels on the S5 are nice I just want them in Matte Black including center cap.

S

[satchmo123]

Just got my ties Pwder coated rform Wheel Tech rim Repair center in Highland Park Il.
Rim Repair - Chicago Wheel Repair | Chicago Rim Repair | Powder Coating | Chicago Alloy Wheel Repair | Chicago Rim Shop

They look pretty nice. Guys there were extremly nice and professional... I like the way they accesnted the centercap with the Audi logo..

[scratch113]

Car went in as booked on Friday - excellent job and very pleased with the result.

I've started a new thread here as it's more of a general A5 mod thread rather than an S5 one.