Old porsche Wheels and Fatigue?

[996uglyeyeball]

Ok, I was wondering about using a set of old wheels for tracking and racing. I purchased a set of 996 turbo wheels fairly cheap and want to set them up as my track wheels. Problem is that I was told by someone who tracks a lot, that he has seen 10 year old wheels fail on heavy track use. So, should I just use these as my cruise set and get another set just for track use?

I guess the big question is, how do you know when a wheel is fatigued and going to fail? I know that there are tons of parts in cars that need to be replaced before they fail. According to the other guy most stock wheels are cast not forged and he said the turbo hollows are cast. He added that there is a reason why the 996GT2 wheels are solid instead of hollow. It was to beef them up for long term hard use.

so should I heed the advice and worry about failure of these cast 996tt wheels?

[wildcat077]

A lot of people use Cup 1 or 2 wheels for tracking until they get lighter ones ...
I've used Cup 1 replicas (Mille Miglia) and they are built like brick S**t houses.I doubt very much that you will have any failures with your 996 twists,especially if they are OEM !

Cheers !
Phil

[michael lang]

Huh?? I have never heard nor seen of such a thing and I do tech inspections and grid tech so I see a lot of stuff. My recommendation would be carefully check the wheels for cracks, bends or any other structural damage, have your tech inspector do the same and you should be good to go.

[Dan J]

Porsche factory wheels are very high quality. That being said I have seen many cracked wheels on tracked cars. Fuchs, BBS motorsport, Fikse, Kinesis you name it. I consider wheels to be a
consumable item and should be checked diligently

[Eagledriver]

Our Spec911 class races mostly on Fuchs (7s and 8s by 16). I've only heard of one cracking and it may have been a modified wheel. Some of the other brands of wheels have had cracks and failures. Personally I would not be worried using the 996 wheels. Just inspect them every time you replace the tires.

-Andy

[Bill Verburg]

[ystarrev]

What a great post, Bill! I have been inundated with admin crap all day, and this was to the point!

[JeremyD]

I know that broken wheels can come in all shapes, sizes and manufacturer

[RWebb]

is there a story on the red one? it is a real (forged) Fuchs, right?

[KTL]

Nothing lasts forever. Even our prized forged Fuchs. Some are getting pretty old these days and I suspect their fatigue life is nearing its end.

That said, the newer wheels like the 996 hollows are just that- much newer. So their life should have a lot left in it? Nonetheless, the pictures shared thus far prove the point that no matter how great you think your wheels are, they should be checked. I have some old Fikse (2002), CCW (2004) and BBS Motorsport (unknown but definitely over 10 yrs old) wheels in my collection that are due for some checking this offseason.

[Laneco]

Stuff breaks.

Good stuff takes longer to break. But in the end, it eventually breaks.

angela

[wildcat077]

I've seen a few cracked wheels from some major brands as well ... reason why my "older" FM10's now serve as rain wheels and my brand new Profil 5's wear the "R" compounds !

Not always obvious but regardless,it's good practice to inspect your wheels before every track weekend !

Cheers !
Phil

[Dan J]

Originally Posted by RWebb

is there a story on the red one? it is a real (forged) Fuchs, right?

The red one is a fake. That's how they fail
They sure are cheap though!