OEM 18's cracking?

[chupacabra]

Ok well i bought a set of OEM 18's powdercoated black from a board member a while ago. I knew one of the rims was dinged up and fixed. I've been driving on these rims for the past 4 months now and it seems that there is a clean crack across 2 of the "spokes" of one of the rims. I felt behind the cracks and indeed it looks like they were welded together. Can a powdercoat hide the cracks on the front side of the rim that long? I'll get pix on my day off tomorrow.

[torrid_nc]

Ok well i bought a set of OEM 18's powdercoated black from a board member a while ago. I knew one of the rims was dinged up and fixed. I've been driving on these rims for the past 4 months now and it seems that there is a clean crack across 2 of the "spokes" of one of the rims. I felt behind the cracks and indeed it looks like they were welded together. Can a powdercoat hide the cracks on the front side of the rim that long? I'll get pix on my day off tomorrow.

I'd say you need to start a seller feedback thread. :sneaky:

[bondosgto]

I'd say you need to start a seller feedback thread. :sneaky:

:iagree:
and i have also heard of this "18 wheel cracking rumor"

[chupacabra]

ok well i snapped some pics today... i stand corrected, from what looked like welds on the back of the rims, its the acutal texture on the back of all 4 rims. heres a pic of the rim thats falling apart, literally...

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa194/tjw0084/P 9230186-1.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa194/tjw0084/P 9230180.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa194/tjw0084/P 9230185.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa194/tjw0084/P 9230183.jpg

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa194/tjw0084/P 9230181.jpg

[BillyGoat33]

What would cause the 18's to crack like this other then a pothole if even that??

[The Butcher]

DAMN! get them off your car bro.
Some may say that this is a result of the heat process used when powder coating the wheels. Could be i suppose. The cracks are at the weakest point in the spokes.
I don't think these cracks could be "hidden" by the PC that long. That sucks, but i don't think you should go bashing the guy that sold these to you as i really don't think PC would hide that. IMO

[NickC]

:iagree:
and i have also heard of this "18 wheel cracking rumor"

I believe you're thinking of the stupid looking 18 inch chrome wheels that are cracking all over the place. I've never heard of the 18 inch Enkei wheel cracking.

[chupacabra]

What would cause the 18's to crack like this other then a pothole if even that??
I'm in the same boat as you man I'm totally clueless as to what can cause this to happen?

DAMN! get them off your car bro.
Some may say that this is a result of the heat process used when powder coating the wheels. Could be i suppose. The cracks are at the weakest point in the spokes.
I don't think these cracks could be "hidden" by the PC that long. That sucks, but i don't think you should go bashing the guy that sold these to you as i really don't think PC would hide that. IMO

I'm not bashing the guy, I've stood up for him getting in trouble in the past and by no means do I blame this on him. Just hope he was honest with me that's all.

[The Butcher]

I'm not bashing the guy, I've stood up for him getting in trouble in the past and by no means do I blame this on him. Just hope he was honest with me that's all.

Sorry, i did not mean that you were. I was just saying that more then likely they were not cracked when you bought them.
Kind of an interesting read to search powder coating and cracking rims. Lots of opinions out there. Not just on this site, but on the web.

[hybred]

yeah i woulds stop driving on them and take them off right away

[Mr. Black]

I believe you're thinking of the stupid looking 18 inch chrome wheels that are cracking all over the place. I've never heard of the 18 inch Enkei wheel cracking.

I have seen at least 1 if not two other factory 18 inch wheels that have cracked a spoke.

[chris203]

Mine did that. I had a crack straight across one spoke on my rear passenger side wheel right before my trip back to college. $600 later, I was back on the road. I've never heard of OEM wheels cracking.

[flink]

You'd think that a wheel which weighs 2700000000000 lbs
would at least be strong.

[TCNJEngineer]

Depending on the temperature of the oven that they used to cure your rims, the wheels structural integrity may have been compromised. It's something I never thought about before, but the grain structure of the metal would be rearranged if the metal gets hot enough and could result in a more brittle arrangement.

[s/c'd cav]

WOW , that sucks

pull the cracked wheels off ASAFP ! also get some pics of the inside of the wheels

[trbo_blu]

Find out how hot they used to cure the powder coat. Most powder's can be baked on using a conventional kitchen oven so I wouldn't think heating the wheels up to say 450 would do that much harm...but then again its sounds like its possible.

Definately +1 on getting them off the car.

[qwikss]

Do you use the car at the track? How aggressive is the driving on the street (corners)? Just curious as I use mine at the track with chrome 18's and would hate for one of them to break while I was there.

Maybe it's time for some good aftermarket wheels.

[r0nd3L]

You'd think that a wheel which weighs 2700000000000 lbs
would at least be strong.

Hahahah :gr_jest:

[chupacabra]

You'd think that a wheel which weighs 2700000000000 lbs
would at least be strong.

I KNOWWWWWw WTF :bomb:

Depending on the temperature of the oven that they used to cure your rims, the wheels structural integrity may have been compromised. It's something I never thought about before, but the grain structure of the metal would be rearranged if the metal gets hot enough and could result in a more brittle arrangement.

i've been looking into this after a few members mentioned this theory, and I can't really believe it. I have had ALOT of things powdercoated that are subject to ALOT more pressure/force/whatever than a wheel. it's always a possibility though.

WOW , that sucks

pull the cracked wheels off ASAFP ! also get some pics of the inside of the wheels

working on this, will inspect the inside of the wheel when i have a day off of work this friday, as of now the car is layed up in the garage.

Do you use the car at the track? How aggressive is the driving on the street (corners)? Just curious as I use mine at the track with chrome 18's and would hate for one of them to break while I was there.

Maybe it's time for some good aftermarket wheels.

I do track the car, but never had on these rims. As for normal driving I'm not a nut on the road and I never hit a big bump or pothole... part of the reason why I'm boggled here.

As for the new rims I had a set of CV8Z's lined up from JHP, but if this is the kind of shit that i can expect from Holden/Pontiac, I'll suck it up and finally get a set of some forged goodies.

[lokoo]

hey terry i have no idea what happen to that rim lol only the one that was bent and got repaired im sorry that had happen to u let me know if i can do anything thanks.

[r0nd3L]

By any chance could it be just paint crack?

[Divus]

Although I can't be 100% sure but it looks like they were made of bad material to me. We magnetic particle inspection metal parts all the time and thats typical of what it would look like if you get bad metal. If it was over heat treated they probably would of snapped off already.

FYI cracks from metal getting to hot usually are small and very hard to see unless you have something to check them with and tend to shatter before you know you have a problem. Harder metal is very brittle just like glass.

Of course I'm not a metallurgist, but I have seen hundreds of cracks before at work and thats my opinion on it. It would be much easier to tell if it was in front of me instead of some compressed images.

Oh and change them soon. Eventually it will fail and if your going down the highway you will crash. The pressure from the tire might be the only thing keeping them together now.

[chupacabra]

hey terry i have no idea what happen to that rim lol only the one that was bent and got repaired im sorry that had happen to u let me know if i can do anything thanks.

its cool bro i know it's not ur fault, don't sweat it.

By any chance could it be just paint crack?

i was hoping that but its def deep i can get one of those flat feeler gauges in there all the way :mrrg:

[ZackL04]

put it on the rear and do some HARD launches.......

But really take that thing off ASAP

[Chilly Palmer]

The pressure from the tire might be the only thing keeping them together now.

Yikes, that's a scary thought. I knew the MC2 multi-spoke 18's were cracking all over the place, but had not heard of regular stock 18's cracking before.

Guess there's something to be said for the stock 17's, I haven't read anything about those cracking, ever.

[speeddemon]

Yikes, that's a scary thought. I knew the MC2 multi-spoke 18's were cracking all over the place, but had not heard of regular stock 18's cracking before.

Guess there's something to be said for the stock 17's, I haven't read anything about those cracking, ever.

stock 17's will not bend at 70mph hitting a pothole big enough to damage the strut :mrrg:

[chupacabra]

stock 17's will not bend at 70mph hitting a pothole big enough to damage the strut :mrrg:


sounds like this comes from experience.... :eyetwitch:



the wheel's coming off tomorrow, i will throw a stock 17 on there while the goat chills out for a few days

[ls2goatman9]

just have the same size/tall wheel/tire on both sides/ dont have just the stock 17"er on one side of the axle and the other 18 on the other side will cause were,

[REPODAN]

hey terry i have no idea what happen to that rim lol only the one that was bent and got repaired im sorry that had happen to u let me know if i can do anything thanks.

+1,, im so sorry to hear this i originally had these powder coated,, i dont know the specs of the oven they used on the wheels, but when i had them i had no problems:confused:

[tigeragogo]

I was thinking about buying a set of 18s...perhaps I should just be happy with the 17s. Anyway, take those wheels off ASAP and see if you can get new ones from a Pontiac dealer or GM as they are clearly defective.

[gtoN8]

I was thinking about buying a set of 18s...perhaps I should just be happy with the 17s. Anyway, take those wheels off ASAP and see if you can get new ones from a Pontiac dealer or GM as they are clearly defective.

First off, he is NOT going to get new wheels from GM/Pontiac/Holden because these have been altered with the powder coating. Secondly, as others have said, this is the FIRST we have heard of an OEM 18" wheel cracking. There is no reason to think all of the OEM 18s are weak or defective. The OEM 18's I bought from a member on here a couple years ago have been excellent. I was so glad to get rid of the stock 17's because I had some strut rub that the 18's cured. So, simmer down nah guys! We can't bash GM for an isolated incident involving an aftermarket powder coating on an OEM wheel.

[bondosgto]

if the stock 18's are cast, then you powder coat them, that will weaken the metal. from everything i have saw this is 75% accurate for most of the cracks on the 18's. i will take my chances w/ them, over the 17's. seems like most of the strut rub is w/ 17's, prooly due to a wider tire/back spaceing

[tigeragogo]

First off, he is NOT going to get new wheels from GM/Pontiac/Holden because these have been altered with the powder coating. Secondly, as others have said, this is the FIRST we have heard of an OEM 18" wheel cracking. There is no reason to think all of the OEM 18s are weak or defective. The OEM 18's I bought from a member on here a couple years ago have been excellent. I was so glad to get rid of the stock 17's because I had some strut rub that the 18's cured. So, simmer down nah guys! We can't bash GM for an isolated incident involving an aftermarket powder coating on an OEM wheel.

if the stock 18's are cast, then you powder coat them, that will weaken the metal. from everything i have saw this is 75% accurate for most of the cracks on the 18's. i will take my chances w/ them, over the 17's. seems like most of the strut rub is w/ 17's, prooly due to a wider tire/back spaceing

All right, you changed my mind back to 18s.

[REBinc]

I put both my front 18s completely over a curb in a snow storm, no cracks, just a giant dent (hit directly on spoke, wheel still round). I've seen this on another Chicago members 18s where he hit a pot hole on LSD in between the spokes, and that flat sided one part of the rim. I would say as it sounds the powercoating is heat treating the wheels improperly and making them brittle. From my experience they seem pretty malleable.