The new (replacement) wheels showed up on Friday and got them swapped out with my damaged rims this morning. Well, I should say I watched the tech mount the tires to the new rims, I mounted the bead lock rings, he balanced the wheels, then I mounted to the truck and installed the lugs... took a little longer than planned but well worth the time to have a "flawless" set of wheels this go round.
The tech showed me what balancing attachment the other guy would have used to damage the one original wheel -- using the proper attachment doesn't marr the outside of the rim at all. Also, when he went to remove the wheels from the truck initially with an air ratchet and 13/16" impact socket, we figured out what caused the lug hold damage... the diamater of the impact socket was just a little too big to fit into the lug hole, but not enough that you couldn't tighten the lug with the spline drive/lock socket. They'd also used a "normal" depth socket which is what actually impacted the metal of the rim.
Solution (that I already planned for and brought with me to the shop this morning), use a standard (not impact type) 1/2" deep socket that extends all the way down into the lug hole when placed over the spline drive/lock socket (my Craftsman one worked great). And, put a piece of 2" painters tape on the part of the lug hole that was damaged just in case the deep socket rubs the rim when torquing the lugs. 2 minutes of putting tape on 48 lug holes was worth it in my book.
Anyway, the take-away here is that if you buy these wheels, make sure you trust the shop that installs them so you can save yourself the grief. I'd also highly recommend telling them that you'll watch the whole process and install the lugs yourself. Way better than having the kid that is practicing to join a NASCAR pit crew race his buddy to see who can get the lugs installed on your new wheels fastest and jack up your wheels in the process.
