mikahb

My sharp-eyed wife caught this little beauty on the LR wheel just as I pulled in after my last practice session at VIR a couple weeks back. This spoke was 100% broken, the spokes on either side were about 70% failed.

Check those wheels... EVERY TIME!!!

AU N EGL

damn

Important to check wheels

Z06_BluByU

what kind of wheels were those?!?!

davidfarmer

you are a lucky man....because you caught it....AND because your wife actually came to the track!

dvandentop

yeah let us know what kind of wheels please

mikahb

Thanks David - you're right on both counts!

Wheels are Kodiak FX series. I bought them used from somebody else who bought them used - so it's hard to say what kind of punishment they've lived through.

Needless to say, I've checked all the rest of mine carefully. The thing is - with as often as we're looking at the wheels when at the track (rotating tires, torquing lugnuts, checking air pressure, etc) neither of us noticed it before the session. So - luck was on our side as far as this goes.

Of course, then the motor blew up.

Olitho

I have cracked CCW centers on two occassions. Both times I replaced not only the broken one, but the other three in the set.

I now check them regularly.


Oli

Hardcorvette

That's scary! That could have been disastrous if it would have let go out on the track, or the street for that matter.

fhturner

Damn, your timing w/ this thread/discovery is incredible-- I was at Barber today and discovered that TWO of my Kodiak FX 17" wheels were cracked around the center part where the spokes meet the hub! I bought mine from a friend who bought them new, I believe. I'm gonna contact Kodiak and see if this is some abnormal failure/fatigue issue. Very alarming. I'll try to take and post pics tomorrow.

Stay safe!
Fred

boerio

Mikah,

Glad to hear your wife caught the issue. I noticed something else in the photograph. The next spoke "below" the one in focus seems to also show a crack? I can't tell whether or not it is indeed cracked because that spoke isn't focused. Maybe it is just a reflection. How many of the spokes cracked?

Jeff

Z06_BluByU

^^^^

varkwso

Nice catch - on the wheel and the wife

mikahb

Hey Fred - glad you found yours too. I did call Kodiak and talk with them about it. Bottom line - they will sell you new centers for ~$300/each. He didn't seem concerned about the failure or surprised. FWIW - a new set of inner/outer shells from Kodiak is ~$500 and they won't make just one set.

Luckily for me I had 2 spare rear centers. Turns out one of those was also cracked, but one is good and I'll swap it on this weekend.

The next set of wheels I buy will be a brand new set of CCW's.

floor it

Thanks for the heads up; i jsut bought a retired world cup car
and am having the 3 piece wheels rebuilt, I have been told it is a waste the have the centers magnafluxed,,, now I know that is balony... thanks again for the post..

Olitho

Hey Mikah, I believe that CCWs are good wheels, but I have cracked two centers on those, too. CCW has been very gracious in replacing my sets of all four when I crack one. And they have replace all four for vastly less then what Kodiak is charging for one center FWIW.

mikahb

Yep Oli - your experience seems consistent with CCW and how they stand behind their product. I understand cracks can and will happen - but it's nice to know that you're dealing with a company will work with you when it does. Kodiak just kinda said "Bummer for you - but you're more than welcome to buy a replacement at regular price!" I understand they need to make their money and the wheels are very nice - but it was enough to convince me to go CCW.

Z06cool

Bent in the outer lip when it wanted to get friendly with some VIR armco. CCW repaired it fairly inexpensively and quickly. CCW customer service is outstanding...

97C5inSD

Wow is all i can say ill be checking all my CCW's now just because and well mabey you should get the wifey something extra special now for catching something that coulda been possibly catastrophic on the track

fhturner

Hmmm. That's disappointing that Kodiak won't give any more of a break than that. I wouldn't expect them to give away a freebie by any means, but hell, having cracks develop like that and then making it prohibitively expensive to fix/repair isn't very good for customer experience.

So, out of 2 sets of Kodiaks, I have 2 cracked centers and one out-of-round shell. I'm thinking I'll be "downsizing" to 1 set w/ a single spare wheel/tire, not shelling out that much just to repair what I have. And since my Kodiaks are 17s, I'll be purchasing either more stock Z06 rears or buying racing 18s for the eventual BBK... Sounds like CCWs are better supported and the way to go for that.

Additionally, what concerns me most is that I have 2 centers cracked the same way...why would I buy more Kodiak FXs if I'm just going to have to assume they'll do this eventually every time???

BuckeyeZ06

Don't get me wrong, John Purner does a real nice job of taking care of people. I have bought dozens of wheel sets from him and he always treats me well, as does everyone at his shop.

I have also done business with Kodiak. I don't think they are obligated to replace wheel centers on wheels that are on the third owner. These are racing parts, don't loose sight of that.

Also, I bet those Kodiaks were the ultra light versions that were in vogue in 2004. Those wheels weren't designed to last as long as the slightly heavier CCW classics or Corsairs.