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Ok, so I did a dumbass move this summer when I drove to Boston. Because there doesn't exist a single straight street, my bloody GPS had me missing the hotel by one intersection - to the point that I backed up the car through the intersection like a tough guy and, oops, scraped the rear wheel against the curb - in front of a really nice hotel with an attendant being really polite! (Insert icon here that's a person holding their fingers in an "L" shape at their forehead... )
Anyway, back to the point of the topic, I was planning to return the wheel to Fikse to get the outer rim fixed up and as I was washing the wheel I noticed a wonderful crack on the inside - it goes right from the edge of the rim to the inside - probably about 1" or so.
I've heard of this thing before re: the Fikse's - anyone else had or heard of the same problem? I wouldn't think that the negative camber would have anything to do with it...I just hope Fikse fixes it up right...I would think it's also fairly dangerous as I'm flying along.
Mine cracked and bent about once every 3 months for a year until I finally got Fikse to buy them back from me. Swithced to BBS and have been trouble free ever since.
Fikse are a great bunch and will fix the cracks for free, if there are any bends they will likely fix those for free as well, out of courtesy.
Truth be told, this is a common problem with street use on these wheels.
I've had both Fikse and Kinesis wheel inner barrels crack. It happens when you have super light wheels and drive them on rough roads or on curbing at the track. I always check out my wheels before track days for this reason. If I drove every day on the street, I'd try to do it monthly. They ain't cheap. Turbo twists are much stronger, albeit heavier, and are better suited for the street.
Fikse should take care of you. I had two inner barrels crack at almost the same time. From what I was told, Fikse was using an outside source to do some of their work and experienced problems. Since they've gone fully in-house, they've alleviated the problems.
Fikse are too soft for the street. It's an excellent track wheel though.
I had the same problem as you (cracked/Replaced mine 4 times) and I drive as cafeful as possible trying to avoid every pot hole. I since then switched to Kinesis and have never had a problem.
I have to say - even though I understand the difference between the stresses on a wheel in street vs track driving - it wouldn't give me a lot of confidence at 150mph on the track, on wheels that aren't strong enough for the street.
I have to say - even though I understand the difference between the stresses on a wheel in street vs track driving - it wouldn't give me a lot of confidence at 150mph on the track, on wheels that aren't strong enough for the street.
Y'know - I kinda have to agree...if the wheels can crack driving over curbing at the track then what is the expectation as far as durability? I mean, is it designed like parts on a racecar with only a limited usage in mind?
I absolutely love the wheels - and the folks there really are a great bunch. I'd hate to think I have to give them up - but I'll never say never. I'll follow up with them and let you all know what happens. Thanks for the input everyone.
Bumping the thread ten years later to say CHECK YOUR FIKSES!
I put some storage wheels on the car this Winter, so I had the chance to do a full wheels off cleaning. The wheel barrels polish up nicely despite years of neglect. Unfortunately I noticed this crack in one of the rear wheel barrels. This is the second cracked barrel in two years. I'll be ordering a new barrel from Wheel Dynamix. I'm just glad that I saw this before I had a bigger problem. So next time you're bleeding the brakes, check you Fikses please!
So, we now confirm that Fixes are not compatible with Boston roads
Jim, can you elaborate on polishing the wheels? I would love to polish the outer barrels of my SSRs as they have corroded (I had no idea before that unpainted polished metal needed to be waxed, d'oh). Not sure it's even possible to save the outer rim halves, but would like to try at some point and maybe paint them over.
So, we now confirm that Fixes are not compatible with Boston roads
Jim, can you elaborate on polishing the wheels? I would love to polish the outer barrels of my SSRs as they have corroded (I had no idea before that unpainted polished metal needed to be waxed, d'oh). Not sure it's even possible to save the outer rim halves, but would like to try at some point and maybe paint them over.
Glad they finally repaved Commercial Street. There seems to be a lot of construction lately where they simply slice the asphalt and leave a sharp 2 1/2" lip in the road with no warning until it's too late. Ouch.
I'm just cleaning and polishing up the inner barrels on the Fikses. I cleaned the wheels first with Griot's wheel cleaner with no results. The 0 and 00 steel wool works very well, but it's labor intensive. 3M makes a metal finishing pad that also works very well and doesn't make a mess like the steel wool. I bought a $20 polishing kit from Harbor Freight that you hook up to a drill and will have a go with that next. I posted a shot below with one wheel shined with the steel wool and one still dirty for comparison. Still more polishing to be done ...
Of course every wheel is different. I'm in the process of refinishing the lips on a set of BBS RS GT wheels. The aluminum had started to show signs of corrosion under the clear coat. I went to the best wheel shop in New Enand and they refused to refinish the wheels. The BBS RS GT wheels are notoriously difficult to work with. I used aircraft paint remover to strip the clear coat off and then wet sanded working gradually from 400 to 2,000. I also filed and sanded off all of the road rash. The lips look like new and are ready to be clear coated again. Then I need to tap all the threads.
12-19-2006, 01:26 AM
Cracked Fikse wheel
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