When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I don't want to beat a dead horse as I know this has been discussed before, but I would like some advice. I bought my car a year ago with 23k miles, and the stock wheels have no cracks. The car is on its second set of tires, so I am guessing the previous owners drove it somewhat aggressively. Anyway, I have added 8k miles and because of what has been said about the stock wheels I am a little worried every time I go on a trip, should I buy new wheels?
I don't want to beat a dead horse as I know this has been discussed before, but I would like some advice. I bought my car a year ago with 23k miles, and the stock wheels have no cracks. The car is on its second set of tires, so I am guessing the previous owners drove it somewhat aggressively. Anyway, I have added 8k miles and because of what has been said about the stock wheels I am a little worried every time I go on a trip, should I buy new wheels?
The rears are most likely to crack first. The cracks propagate slowly. At some point the crack will eventually enter the bead sealing area and that tire will slowly lose air. If a really long trip, remove the rear wheels to inspect the inner rims closely for any cracks. Maybe as part of a side to side rotation. If rears are good, I would not fret over the fronts. My 2019 Z06 rears were both cracked by 24k miles but only the LR was leaking after rear tire replacements.
I, like you, would cringe on every drive, as I went through 7 wheels in 1 year. No, I am not an aggressive driver, as the car is meant to keep and pass down to my kids. Texas roads are enough to eat OEM wheels.
I finally forked out the dough for a set of forgeline forged wheels. I have not had another problem in 7 years since! Also, my car was out of alignment from the factory. Since it drove funky from the first test drive, I just figured the super wide wheels were temperamental. That set of tires was gone in 3000 miles. My second set look like new after 17,000 miles. So, going through tires may or may not be due to the driving style. Alignment is just as big a factor. And once properly aligned, the car drives hands off on the freeway...no more darting and dancing down the road!
I, like you, would cringe on every drive, as I went through 7 wheels in 1 year. No, I am not an aggressive driver, as the car is meant to keep and pass down to my kids. Texas roads are enough to eat OEM wheels.
I finally forked out the dough for a set of forgeline forged wheels. I have not had another problem in 7 years since! Also, my car was out of alignment from the factory. Since it drove funky from the first test drive, I just figured the super wide wheels were temperamental. That set of tires was gone in 3000 miles. My second set look like new after 17,000 miles. So, going through tires may or may not be due to the driving style. Alignment is just as big a factor. And once properly aligned, the car drives hands off on the freeway...no more darting and dancing down the road!
Hello Track, What wheels did you get for the Forgeline Forged Wheels. I too have recently experienced the dreaded wheel crack on my C7Z and looking to purchase a good set of wheels. Would like to get the same style as the OEMs but better quality. Let me know or any suggestions you can share.
Any of the Forgelines are much stronger than the OEM wheels. I chose a set with the same spoke design as the OEM, but they are painted silver instead of being chrome.
I also recently experienced a cracked rear wheel on my 2016 Z06's with chrome wheels. I have put about 34,000 miles on it in 9-1/2 years and I know that at 20k, when I replaced the OEM tires, the two right side wheels were slightly bent (but not cracked). The tech was able to balance them out perfectly and I have had no problems since until I picked up a nail in the center of the right rear tire this summer. When I took it in for repair the tech pointed out a crack. It had not caused the tire to lose air; only the nail did, but it was there. He put some sealer on it, mounted the tire, and it did not lose any air after that but I knew I needed to do something about it. Because of the problems with our wheels I had previously researched forged wheel alternatives, but decided that at this point in my ownership it was best to replace the wheel with an OEM chrome one which I got at a fair price from House of Wheels in Florida. The reason I did this is that I plan to be selling my car sometime in the near future, probably next spring, and I felt it best to have all OEM wheels on the car as it is otherwise unmodified. After all, the wheels had done fine for nine years and 33k miles of my ownership and will probably be fine for a long time to come. So for me, at this time, that was the best decision. Having said that, however, if I planned to keep the car a long time, the next time I got a crack I would replace all four with forged ones. Since I like the look of my OEM chrome wheels (Old Guy), the wheels I would probably get are the Wheel Designer's ZE11 wheels, probably in a polished or painted finish rather than chrome as Track did. But those Forgelines look fine as well. Good luck with your mission.--Bob
I don't fix stuff that ain't broken. Now if you want a set of new wheels, that's different. Have at it.
I also agree. I have been driving my Z for 10 years and have about 26K miles on it. The stock wheels are still fine even though they have about 500 track miles on them, including hammering the VIR rumble strips in the uphill Esses and turn 12 (Oak Tree). I'm not sure if there is any benefit, but when driving on the street, I use Tour (never use Sport) and only use Track Mode while on Track, specifically Sport 1, Sport 2, or Race, or Wet if the track is wet. My wheel spokes have some discoloration from hot brake dust blowing on them and there are some chips in the paint from lots of removals and installations. I have changed my lug studs twice over the 10 years to avoid any fatigue failures.
I lost 7 wheels in less than a year...I did replace the 8th before it failed, though. Guess I should have kept it?!?
Just kidding. Honestly, if you use the car for fun rallies and fun drives, then keeping the OEM wheels is a valid option. But, if you need to drive the car and get where you are going reliably for work or other important reasons...then I highly recommend ditching the OEM junk. After the 7 failures in 9 months, I have now been driving the same roads, at the same speeds, in the same manner or more aggressively, for 7 years without a thought on the forged wheels.
If it's not broken, no need to replace. I had all my stock wheels bend/crack so I ended up with a track set of forged wheels and a set of stock replica full forge wheels. I've gone through multiple sets of tires now on forged wheels and been able to enjoy my car on long trips and track time worry free.
Wheel failure
