August 14, 2011 - Emilio from 949Racing is very concerned about sub-standard wheels getting out.
Because my powdercoated wheels were weakened, he asked me to render them unusable so there's no chance they'd end up on a car. I respect that. He suggested a 1/2" hole drilled in the barrel as well as a nice dent on the rim so nobody would be tempted to put them back in service, along with ensuring they went straight to the metal recycler. I had a different plan.
Just how strong are a set of good wheels? I've seen reviews of aftermarket wheels in a German magazine that included destructive testing, so I figured I'd take the opportunity for a bit of non-instrumented destructive testing myself. Besides, it's a lot more fun to use a sledgehammer than a drill. It's much harder to wreak this level of destruction on a set of 6ULs than you'd expect, even those with a heat treating problem. They're tough. We were all surprised at how hard we had to hit the lip in order to dent it, and knocking the center out requires quite a bit of determination. Emilio, it's fair to say these aren't going to get rescued.
For those who want more details on the actual problem: as part of the T6 heat-treating process, these wheels are aged at 350F for about 18 hours. Powdercoating takes the wheels up to 400F for 30 minutes, which can "over-age" the alloy and make it more brittle. I've heard - first-hand - of a German NC owner that had the stock wheels powdercoated and they cracked on him.
There actually is a 15x8 on the market that comes in white: the new Konig Wide Open. The weight is about the same as the 949Racing 6UL as well. I chose the 6UL over the Konig because of a proven track record - the 6UL is a well-known wheel that should take the abuse of the Targa, and Emilio stands behind his products. It's meant a lot of extra work on my part to make them white, but I think it's worth it.
tags: wheels |
THE DIARY