The wheel alignment head uses those small holes. BMW does the same thing with their wheels.
Aftermarket wheels...how safe are they??
- Thread starter ACME SS
- Start date
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Not the wheels I'm talking about. Like I said, the factory steel wheels on the Mercedes Sprinter vans. Like these
My point was simply that steel wheels can fail, and that factory wheels fail too. So regardless of material or whether the wheel is factory or aftermarket, inspecting your wheels isn't a bad idea. Especially if they're older than dirt or high mileage.
Holes in the rim design serve 2 purposes. 1 to cut down on un sprung weight and 2 to help airflow around the brakes.
Here are a few common sense things to do if you want to minimize the chances of wheel failure.
Buy new wheels. You don't know the history of used ones. Especially alloy wheels. Fatigue can be invisible. And they will carry liability insurance in case of a failure..
Like aluminum connecting rods. they look great until right before they fail. Why do you think there are so many used aluminum rods out there that are cheap. You can't see if a rod has seen an 11k RPM overrev because of a broken trans or missed gear.
Only buy Street/DOT rated rims. Off road racing wheels ( pavement type racing) are not usually designed to see debris, pot holes etc... on a closed course.
The street is full of hazards and poor pavement and subject the wheels and tires to much more stress than a typical race does. Especially when used for 1,000's of miles.
Make sure that the studs and lugs are correct for the wheels and are hand torqued properly, Always follow the manufacturers installation instructions.
Make sure the rims and tires are being used for their designed purpose.
Run the correct air pressures not just what you think they should be. You are not an engineer...
Here are a few common sense things to do if you want to minimize the chances of wheel failure.
Buy new wheels. You don't know the history of used ones. Especially alloy wheels. Fatigue can be invisible. And they will carry liability insurance in case of a failure..
Like aluminum connecting rods. they look great until right before they fail. Why do you think there are so many used aluminum rods out there that are cheap. You can't see if a rod has seen an 11k RPM overrev because of a broken trans or missed gear.
Only buy Street/DOT rated rims. Off road racing wheels ( pavement type racing) are not usually designed to see debris, pot holes etc... on a closed course.
The street is full of hazards and poor pavement and subject the wheels and tires to much more stress than a typical race does. Especially when used for 1,000's of miles.
Make sure that the studs and lugs are correct for the wheels and are hand torqued properly, Always follow the manufacturers installation instructions.
Make sure the rims and tires are being used for their designed purpose.
Run the correct air pressures not just what you think they should be. You are not an engineer...
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