Quote:
Originally Posted by Myron Piatek
I believe it was Bill Rink in his GTO about 14 years ago at Norwalk. (Apologies to him if I'm wrong.) But I saw the person get his time slip, make the turn to go into the pits and the center of a rear wheel broke out!
Another racer with a Camaro at Virginia Motorsports Park had a Crager Super Trick start leaking while talking in the staging lanes because it developed a crack.
This is nothing new. I'm sure that every effort is made to make a safe wheel while manufacturing them to weigh less without compromising strength. Some designs may be inherently weaker than others and there may be an occasional manufacturing defect. But while it may pass SFI certification and whatever other testing and/or on-track abuse over a long period of time, the simple fact remains that EVERYTHING has a lifespan. Racers have to take the responsibility of paying more attention to wheels just like we do to tires, bearings, ball joints, u-joints, etc. It's just another thing that shouldn't be taken for granted considering that our safety is on the line as well as the racers and spectators around us.
Mandatory periodic replacement or recertification of more parts on our cars will not help the affordability of racing!
With all due respect to HandOverFist, front as well as rear wheels take more abuse than you realize. I'm no engineer, but drag wheel design does not seem to put as much emphasis on stress when turning corners. But we have to do it repetitively at what is suppose to be a relatively slow speed. Launches and braking also add fatigue to some degree. While this YouTube video may be an extreme example, wheestands do put a pounding on wheels! It all adds up over time.
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Good post Myron.
Front drag wheels experience lots of punishment especially if the car wheel stands a lot and carries a lot of weight in its nose like many Stockers and Super Stockers do.
Due to the narrow width of the front wheels, there is more loading on the wheel when compared to a wider wheel. Therefore, the when the car lands after the wheel stand, the axial loading on the wheel are very high, as a result, it promotes flexural loading on the rim halves.
I have personally visited Bogart Wheels and spent 2 hours with Rick talking about wheel design, materials and manufacturing. I was very impressed with their facility and workmanship and with Rick's knowledge. He has been building racing wheels for many years and knows his stuff.
When ordering wheels from Bogart, the best is to talk to some of his very knowledgeable distributors like Alex Denysenko or talk to Rick Bogart directly.
Give him all the necessary information about your car, especially weight, approximate horsepower and class. Bogart will provide you with the appropriate wheel for your application.
A light front wheel used in a lightweight car will not have the same life span when used on a heavy car.