your probably right. nah. but the issue isn't weather you would race in them, but how durable they are in comparison to HRE's or better yet TE wheels that some 6speeders have. just simply stating that from the little i do know of wheel design many wheel companys make wheels that are in my opinion weak, even by just looking at them. regardless i don't really think any american made hand built 3 piece wheels are good for racing applications. the only wheels i would run are china made. like i said what do i know.

 

The TUV is like Germany's DOT:

A TUV APPROVAL says a wheel has been submitted, tested, and approved to sell in Germany itself since that country has higher standards for safety than anywhere else. Most all manufacturers (at least all of the ones we carry and HRE I'm sure) have internal build standards that meet or exceed the requirements for TUV or JML approval (or QS9000 or VIA of Japan for that matter). It's a blanket statement to make if you say a wheel is of poor quality because it does not have TUV approval. It's like saying a car is junk unless it isn't built to ISO9001 standards - it isn't neccessarily true. Some companies build their wheels to the standard or above, but just never submit their wheels for the actual approval. As a result they cannot be sold into Germany. Read more at:

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/quality.jsp

and

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/construc.jsp

 

so what's next for PCA... banning magnesium race wheels ??? LOL...They break alot easier than a HRE or Kinesis wheel...PCA should just get on with it and ban all street going Porsche's...only pure full fledged race cars would be allowed. LOL!

 

exactly!!!

 

Bottom line, any wheel can fail. It comes down to close inspection of each wheel prior to tracking. Pro racers using BBS wheels probably replace them on a regular basis. Just like rubber, wheels are just like any other consumable. They will fail over time due to stress and fatigue...

 

Generally, it is true that any wheel can fail under the proper circumstance. However I will wait for a little bit more information before commenting.

I do have preliminary information that indicates on the Kinesis wheel posted earlier that a paint stripping procedure may have been to blame. Will let you guys know as I find out credible info.

 

Anomaly or not, this information makes a person think twice about what kinda of wheels to purchase.

 

OEM/BBS only at the track, you have to pay a price for these light weight street bling wheels, they gotta take the weight off someplace.

 

actually aren't these bling wheels not that light? i thought HRE's and kinesis were in the ~30lb range. with all the hardware at the rim the centers may have been lightened too much.

reading about the 9 wheel failures in ONE viper event makes you think twice about HRE.

 

I know where you are coming from Damon, but I dont recall ever making any blanket statements in regards to wheels being poor quality. I was simply relaying my personal preference to offer TUV approved wheels.

 

This is the key.

 

I believe powder coating is a fairly low temperature process. Probably not more than 350 or 400 degrees. I would imagine that the heat generated by the rotors alone is far greater than that. Probably not heat cycling damage due to powder coating.

 

Kinesis and Fikse wheels are generally much lighter than HRE wheels.

Fikse wheels are used in Daytona, I believe... on all their prototype cars. They're heavily involved.

BBS is by far the world leader in racing wheels. OZ is next. Fikse has solid credentials and is currently the only wheel house that manufactuers the whole wheel themselves whereas HRE and Kinesis get the same rim parts from one source. iForged is definitely a tier below.

 

Every wheel can and will break, given the right combination of forces and fatigue. Rumors get started by people who like to impress others with their "knowledge", which as you know, most of the time, is complete horses**t. As in this example, where someone broke a wheel of one brand, and called it another.

Viper Racing League--one of the entities named in the sewing-circle thread bouncing around--requires any and all wheels, regardless of brand, must be manufactured and inspected within 2 yrs and have a sticker on the wheel outers visible to tech inspectors at the track. Wheels are broken all the time, all brands, it just happens in racing. Apply slicks to a race car, increase forces on all components, break components after forces are applied. That's racing, period.

I've got friends in ALMS that told me they're advised to can their BBS race wheels after each season, because you can visually inspect, and even X-ray, and still not know where you are in the fatigue life of the stressed components--the wheels are hammered, better to sh*tcan them than risk a failure on track.

By the way, IMSA's only brand requirement is in GT3 Cup, where BBS is the "spec brand" because of their business relationship with Porsche. In ALMS, however, any brand of wheel is open to use. Some manufacturers will make a wheel model to spec for a certain car class, sell them in groups to teams, and thus make sales with very efficient marketing efforts and costs. If you assume that one wheel is superior because you see it on one car versus another, you're not seeing the fact that it's a business decision, rather than a manufacturing superiority versus a competitor.

For those in the know, HRE made racing wheels long before they made wheels for the sports and luxury car enthusiasts they've become popular with in recent years.

Spend some time with a professional race team, watch them break expensive BBS wheels, or wheels of ANY brand, and then realize the truth. Physics has no preference for wheel brand.

 

But it's so much easier to blame the bling.