Will this deformed alloy pass? (also, wheel arch rust)

Hi g0vp

Looking at the pictures the wheel arch shouldn't be a problem but if you want to be a million percent sure just cover it with some tape - ideally duct tape but masking tape would be ok as a temporary fix.

The wheel isn't so easy to judge by a photo. The damage to the rim doesn't look excessive but I would spin the wheel when it's jacked up to make sure it isn't bent or distorted. The wobble you get could be due to that or due to a piece of the rim missing putting the wheel out of balance.

The actual wording for assessing wheels is:-



In my opinion if the wheel is bent or distorted it's badly damaged. If it's just a piece of the rim broken off it's not. If your spare is the same size why not put that on for the test? Even if it's a steel wheel, as long as the wheel and tyre are the same size it'll pass.

You can just leave it.



Yep (as long as the wheel and tyre are the same size). The tester may make an advisory note (I would) that whatever wheel was a steel and the rest were alloys.

From your description it sounds ok. If you have a wheel trim you could fit that that would cover most of the rusty patches.

I would be spinning the wheel when it was jacked up, and checking to see if the tyre ran true, shaking on the motorway might indicate that the tyre was no longer round, or may simply be a balance problem.

If thats a Fiesta the rusty arch is within 30cm of a rear seat belt mounting, but from what I can see in the photo I wouldn't say that was excessive corrosion.