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GM is still running wheels that bend and crack easily (most likely cast aluminum).
A source that wishes to remain anonymous, was at the hotel with the c8's and their engineers, and heard them talking at breakfast that the c8 had a cracked wheel that would not hold air, even after they had fixed the tire.
Before breakfast, he saw the GM engineers messing with a portable air pump, and a large torque wrench on the passenger side wheel of one of the c8's
Notice, powered jack stand on left in silver by SUV, torque wrench case on hood of c8, torque wrench in engineers hand, and air pump. After this photo was taken, they had breakfast and said that the wheel was cracked.
He created this video later that morning of the c8 which was not allowed to be driven while all other c8's were taken on their daily trips/tests, after he heard the engineers mention its wheel was cracked during the breakfast in the lobby.
Isn't it amazing that GM does not deem it safe for their engineers to drive cars with cracked wheels when they have a slow leak and run flats on the "stable safe GM rim", yet Tadge tells us in so many words that "in vehicle testing, these wheels hold up to the stresses these cars exert, and they are very strong wheels, and we have no testing that shows the wheels cracking or breaking under normal driving, and our safety is of the utmost importance, blah blah"
BS Tadge...
all the evidence is here, clear as day. The only way GM is going to give us better wheels is if we just start destroying them publicly about their purposeful choice to put perishable wheels on cars that they know we will have to buy more of, which yields them an extra profit when we have to pay over 1,000 dollars per wheel that costs GM less than 50 dollars to make in mass production since it is cheap cast aluminum.
They don't care about our safety as drivers and passengers, they know its unsafe, their engineers aren't allowed to drive a car with a slow air leak in the wheel.
Give us the option to pay extra for wheels that are not junk. We are sick of the headaches and the hassles and the safety issues associated with such weak wheels.
And then 3 days later, confirmation that this is not a made up story...
The roads where this happened did not have potholes, the people who drove the roads with the C8's on their daily paths said that they are just normal bumpy country roads, and train track crossings.
This needs to be the primary humiliation focus for Tadge during questioning after the c8 reveal... we are sick of the BS and lies.
Tests show the wheels break. Lie again Tadge and say the test show otherwise, I dare you.
This was not even on a roadcourse, it was just on the road, doing the "speed limit" as all of your test drivers do... right big guy?!
Keep in mind, this is also the ONLY day people have taken the time to stalk the c8's and evesdrop the engineers... and on THAT day there are cracked wheels... not just bent... but cracked.
C8's have been bending wheels left and right, guaranteed, all the cast aluminum wheels bend too easily.
We are sick of the BS and the greed from GM
Dear Tadge,
Lie again about your stock vette wheels not breaking, and a video will be released with the engineers talking about the cracked rim, with their faces showing, to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt you are lying.
I can buy forged wheels on a mazda. I can buy carbon wheels on a ford mustang. Corvette is supposed to be a higher class, start showing it by tying the 35,000 dollar Mazda please.
Play games with my safety, and ill play games back.
We need some stock wheels that don't break or bend as an upgrade option that WE WILL PAY EXTRA FOR... please, and thank you
Mike. (the guy who has had over 7 stock wheels replaced in 2 years on a z06 from normal bumps in the road)
Ball is in your court now, lets see which choice you make.
The car is not in production yet, I don't understand what the scandal is. Stuff is supposed to break at this stage. Better now than later. This is Fake News to me, sorry.
The car is not in production yet, I don't understand what the scandal is. Stuff is supposed to break at this stage. Better now than later. This is Fake News to me, sorry.
Its why you test. Its why its not in production yet.
I had the forged wheels on my 458 and I hit a pothole. Bent the rim but it was repairable. Even with forging with these really thin wheels you run risks in city traffic.
I had the forged wheels on my 458 and I hit a pothole. Bent the rim but it was repairable. Even with forging with these really thin wheels you run risks in city traffic.
It is doubtful that the C8 wheels are just cast aluminum. They are probably at least flow cast wheels that approach the strength and lightness of forged wheels.
Wheel design is always a trade off between weight and strength - so maybe some of you would want an option to select a heavier but stronger wheel that sacrifices some performance?
Carbon wheels are superior and are rumored to be an option on the Z06, but they are expensive.
Last edited by PurpleLion; 05-10-2019 at 06:14 AM.
Typical GM BS. you get to pay extra for a wheel that won' t bend or crack.
I think it’s typical of any company. Carbon wheels are never cheap, I don’t think a wheel should crack or bend but until it’s a production wheel, I can’t say it’s an issue. I’ve had 2 c7 Z06s and never had an issue with the wheels. One was a z07 package the other other was a stage 2 aero that I later added stage 3 aero on. I tracked both cars heavily, and never had an issue. Overheating on the other hand was an issue on both cars.
How strong should a wheel on a sports car be? Should it be expected to withstand conditions a truck wheel is designed for? Of course not. I've hit a few teeth rattlers and got away with it but I've avoided a few that would've made a bent rim only seem lucky. Point being, design the wheel for what the car is designed for and I think they do.
Made in China , low bid, what do you think Trump is talking about ! If we had a war we would loose. Why are they accepting this inferior garbage because profits are above lives. I wonder how many accidents have occured because of these rims splitting while normal driving? If they would not fix the $2.00 ignition switch until that young lady died do you believe this will be replaced? Blame that CE0 (Mary Baro) for all thats happening., profits above people!Lets face it when it was made here quality was always job 1 Bring back GM to america!
I empathize with anyone who's had a cracked, bent or otherwise damaged wheel, certainly seven of them. But the alternative isn't to "have an option to buy stronger stock wheels"---it's to have better wheels as, and for the original, lowest-cost model of the car, and every model above it. After all, there isn't an option to buy a steering wheel that won't break. Bad analogy, but you get the point.
All that said, it's possible these aren't the final wheels that will go on the C8, and they may as a poster above said, be testing newer wheel from vendors, along with the ride, handling, etc. And what they found out on this trip is a wheel broke. Not good for that mfr/vendor.
Most roads are also in worse shape than they've ever been, even if yours are in good shape, or not where you drive your Corvette.
Finally, breaking and bending can't completely be blamed on "cast" wheels. For years, the original 5-spoke cast wheels on the '05-'08 which was the lowest-cost model's wheels took some real abuse including crashes that had them survive.* It IS about weight and strength, but includes cost (which is specified for those wheels BY GM, TO GM). And maybe just as important: the capability of the wheel mfr. If they're not able to design, test and build a wheel that will last, it may be true for any wheel they make, at any cost or construction design.
* that also goes for the cast, split spoke wheel from '08 on.
After a generation's worth of wheel "issues," it is time to make it a non-issue for end-owners---the ones who plunk down hard money and buy and drive the Corvette.
Wheels break. It sucks but it is reality, over all manufacturers, especially when you start getting into low profile stuff that can;t absorb shocks. Not to mention, my wild guess would be those came off prototype tooling as one-off handbuilds, not production intent equipment, so without seeing the results of the QA inspection saying it is a fundamental design issue, I wouldn't be too worried.
Isn't it amazing that GM does not deem it safe for their engineers to drive cars with cracked wheels when they have a slow leak and run flats on the "stable safe GM rim", ... They don't care about our safety as drivers and passengers, they know its unsafe, their engineers aren't allowed to drive a car with a slow air leak in the wheel.
So what is it, a slow air leak or a broken rim? Cracked rim? No, that stupid, if for no other reason that I don't like standing on the side of the road.
In any case you are trying to psychoanalyze way too much into something you, at best, have secondhand knowledge on.
There's nothing wrong with cast aluminum wheels. Raced a C5 for many years... yes, I preferred the 2001 forged alcoas and scooped up as many as I could find. But nearly every one of my competitors raced on '02-'04 Speedline cast wheels. Cracked/bent wheels were very rare and we'd hit curbs at 130+.
The issue is modern ultra-low profile runflats... there tire is now transmitting all of the force into the wheel. I'd rather the wheel crack vs. the shock tower (yes I know Corvettes don't have shock towers) blow out like the GT-4 Caymans
Couple of things jump out at me in this thread. Guy in our club with a C6 GS purchased a GM stand alone warranty on his wheels, which, as it turns out was a Godsend. He's had several of his bent rims covered under warranty by GM. Another thing that strikes me is, with what is turning out to be a well know foible of Vette wheels, why anyone would continue to replace their stock rims with GM wheels is beyond me. With the aftermarket stepping up to offer (IMO) much nicer stronger wheels than stock, an owner could put the replacement wheel money toward an aftermarket set and sell there remaining wheels here for other members?
ymmv
Mike
05-10-2019, 02:15 AM
GM is still running junk wheels on Vettes...
