Scott Turnbull

I have a cracked front rim on one of my Forgeline race rims. The Hoosier guy said this is a common problem with Forgelines. Has anyone else seen this issue?

Anyone have a single front Forgeline rim they would like to part with?

Or a decent (and reasonably priced) set of 17" track rims? (Kenisis, Fiske, etc....)

I should have never sold my extra set Fiske!

ErnestSw

Scott,
Wheels America in Dallas has repaired rim cracks for a couple of local 928 owners and has done a beautiful job. Their phone number is 214-330-9866 Toll Free(888) 99-ALLOY and their web site is http://fixrim.com/index.htm

Mark Anderson

I would contact Forgeline. The cracking problem was somewhat common on their old welded wheels but here is a response for the owner of Forgeline when I asked about the old cracking issue. I've since ordered several sets of ther new 3 piece wheels.


"The earlier 2 –piece wheels was a great wheel 5-10 years ago. It was versatile and lightweight and held up well. As tires have gained significantly more grip and cars have gotten heavier, the 2-piece wheel began to see some problems over time. (It is currently being phased out) It is still a great wheel, but not for serious racers running slicks and Hoosiers and wanting wheels to last forever. When building the 3 – piece wheels, we took all of our past experience and built a wheel that is virtually bullet proof. We rigorously tested them with huge cornering loads, high coefficients of friction, and high repetitions, and to make sure, we had it computer stress analyzed as well. Two years ago we switched to 6061 T6 rim shells to add to the strength and durability even more.
In 2003 the Viper Racing League was having issues with a lot of cracked wheels (from all manufactures incl. BBS) We stepped in and have developed a wheel certification program with them, where we are inspecting all the participants wheels every 2 years. In addition, we supply a major percentage of the VRL with their wheels. We have yet to have any of our wheels fail, yet still find other manufactures wheels every weekend we inspect. Our wheel is not the lightest wheel on the market, and that is because we want our customers to own their wheels for a very long time. We back that up by stating that we will warranty the wheel for 3 years from cracking, even under racing conditions.(which no other mfg. will do) The ZX3R and SX3R are two of the strongest wheels on the market, I am willing to bet my business on it.
Now if someone goes off track and bends a rim or gets into an accident and bends a center, obviously the warranty is void. However, under normal racing conditions we guarantee the wheels will hold up for a minimum of 3 years, but believe that they will hold up for a lifetime.
Let me know if you need any more information."

Scott Turnbull

Ernest - Thanks for the info. I did get my rim TIG welded from an aircraft certified welding shop and was able to run (tentatively) on Sun. However, I am not really wanting to continue to use the welded rim.

Mark - GREAT info! Thanks for sharing. Mine are the older 2 piece style as you can see from the pic. Good to know the issues/limitations.

I am a serious micro-budget racer. Going out and buying a new set of 3 pc rims isn't going to happen any time soon. I would have to find a really good deal on a decent used set to have a shot at replacing these.

Anyone selling a used set of track rims??

Mark Anderson

Tom Falkenburg may be selling some 17" wheels.

poc62

What is a MICRO BUDGET RACER!?

John Veninger

I have my old set of Forgeline wheels for sale, I upgraded to 18' for this year.
They are the same as yours, so you'll have extras.
9.5X17 and 11X17, $1,700.

Scott Turnbull

Lucky to have the car.
Keeping the car is month to month.
Maybe 2 events per year.
Beg, barrow, and suspiciously procure where ever possible!

Scott Turnbull

Hi John,

This is tempting. But, I am still concerned about the apparent weakness inherent in this design, as stated by Mark's posting, the Hoosier Tire folks, and by web searches I have done.

How old is your set? Have you had them inspected for cracks?

PM me and lets talk.

TeufelHei

That's it...now I know where all my brake fluid has been going!!

Scott Turnbull

Talked to Mark (product Engineer) at Forgeline. He basically gave me the same story as Mark A. posted above. These wheels were not originally designed for longevity. They were designed for lighter cars with less grip and for use for a single season of sprint racing.........

For the rest of you guys running these rims:
He also told me to look at the back of the rim, on the spokes I should see "dog bones." I am supposed to check the "dog bones" for cracking. If there is cracking in the dog bone, then I have 1-4 new "door stops" because Forgeline will not touch them. If there is no cracking in the dog bone, then I can send them back to forgeline and they will cut out the centers and re-weld a new shell to the center. $175 ea for fronts, $200 ea for rears. But, I still have centers that have cracking issues.

The good news is Mark said he has never heard of a catastrophic failure. They have all been "nuisance" failures (ie loosing air fast and regularly)

The bad news is where my crack is located is a flex point and the weld will not hold for long. Additionally, Mark said, based on the age and the location of the crack, he would bet that I have cracking in the center dog bones. In other words my rims are boat anchors and I have nothing to run on!

Tony

sell them as subwoofer covers!

Stan.Shaw@Excell.Net

For the truly thrift, I have a set of 8x16 BBS wheels available that will clear S4 brakes.

poc62

Scott,

Safety is always first! We should never put our life at risk!

Joseph Fan

SwayBar

Yes; Forgeline was able to reweld the wheel.

Lots of good info here. I've also heard from wheel-reps and race-teams that it's prudent to check one's wheels after every event for cracking.


Are any of the West/East Coast guys coming to Road America this year??