has anyone ever cracked or broken a Fuchs wheel?

[chrisp]

Under what types of conditions? (street, track, accident, off-roading)

Was their any special surface treatment done to the wheel that may have contributed? (i.e. refinishing, welding, etc.)

Was it a catostrophic failure or was it a small crack with a slow propagation?

[Jim T]

I have.

A 16 x 7 factory Fuchs on the rear of my SC.

Street driving only (no track, no accidents).

But, it was chromed by the Dreaded Previous Owner.

It was a slow crack, around an inch and a half long. All the way through.

It seemed pretty stable, but I got rid of the wheels.

[nhromyak]

A friend was driving his '73 T with 6x14 fuchs. He turned onto a residential street, the entrance had water. Too much speed for the 205/60-14s, he went side-ways, tail happy into the curb.

Cracked the drivers rear rim...

[TRE Cup]

we've seen a few cars with cracked wheels. Strange when they are forged fuchs, but it can happen. Perhaps leaving lug nuts loose on one or two studs caused enough of a stress rised to germinate a crack? Hard to tell, but get replacement- don't trust a cracked wheel!

[Superman]

It's my understanding that you can bend the poop out of these wheels without them cracking. I am told you need to spend A LOT OF MONEY to buy wheels that are superior to these in terms of performance.

[czwbkx]

I've just discovered that I have a crack in the driver's rear. One "spoke" of the 15x7 Fuch is cracked about half-way through. It's very hard to see - may have been that way when I bought the car!

R.

[Jim T]

Originally posted by Superman
It's my understanding that you can bend the poop out of these wheels without them cracking. I am told you need to spend A LOT OF MONEY to buy wheels that are superior to these in terms of performance.

That's probably true . . . until you do something like chrome them.

I also wonder what the effects of heating, cooling, and general use over 25 years does to them. When new, they are supposedly uncrackable, but after 20+ years, I wonder . . .

[old_skul]

Whenever I've heard of a Fuchs cracking, it's been chromed.

Don't chrome Fuchs.

I went tail happy into a curb at 30+ at one point. Gouged the rim but it's still true, crack free and even balanced better than the other side still!

[82SC]

what does chroming do to the wheels?

my stupid PO chromed mine...I am looking to replace them with wider anyways...

if I take the chrome off is the bad reversed? or is there some permanent change to the integrity of the wheel itself??

MJ

[Eric Coffey]

Here are some pictures of a 16x7 that smacked a curb with a lateral velocity of around 20mph. No cracks, just a 4" bend from the initial impact, and a nice rash on 30% of the outer lip. Still repairable. It is my opinion that Fuchs are the best wheel (for the $) that you can get!

[motion]

I smacked a curb with my left front last month. About a 3" bend in the fuchs, wasted the valance and lip, bent the lower control arm and strut, pushed the fender into the hood and it looks like I may have some tub damage to boot. Prolly around $5k in damage. No crack in the wheel though!

[69 Soft Targa]

Interesting...
It was my understanding that one of the reasons for avoiding cast replicas of Fuchs is that they will break and Fuchs won't.

A quote from Bruce Anderson:
"The real Fuchs forged wheels will not break; even in an accident, they will only bend"

[VenezianBlau 87]

Ditto exactly what Bob wrote above...

Moreover, how do you identify Fuchs vs. replicas?
--------------
Bob Sauerteig
'87 Coupe

[DonNewton]

Just like to add that two (2) 8 x 15s on the rear of my racer (with Goodyear soft compound slicks) cracked. These were driven very slowly on weekends, only! Dumped 'em, bought new ones. Don't ever drive competitively on repaired wheels.

[82SC]

anyone got a reply to my chrome question???

What is so bad about chrome...don't get me wrong I don't like chrome...what does it do to your wheels...well my wheels in this case...

thanks

[Jim T]

I recall reading that something that is done in the chroming process (heating?) makes Fuchs wheels brittle. It may have been from Bruce Anderson.

That certainly seemed to be the case with my old wheels.

If the process makes them brittle, I'd guess that it is not reversible.

Maybe try an internet search for more info?

[82SC]

Internet Search??? What with the Pelican Brain Trust...

I am sure some one will give me the molecular weights of all the compounds involved and the physical chemistry of the changes involved...hahaha...

But your stab at it sounds logical...my PO did this to the lips of my rims...I guess I will be looking for a new set sometime in the future....I was going to have the chrome taken off then the wheels polished...anyone seen a nice set of 7 and 9"???

[911/914gary]

OK… I work in the aircraft industry as a landing gear engineer. I work with a lot of exotic metals and plating processes. Here is the scoop on chrome plating and some basic facts on chrome. First, chrome does not change the base metal materiel properties such as material strength. It does reduce the material "fatigue life". Which means it won't last as long under sever loading and cracks. To reduce this effect we typically shot peen the surfaces to be chromed. This puts in a compressive layer on the surface that retards surface cracking (on the uncaoted substrate). Cracking can be induced from the second fact that chrome is porous. On the surface chrome has many microscopic cracks. Some of these cracks can go straight through to the base material. Thus the base material must be undercoated to protect it from corrosion. For aluminum parts we typically undercoat with copper or nickel. Finally the way chrome plates over edges or in fillets could create "stress risers". Thus the chrome must be masked or ground to a tapered or blended runout. So, why do we use chrome if it so difficult to work with? Chrome provides a hard protective working surface. On landing gears this is particular to dynamic or static sealed surfaces for hydraulics, under bushings and on static & dynamic pins & joints. Typically chrome on automotive wheels is for cosmetic purposes and probably does not have these extra processes. However, I'm sure these wheels are over designed for street use by the Porsche engineers. The probable cause of most of these wheel failures is stress corrosion failure initiated by a pit or crack through the chrome. If the wheels are chromed they should probably be surface clear coated to protect them from corrosion immediately after plating. Once corrosion begins there is no way to stop it. And the only way to check for corrosion is to strip the chrome. I probably would not use chrome plated wheels for the track.

[Superman]

Pretty impressive for a 'first post', gary.

[69 Soft Targa]

Originally posted by VenezianBlau 87
Ditto exactly what Bob wrote above...

Moreover, how do you identify Fuchs vs. replicas?
--------------
Bob Sauerteig
'87 Coupe

Identifying Fuchs vs. replicas:

Look for a Porsche part number on the back. If there is none, it's a replica.

For example an early deep 6x15 is 901.361.012.06.
Later flat 6x15 is 911.361.020.00.

Anyone have a deep 6 for sale?