Another cracked thin spoke wheel
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Apr 2014
Posts: 428
Likes: 30
So, the cracked 02 wheel I have marked with "GM" must be the forged ones. The back of the wheel looks machined with no casting marks, and the wheel info is stamped on with a dot stamper, and not cast on the wheel like the Speedline.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 15,061
Likes: 1,613
From: Holly Springs NC
St. Jude Donor '16-'17,'22,'24
Hey gang, I started a thread on this back in 2014. Didn't go very far, but we were beginning to notice the trend back then. Because I was changing from painted to polished wheels back then, I did some searching on the forums. I did find a couple instances where painted, thin spoke wheels cracked. However, the number of polished wheels that cracked was substantially greater. I never had a problem with either set and traded the C5 with the polished wheels on it. The painted wheels are now mounted on a C4 somewhere in the Raleigh area.
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 17,758
Likes: 1,211
From: Aiken, SC
St. Jude Donor '13 thru '26
Instructor
Joined: Jun 2015
Posts: 238
Likes: 43
From: Ohio
"My Dad's a TV Repairman"
Joined: Jul 2014
Posts: 471
Likes: 153
From: San Diego
This is incorrect- The wheel on the right is not polished. It is a cast, Speedline wheel that was chromed. The above photo is from a 2004 polished wheel, thin spoke. The thicker Speedline was never available polished, and chrome has never been an option on C5s.
Last edited by Fed Up; Aug 18, 2016 at 07:51 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,671
Likes: 850
From: New Jersey
My understanding is that the process to chrome an aluminum wheel requires some type of acid bath. If the acid is not completely rinsed from the pores of a cast wheel, the acid continues to eat at the aluminum and can eventually cause voids and cracks. This is a problem with many aftermarket wheel chroming companies, as they may not have the best processing and quality control to prevent this, unlike OEM wheel manufacturing companies.
Stay far away from aftermarket chromed aluminum wheels.....
Stay far away from aftermarket chromed aluminum wheels.....
Last edited by ersatz928; Oct 24, 2016 at 03:42 PM.
