993GT

Just a heads-up for anyone thinking of purchasing OZ Racing wheels, I've had a horrible experience with them and will never buy again...link to more info: https://rennlist.com/forums/996-turb...-wheels-5.html

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/9...eel-issue.html

kk2

That sucks.. wheels are absolutely a wear item in my opinion, but there's no reason a new wheel should have those issues.

993GT

I agree! I'm extremely disappointed in this situation

Rob S

Rob,

I have had OZ Alleggerita wheels on my 6-3 for years and have had no problems (track use only) and I queried a number of owners here before I bought them and all reports were very favorable. They're light, strong, and relatively inexpensive. To me, they seemed like the perfect option for track wheels, and as of today, I still think so. So I'm interested in what you're finding. I read some of your other threads to get some background but still have some questions.

When did you purchase the wheels? What kind of use did they have? You said they had "an easy 4000 km" on them and that one of them is now about 1/2 inch out of round. Are the other three okay? What size was the wheel that is out of spec? Are there any obvious signs of abuse?

I sympathize with your plight, but I'd really like to know the other side of the story. What was the reason for OZ's denial of your warranty claim? Did they examine the wheel? Do they claim abuse? There can be only three reasons for failure: design, manufacturing, or wear/abuse. It's unlikely to be design -- there are thousands of those wheels out there and if there had been a design issue, we'd probably all know about it by now (unless it's specific to the size you have -- which is possible but also unlikely). So that leaves a manufacturing defect or abuse. It should not be that hard to distinguish between the two. A defect will display evidence -- porosity, obvious poor casting quality, thinning, or other manufacturing artifacts that can be found through simple diagnostics (visual, dye penetrant, radiography, hardness, etc.). The wheel isn't going to fold, bend, or buckle due to a flaw that can't be identified. If there is no material flaw, then the problem can only be attributed to an overload -- which would be considered abuse. Overloads may also leave telltale evidence (such as direct contact to the rim or damage to the tire). Was there any? But an overload also may not leave any such marks -- you can bend a wheel and have no external hard contact markings on the wheel or rim. It happens all the time. So if there's no identifiable manufacturing flaw, the logical conclusion is that it was an overload, which isn't covered under warranty.

You might argue that as a matter of good will they should just replace the wheel so as to avoid the bad press. But that's not really fair either, is it? You have 4000 km on the wheel, and damage can happen in an instant from hitting one pothole or other sizable irregularity. I'm sure that OZ receives warranty claims for bent wheels that were not caused by a flaw, and that it may not be wise for them to just "take the owner's word" and replace every bent wheel for free. The only way to assess whether you're being treated fairly is to really understand the cause of the failure by examining the wheel. There's an old saying in the forensic engineering world: "bent metal doesn't lie." What does the metal show?

Rob

993GT

Hi Rob,
I explained further on my other active threads, but will expand here as well.
I bought them new from Tirerack as a wheel/tire package. Total usage of 4months, 4k miles/6k km. I was very careful with the wheels, both in handling and on-car/driving.
They did not see any large impacts, and was far more careful/gentle/caring with them vs. the dead-straight original GT2 wheels, which have 75k km on them. I am the ONLY person to drive my car.
The OZ wheels share identical 'specs' to original GT2 wheels 8.5/12x18".
Both the wheels and tires show no impact or 'squish' marks. Very often an overload or impact will damage a low-profile tire before damaging a wheel to this extent. I do not believe there has been any 'scientific' analysis of my wheel, simply a 'ya it's junk' look-over...
3 wheels are good, 1 is horrifically bad, bent/twisted in the spokes, inner barrel, outer barrel.
These are advertised as (paraphrasing) very strong, light, motorsports grade wheels...There are a few cases of bent OZ's coming to light now, most(all?) seem to be on Turbo/GT2 applications.
I have had TONS of wheels/tires over the years, never anywhere near(if any) such a bad experience...
Maybe the wheels aren't strong enough in a 12" wide, rear-heavy 911, maybe the wheel metallurgy is flawed, but I am very certain I am not the cause of the damage; I have ZERO issue in accepting myself at fault if such was the case. I truly feel I received a faulty wheel and suffered the consequences.
Hope that answers you questions
Regards,
Rob

993GT

Pictures + video of bent wheel

Number54

Sounds bad. I just bought a set of Alleggerita as track wheels for my GT3

The video above looks horrible. I had a bent wheel once, but not nearly like that. How did tire rack balance them? Or did it develop over time?

997rs4.0

Have two sets of OZ track wheels on my 6.3! No issues.

loworbitsi

I've used the OZ variants for the last 5 years with heavy abuse from autocrossing. They haven't had any bending issues. I do about 12-15 events a year, and the high loading from autocrossing with sticky Hoosiers really does run them through their paces.

993GT

I believe it is clearly a defective wheel from new, which I'm 'ok' with-it's the warranty/customer service I have a big issue with.
Hopefully your wheels are strong, and they should be, but if you have an issue forget about Tirerack or OZ helping you, throw the money in the garbage...
Bought them brand new from Tirerack rack as an assembled/balanced wheel and tire package.
It is bad, the wheel is complete junk now, the other 3 are good...hmm maybe a bad wheel....
Good to hear! I bought them on the premise they were a well-designed and strong wheel...I'm sure there's a lot of them out there perfectly fine, and I'm very sure I have a incorrectly manufactured wheel
Have you spun them up yourself to check for run-out?
Maybe its a GT3 vs TT/GT2 application/load spec issue, there are bent/bad TT/GT2 versions...

cello

I too have 2 sets and have ran the same aggressively for years without issue. My tire shop checks same for 'trueness' often (as I flip on the rim every other event).

BUT, that said, all of our good experiences actually lend support to the OP's complaint - which, as I understand it, is that the wheel was defective when it left the factory. I pound mine, and they haven't gone out of round (something i am scared of, along with stress cracking/fatigue, hence all the checking...)

Assuming all said is true, and it seems it is (if I am correctly judging the tenor of the OP's posts), were I in his position, I would be pretty pissed at both TR and OZ for lack of support/Goodwill...

And it gives me a bit of pause re OZ and TR quite honestly.

993GT

You are 100% spot-on, bought due to a good strength/cost reputation/manufacturing technology; much prefer the factory wheel design vs the OZ but weight savings were the goal.
My issue(and reason for the discussion/threads) is receiving what has to be a defective wheel, and having no resolution/fix other then pulling the wallet out again
Regards,
Rob

Rob S

I would like to be more sympathetic to your situation. I understand you're upset that you had to buy a new wheel. I would be too. But it isn't fair to be "mad" at the seller if you can't prove that the problem is theirs, especially given how vulnerable wheels are to damage. I have 9 sets of wheels for my GT3s, of different brands, and I recently replaced two outers and one inner on BBS wheels because they had excessive runout (from use). So it's not uncommon to have proven and respected wheels go out of round. And I've seen many other bent wheels in my day, for all different reasons. But I've never seen one as far out as yours that was due to a defect in the wheel.

In your thread you used the fact that only one wheel out of four was bad as evidence that it must be a flaw. But that fact is also consistent with one wheel getting damaged at some point after manufacture. Sure, it's possible that there was a flaw in manufacturing, but frankly, that's not very likely in my opinion. These are high-production wheels, made under very carefully controlled and automated conditions; it's not as likely as something happening to it afterward. I know -- you said that you're sure you never hit anything. I want to believe you. But you have to look carefully at the wheel. It will tell the story. Then we don't have to rely on recollections or statements.

There is one lesson that I'm going to take back from this too. When I bought my OZs (also from Tire Rack, about 5 years ago), I got them as you did -- with Hoosiers already mounted. In the future, I might opt to have wheels and tires sold separately and mounted locally, so that I have reason to scrutinize the wheel and assess the runout. When they arrive mounted and balanced, there's less incentive to spin them up and look at them. If your wheel came from Tire Rack with a wow in it and you'd spun it before driving on it, you would have found the problem immediately and would have had an unquestionably valid claim. But once you drove on it, especially for thousands of miles, it became a lot muddier. Of course, if the runout was fine when new and went out with no provocation, then that would be a flaw. But there should be telltale signs of that that still exist.

In hearing how adamant you are, I think that (as the seller) I would have offered some partial compensation as a goodwill gesture given the uncertainty of the cause of failure. Had you ever asked them to consider paying for, say, half? Have you challenged them to look at the wheel and to provide proof of their position that it *wasn't* a defect? It may be easier (and cheaper) to let them do the examination and provide proof of their position (and then challenge it if you think they are wrong). Until someone really examines the wheel, though, you're not in a strong position.

993GT

I fully understand where you are coming from, and have completely valid points, however, flaws in manufacturing occur all the time, except it is generally not forecasted into the average public eye as the parts/product is warrantied and the consumer moves on...an exception of course is a widespread recall...
My 'butt-dyno' said there was a roughness(not a shake per se) from new, but being 'premium' products assembled by Tirerack and a lack of time/ambition to take them off for an inspection, I can't prove bad from new, and of course the replacement wheel made that go away. Moot point.
Tirerack said my option was buy a new wheel from us or...live with it?
It's a new wheel that saw a pampered life(careful driving, washed and waxed, careful mounting etc) and is completely useless...If it saw a sizeable impact I would understand and accept fault, move-on, and call it a stupid/unfortunate move; it did not.
Further proof its a faulty wheel: how can everyone here have perfectly straight wheels after heavy-tracking, curbing, etc, and yet 1 of my wheels is a pretzel...no suspension damage/undue wear, no tire damage, no paint damage/stress cracks, alignment unchanged...
I deal with cars/parts everyday, I intimately know parts and failures.
The wheel is faulty(metallurgy or manufacturing), the warranty and customer service are useless and worthless.
Regards,
Rob

996FLT6

I nailed the front edge of exit berm on oem wheels dead on front passenger side. Bent wheel : (.