Danger-weld Wheels Cracking
 

Has anyone ever experienced Weld Draglites cracking? I have a set of 15 x 5.5 Draglites XP's that are about 2 years old.

They are starting to crack in the same place that the other rim about 6 months ago completely failed. I'm trying to see if anyone has heard about these wheels having this kind of problem. I torque the wheels to 85 ft/lbs.

Thanks
Chris
hospwr@iwon.com

I've never really heard of that problem

BYW, dude your gonna have to tone that sig down. It's HUGE!!!!!!!!!

What, Weld wheels cracking? Couldn't be... ;)

http://homepage.mac.com/pkrwud/.Pict...WeldFront.jpeg

Take care,
-Chris

Here's the same rim from the back...

http://homepage.mac.com/pkrwud/.Pict.../WeldBack.jpeg

Take care,
-Chris

then i guess weld wheel's suck

:eek: :eek: :eek:

Guess I need to scratch Welds off the list for my car.

Hmmm,I've had weld wheels for 4 years now and know many other people who run these wheels as well and never had any cracks occur.

PKRWUD

What type of vehicle was runnin these wheels?

Did they use the CORRECT lug nuts and were they torqued correctly?

People,dont assume things without knowing the whole story first.

Ah, Grasshopper, that is a very wise question.

It was the right front wheel on a 1990 Ford Aerostar van. It (the van) belongs to my ex. She's still driving around with the other three on the van, too. Then again, she never was that bright.

They were mounted correctly, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that people would buy aluminum rims that were designed for racing, and mount them on their daily driver, thinking nothing of the possible consequences, because they were "street legal". Those rims are street legal, but they were never intended to be driven in traffic, every day, for 10 years. Ten years worth of pot holes and curbs, etc, is not healthy for aluminum racing rims.

A couple years ago, she was driving out to Palm Springs with her kids so that they could spend Easter with their grandmother, and she felt a slight vibration in the steering wheel. Well, like I said, she never was very bright, so she just kept driving. Finally, a trucker in a semi flagged her down and made her pull over. Apparently he could see the wheel vibrating dangerously, and wanted to warn her. The rim, as seen in the pics, is exactly as it was after the tire was removed later that day.

I figure it probably had been developing stress fractures for years, but once they started getting bad, they all got bad.

Of course, it could just be that she's an idiot.

Good call on the inquiry! I was wondering how long it would take before someone asked.

Take care,
-Chris

Welds on a minivan for 10 years. That is funny.

You have to be careful with a relatively soft aluminum lightweight wheel on the street. Just be careful with your stuff.

If the wheel looks like that I can only imagine the rest of the vehicle probably looks the same way.

sorry about the sig guys
 

I didn't know the Sig was on by default.

I contacted Weld last time this happened, and had to go through a lot of hoops. I told them this was a street car that ran 11's at the track.

They first told me I shouldn't have used a spacer, this changed real quick after I explained that it was included in THEIR box.

Next they told me that 90 ft/lbs was too much, that I should use 85 instead. Even though the instructions say to torque them to 90.

The next thing they said was that I torque them too many times, I used to check them every other month or so. I have a torque wrench I keep in the car.

Finally after more than two weeks they authorized a replacement, not both as I had asked for. They only replaced the wheel that seperated from the hub. I repeatly asked for a replacement for the other, I feared that they were from the same casting/batch and would fail sooner of later.

Well it happened again.


Chris

i have had no problems with them
 

i had the same weld drag lites. skinnies up fronts and i had two sets for the back, skinnies and drag radials. no problems.

Thanks Chris
 

I got the answer I was looking for from your response,the fact that she,your ex,drove with the rims through pot holes,etc ;)

Lets face it,you gotta use alittle care when using aluminum wheels,they just aren't as durable as steel wheels.

Im glad I bought Center Lines....besides, they look better IMO

Also, you might want to try less torque. 85 ft. lbs. sounds like a lot on lightweight aluminum wheels. Try less tourqe and then re-check them occasionally to make sure they arent loosening at all.