4th gen wheel question

[Pranav]

Yeah no one here really runs the cheap knockoffs.

17*9 Camaro SS wheels can be had for 200-300/set; z06 fronts about $100 more/set if you can find em.

I take comfort knowing if I bend/crack a wheel that replacements are out there and available. I've bought four sets of SS wheels for my car and have lost 3 individual wheels in the past with offs and hits, zero fucks given.

[JJKJ]

I found one good option for an aftermarket wheel. I run TSW wheels. I have two different models; two sets of Interlagos and one set of Nurburgring. TSW advertises these wheels as rotary forged (much like Forgestars) so they're light and so far have held up well. These wheels are popular track wheels for other platforms. They are the correct bolt pattern but you have to run spacers as the center hub won't fit over the rear axle stub. The other downside is they're only 9" wide, but on the upside the Interlagos are just over min weight at 18.5lbs. Nurburgrings are about 1lb heavier. They're available at DT and when I bought multiple sets I was able to get the price down to $200/wheel (normal price is about $250). I tried finding Z06 wheels at the time but kept missing the good deals, but so far very happy with the TSWs.

[BryanL]

Terry-how would one tell that a wheel has used up it's life? I run only factory GM wheels which like has been said are close to the minimum weight, plentiful at a good price, but I also haven't seen any issue with people using them. Sure in an off or a wreck a wheel can be damaged but other than that I haven't seen any failures? I feel better about using the factory wheels for durability than an aftermarket set? I agree on not using the knockoffs or any chromed wheel.

Last set of tires Discount put on they said my wheels needed to be replaced because the chrome had some flakes on the inside of the rim and they might be 10 years old.

Rob have you seen anything on this?

[RichardP]

how would one tell that a wheel has used up it's life?

You basically can't tell until there are signs of cracking. The problem is, most people don't look closely enough or often enough at their wheels to find cracks before they become a serious issue.

I have fatigued four sets of wheels: A set of three piece 4-lug wheels (that I bought used from Fair), a set of two piece welded Centerline wheels, and two sets of Konig Villians. So far, I've caught the failures before there was a problem on track. We run the Z06 wheels on the CMC cars. Those are pretty durable wheels but there was an AI f-body in California that was wiped out when one of those wheels failed on the rear. I run the the Enkei rpf1 on my car. I've heard of people with fatigue cracks on them but I've never seen it in person or in pictures.

I've attached pictures of some typical fatigue cracks that people should be looking out for.

Richard P.

[RichardP]

In case anyone needs a little more prodding to inspect your wheels, the goal is to catch them before they look like this:


Richard P.

[BryanL]

This is great info Richard and Terry-thanks. From one of my mentors, Mitch Warren, I learned to wash and inspect my wheels after every event but I need to do a better job of inspecting. I washed all my wheels a few weeks ago but it was dark by the time I was putting them up. Good pics of the closeups to see what to look for. I seem to recall some discussion about the car in Cali on the Z06 wheels but would like to confirm if they were chromed or not.

[Supercharged111]

That's an illegally lightened wheel.

[marshall_mosty]

Michael has found some cracks in his MB weapons on the rim lip...

[DAlgozine]

double post

[DAlgozine]

You basically can't tell until there are signs of cracking. The problem is, most people don't look closely enough or often enough at their wheels to find cracks before they become a serious issue.

I have fatigued four sets of wheels: A set of three piece 4-lug wheels (that I bought used from Fair), a set of two piece welded Centerline wheels, and two sets of Konig Villians. So far, I've caught the failures before there was a problem on track. We run the Z06 wheels on the CMC cars. Those are pretty durable wheels but there was an AI f-body in California that was wiped out when one of those wheels failed on the rear. I run the the Enkei rpf1 on my car. I've heard of people with fatigue cracks on them but I've never seen it in person or in pictures.

I've attached pictures of some typical fatigue cracks that people should be looking out for.





Richard P.

It was an aftermarket wheel, not an OEM and not a race wheel.
http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/index.p...c=14181&st=140
Starts on post #149 and more info on post #170 .