2018 Grand Sport 1,000 miles=3 bent wheels
02-24-2018, 02:33 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
2018 Grand Sport 1,000 miles=3 bent wheels
1 month of having the car, 1000 miles and do not remember hitting anything big (I've had low pro tires before on 997 Turbo), and noticed a vibration on 80mph+. Took it to tire shop for balancing esp with COTA weekend coming up, and found 3 bent wheels. Wth GM?!
02-24-2018, 02:57 PM
#2
Bent GS wheels are far more commonly reported here than any other design. You almost never hear reports of bent Z51 wheels. From a purely visual analysis standpoint, the GS spokes just don't look as sturdy.
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02-24-2018, 03:10 PM
#3
Melting Slicks
13,000 miles on my daily driven GS, no bent wheels yet...... I live in So Calif and we do have a few potholes but not like the midwest. I have had three tires gather up misc road debris, which required replacement.
02-24-2018, 03:16 PM
#4
Instructor
Welcome to the GS bent wheel club, except I know I hit some potholes very hard and the vibration started right after, not the subtle "bends" that others have discovered when the vibration starts.
Two new wheels and vibration is gone. I am fortunate that the tires, front end and frame are all OK.
I'll be looking for an extra set of wheels to mount AS3+s on in the fall. I hope to find something sturdier than the GS Cup wheels, open to recommendations.
Two new wheels and vibration is gone. I am fortunate that the tires, front end and frame are all OK.
I'll be looking for an extra set of wheels to mount AS3+s on in the fall. I hope to find something sturdier than the GS Cup wheels, open to recommendations.
02-24-2018, 04:15 PM
#6
Race Director
I thought I read somewhere on here that GM/Tadge has declared that bent/cracked wheels were not the fault of C7 wheels?
OP, do you drive in "Track" mode very often?
OP, do you drive in "Track" mode very often?
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Apocolips (02-26-2018)
02-24-2018, 06:34 PM
#7
Instructor
Thread Starter
I do not drive in track mode on the street,. And I haven't hit the track in full track day yet. Even if I had on full stiffness, 3 wheels shouldn't be bent after 1000 miles. I've had adjustable shocks on full stiffness on cars with $900 enkeis and hit hard potholes that I can remember, and wheels are fully straight.
The spoke design of the wheel has no bearing on its quality. It's the overall production of this aluminum cast wheel that is crap. I don't even know the point of claiming warranty becuase if I get the same wheel then it's pointless.
I guess I will have to scratch the wheel as POS and unsuitable for good cup2/pss tires on an otherwise awesome car.
In the meantime I have to get them fixed over 2 days to be ready for COTA. After which it will likely bend again. Later I will get some hre flow form or similar for street driving and maybe a cheaper wheel like Forgestar for track.
The spoke design of the wheel has no bearing on its quality. It's the overall production of this aluminum cast wheel that is crap. I don't even know the point of claiming warranty becuase if I get the same wheel then it's pointless.
I guess I will have to scratch the wheel as POS and unsuitable for good cup2/pss tires on an otherwise awesome car.
In the meantime I have to get them fixed over 2 days to be ready for COTA. After which it will likely bend again. Later I will get some hre flow form or similar for street driving and maybe a cheaper wheel like Forgestar for track.
Last edited by archfarseer; 02-24-2018 at 06:36 PM.
02-24-2018, 06:52 PM
#8
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Sorry to hear, but with so little sidewall to help protect the wheel it's going to happen. A tradeoff as well (especially if cast), light-weight vs. strength... just another cost of being in "our club." 
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Apocolips (02-26-2018)
02-24-2018, 07:02 PM
#11
Burning Brakes
Are the GS wheels not forged?
02-24-2018, 07:17 PM
#12
However, the Z51 design has much thicker spokes, and there haven't been bending issues reported with them as there have with the GS design.
02-24-2018, 07:58 PM
#13
1400 miles, ‘18 GS, ZERO bent wheels😉
02-24-2018, 09:56 PM
#14
10,000 miles on a '17 GS, and I have hit a few very painful frost heave expansion joints at speed, and driven the shitty streets of Houston, TX a couple of times.... no problem with the wheels yet.
02-24-2018, 10:01 PM
#15
Instructor
Thread Starter
You shouldn't have to worry about your wheels after 1400 miles, or 10,000 miles, or 40,000 miles. Of course your miles may vary (pun intended) on location and driving style, but I'd say on average these widebody wheels are lower quality than narrow body ones and reputable aftermarket brands.
And for all the guys who haven't had a problem, I'm happy for you. But do keep in mind that no vibration doesn't mean non-bent wheel. Bent wheel symptoms may show up at higher speeds (mine were 80mph+) or on a balancing machine.
And for all the guys who haven't had a problem, I'm happy for you. But do keep in mind that no vibration doesn't mean non-bent wheel. Bent wheel symptoms may show up at higher speeds (mine were 80mph+) or on a balancing machine.
Last edited by archfarseer; 02-24-2018 at 10:04 PM.
02-24-2018, 10:14 PM
#16
Race Director
Butt....I don't know whether you just got a bad set of wheels, drive on bad roads, or what???
Do you have the stock tires on it??? If you had a different set of tires put on, the tire shop may have done some damage.
I have a '16 Z06 with coming up on 5,000 miles - and about 3,500 of them are on the track. And probably 3,000 of them are with a set of GS machine faced Cup Wheels.
I'm always running over the rumble strips on the apex of most corners, and also many track-out areas have gators - you can see the gators on the apex of the turn below (the Int'l Horseshoe on the Rolex24 course at Daytona), and you can see the Cup Wheels:
I've gone over many hundreds of those rumble strips with my Cup Wheels - climbing the uphill esses at VIR you bang over them left-right-left-right, and all the other corners have bumpy rumble strips; every where on the NCM Motorsports Park track there are raised curbing areas - they don't have rumble strips, but give your tire/wheel a good bump as you track over them; at Daytona all the infield corners have rumble strips on the apex and track-out strips, and the Bus Stop has quite aggressive gators.
Bottom line - I think you must have just gotten some bad wheels, because I'm not having any problems after giving them a lot of very good runs in Track Mode over a lot of very bouncy rumble strips.
.
02-24-2018, 10:30 PM
#17
Race Director
Granted these wheels aren't designed to be the most durable on the road, however I'm just not buying that GS wheels are bending in any substantial quantity under normal everyday driving conditions. If that were the case we would be seeing these threads started practically everyday, not just once or twice a month.
Typically the thread starter admits to hitting a pothole or something.
Typically the thread starter admits to hitting a pothole or something.
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SLOWRYDE (02-26-2018)
02-24-2018, 10:52 PM
#19
Granted these wheels aren't designed to be the most durable on the road, however I'm just not buying that GS wheels are bending in any substantial quantity under normal everyday driving conditions. If that were the case we would be seeing these threads started practically everyday, not just once or twice a month.
Typically the thread starter admits to hitting a pothole or something.
Typically the thread starter admits to hitting a pothole or something.
Last edited by Foosh; 02-24-2018 at 10:53 PM.
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Kevin A Jones (02-24-2018)
02-24-2018, 11:05 PM
#20
Burning Brakes
