MLIN

Are chrome fuchs structurally weaker or more fragile than non chrome ones due to the chemical process they go through?

I will be using these wheels mainly for DEs, and possibly for club racing next year.

The chrome is starting to peel in one of the wheels, and I am wondering if this is merely superficial thing, or could it cause hairline cracks in the future.

Any thoughts? Thanks,

chrisp

I ain't no en-ginn-eer but here's what I learned when I had my chrome 9's for a few weeks. Chroming aluminum isn't a great idea because it's a rigid hard coat over a softer base material. Any cracks that develop cracks will propagate without being visible on the surface. I think there's also some issue as to how the aluminum and chrome react which causes some of the cracking but don;t quote me on that. Lastly if there's any moisture trapped under the chrome it exacerbates the problem.

I don't think the chroming process itself hurts the wheel. It's what happens in use that becomes the problem.

The wheel should be designed with chroming in mind (extra sturdy wheel) which clearly a Fuchs was not (too light)

I think you'll be hard pressed to find anyone who recommends racing a chromed wheel, let alone a chromed Fuchs.

For street use it's probably ok.

MLIN

Thanks chirp, makes sense. I came across this chrome set at a "resonable" price, but I think I might skip this and wait for non-chrome ones.

JayP

Is it worth dechroming the wheels? I have a pair of 15x8 Fuch chromes that were too good to pass up... free but look sad.

JayP

At the beginning of the NASCAR season, Toyotas were using chrome-looking wheels. They were powder coated or something but not chrome since that had been banned for who know how long.

There may be something to it I guess- either it hides failures or decreases the strength.

A930Rocket

I thought there was a possible issue with the acid etching that could weaken the wheel. Somebody posted in the Tire and Wheel forum about a wheel that was chromed, the acid had weakened the wheel and big chunks came off it after some period of time. It could have been an aftermarket or hollow wheel that made the difference.

chrisp

NASCAR wheels are steel and don't fatigue crack as easy. My guess would be that it may be banned because chrome is stiff and that rigid outer layer actually stiffens the wheel. Since NASCAR is so tightly contested something like that could provide an advantage.

MLIN

No, not at this "resonable" price. 9x16 fuchs are becoming harder to find and more expensive.


I've heard that, too. One of my fuchs has a hairline crack, and I am not about buy another set that might already be "weak" to begin with.

earlyapex

You will not be able to inspect your wheels for cracks. I would not use them on the race track.