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Old 08-14-2009, 12:29 PM   #1
Scooby921
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Default Oops...broken RPF-1 :-(

Not sure how or why, but one of my RPF-1s cracked on my drive home from a friend's place last night. I heard a clicking noise and waited until I got home to check it out. I jacked up the corner of the car and wiggled the wheel thinking it might have been a wheel bearing or something with the brakes. When I actually looked at the wheel I kinda had a moment and freaked out. Had I been on curvy fun roads on my way home instead of the expressway I might have broken the wheel right off.


So far I can't say anything but good things about Enkei and their customer service. I sent a couple pics and they are already looking into whether or not they can warranty the full set. If nothing else I was told they might sell me a set direct at a reduced price.




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Old 08-14-2009, 01:10 PM   #2
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Holy crap!

What does the bead/rim look like? I've never seen anything like that.

If it cracked in the middel of no where you have a case.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:15 PM   #3
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That is a very odd place to crack. I'm no expert, but I'm voting on a defect in the manufacturing process...
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:20 PM   #4
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The wheels look to have been Powder Coated. At what Temperature where they baked at?
Reason I ask is the grain structure of aluminum changes at a relevantly low temperature compared to other metals. Which could have caused the metal to become brittle and crack.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:24 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RallySport Direct View Post
The wheels look to have been Powder Coated. At what Temperature where they baked at?
Reason I ask is the grain structure of aluminum changes at a relevantly low temperature compared to other metals. Which could have caused the metal to become brittle and crack.
They were painted...PPG automotive paint. Prior to painting they were dipped in an aircraft grade chemical stripper, no blasting and no high-temp baking involved.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:26 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RallySport Direct View Post
The wheels look to have been Powder Coated. At what Temperature where they baked at?
Reason I ask is the grain structure of aluminum changes at a relevantly low temperature compared to other metals. Which could have caused the metal to become brittle and crack.
Good point, but over aged still would have cracked at the stress points. Why did it pick the middel of the spokes?
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:26 PM   #7
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........

Last edited by Web Foot STi; 08-14-2009 at 01:48 PM. Reason: Dreaded double post.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:26 PM   #8
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Originally Posted by Web Foot STi View Post
Holy crap!

What does the bead/rim look like? I've never seen anything like that.

If it cracked in the middel of no where you have a case.
The lips on all the wheels have a few dings here and there, but they've been like that for the 3 years I've owned them. I never had a problem in 3 years of autocrossing. Now that I've been daily driving on them for a week they cracked .
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:27 PM   #9
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Quote:
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They were painted...PPG automotive paint. Prior to painting they were dipped in an aircraft grade chemical stripper, no blasting and no high-temp baking involved.
Thats a good paint job then, couldnt tell from the images if it was painted or coated.

How long have you had them on the car for? Any track days? Any damage to the tire around where the fracture occurred (maybe a pot hole)?

I have seen several sets of Enkei wheels get damaged in road racing from hard impacts, but not fracture to the extent of yours.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:28 PM   #10
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Shazbat 921. You know what you are doing.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:31 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by RallySport Direct View Post
Thats a good paint job then, couldnt tell from the images if it was painted or coated.

How long have you had them on the car for? Any track days? Any damage to the tire around where the fracture occurred (maybe a pot hole)?

I have seen several sets of Enkei wheels get damaged in road racing from hard impacts, but not fracture to the extent of yours.
Paint job is pretty good, three coats of base and one coat of clear.

These had been my auto-x only wheels for the last 2.5-3 years. I stopped autocrossing the car and decided to use them as dailies. I had new tires mounted up and I've been driving on them for a week. Tire is in good shape.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:33 PM   #12
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I honestly think its just one of those awkward failures. If it wasn't me it could have been someone else. I'm just thankful I caught it and didn't drive more than 20 miles like that.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:34 PM   #13
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No one?

Oh Snap!

I have RPF-1's for AX and they've never had issues.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:35 PM   #14
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I dont even know what to say about that kind of fracture if there is no damage to the rim, thats just a bit uneasy to look at.

Keep us updated on what Enkei says about the fracture, as we are all quite interested on what they say could have caused the damage.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:37 PM   #15
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That's a fatigue crack, but in the middle of no wear. as you know. I'm scratching other od places thinking about it.

The only thing I can think of is an improperly vented casting bubble. They F'd up the mold for a lot run.

Now they have to think about the R word.
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Old 08-14-2009, 01:47 PM   #16
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No one?

Oh Snap!

I have RPF-1's for AX and they've never had issues.
Nor have any of the normal STX/STU competitors I know. Wong's orange wheels were powder coated and are still going strong as the wets on McCance's ESP car. Those saw a lot more abuse than mine have.

This one failure certainly doesn't mean RPF-1s are anything to be concerned about. The number of people using them in high abuse situations and not having any failures far outweighs my one cracked wheel.

Quote:
Originally Posted by RallySport Direct View Post
I dont even know what to say about that kind of fracture if there is no damage to the rim, thats just a bit uneasy to look at.

Keep us updated on what Enkei says about the fracture, as we are all quite interested on what they say could have caused the damage.
I'm expecting a call-back on Monday or Tuesday. I'll give you guys an update when I know something.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Web Foot STi View Post
That's a fatigue crack, but in the middle of no wear. as you know. I'm scratching other od places thinking about it.

The only thing I can think of is an improperly vented casting bubble. They F'd up the mold for a lot run.

Now they have to think about the R word.
It could have been something as small as a stone chip that cracked the surface and simply took this long to propagate and snap. When one went the other took all the load and couldn't handle it.

No need for a recall if one wheel out of hundreds or thousands breaks. When you consider the physical loads a wheel sees during any given drive it is amazing they hold their shape to begin with.
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Old 08-14-2009, 02:01 PM   #17
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One notch was catastrophic?

Not in the world that we know.

Other than satiates who designs that close to the edge? (SST went down with a cascade failure.)

(I've been around some campaigns. No fun.)
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Old 08-14-2009, 03:45 PM   #18
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Wow thats crazy! Sorry to get off topic, but OP do you happen to have a pic of the wheels on the car? They look great!
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Old 08-14-2009, 04:10 PM   #19
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A friend of mine had the same thing happen to his 5Zigen wheels. They sent him a whole new set in whatever size he wanted. Cracked in the same place roughly. This was during an autox though with R comps.
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Old 08-14-2009, 04:19 PM   #20
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damn man good thing it didnt fully break when you were driving... they should reimburse you for the wheels are give you a new set
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Old 08-14-2009, 10:03 PM   #21
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Had that been a Rota, WW3 would have just broken out...again.

Glad you are ok Brad.

Tony
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Old 08-14-2009, 10:23 PM   #22
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wheels are wear items....the fail just like all other man made mechanical objects

the fact that tires were changed quite recently makes me think that the issue was acclerated by that
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Old 08-15-2009, 01:23 AM   #23
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Had that been a Rota, WW3 would have just broken out...again.


Ain't that the truth.

<-- loves his Boost.
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Old 08-15-2009, 08:43 AM   #24
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wheels are wear items....
Agreed! I have told so many people this and most of them look at me like I have two heads.

Tony
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Old 08-15-2009, 09:07 AM   #25
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Quote:
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Had that been a Rota, WW3 would have just broken out...again.
I was just about to post the same thing!
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