Cracked wheel safe to repair? | FerrariChat

Cracked wheel safe to repair?

Discussion in '360/430' started by SCKOMS, Aug 5, 2019.

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  1. SCKOMS

    SCKOMS F1 Rookie
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    Oct 21, 2011
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    Spiro
    I'm sure this is from a pothole....noticed a slow leak. Couldn't find a nail or screw s put it in a tub of water and found the crack you see in the photo.
    I'm sure it will be challenging trying to find a single wheel (Scuderia Style front...I believe 19x7.5)
    Is it safe to have it Tig welded?
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  2. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Jul 19, 2008
    37,985
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    Terry H Phillips
    Try these guys. If they say it can be fixed, you should be good to go. So far I have sent them two wheels, one they fixed and the other they said no way. They can be trusted.

    Ye Olde Wheel Shop
    6363 Washington Blvd.
    Elkridge, MD 21227
    410-796-8400
    800-526-8260
     
    BigTex, SCKOMS and Red 27 like this.
  3. SCKOMS

    SCKOMS F1 Rookie
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    Thanks

    Sent from my Galaxy
     
  4. BigTex

    BigTex Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 6, 2002
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    Weld, paint, refinish...may still be cheaper than a Ferrari replacement.
    I have five so I could put it in the spare...

    Check out your options.....
     
  5. Gizzi

    Gizzi F1 Veteran
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    Dec 3, 2011
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    Brisbane, Australia
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    Yes. It can be repaired safely. I’ve had both my fronts repaired........a couple of times each.
    I bought a set of aftermarket wheels, which looked almost identical, and fitted them. I had the originals refurbished and have them sitting in my garage.
    The originals seem to be pretty weak.


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  6. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Some Ferrari aluminum wheels have a pretty healthy dose of magnesium in them, which is much softer than aluminum.
     
  7. LightGuy

    LightGuy Three Time F1 World Champ
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    Oct 4, 2004
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    There are a lot of opinions on the subject.

    If these are forged wheels then supposedly welding anneals (softens) the aluminum alloy.
    Even cast wheels are said to suffer.

    On the other hand even a crack repaired "softened" wheel has plenty more strength than needed for the street .
    Fixing big missing chunks is a No-Go.

    Go for it.

    My friend owns this business.

    https://wheelsamerica.com/

    He was pretty much the originator of this type of repair business.
     
  8. tazandjan

    tazandjan Three Time F1 World Champ
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    David- Ye Olde Wheel Shop and WheelsAmerica both started in the mid 90s within a year of each other.
     
  9. ItalGerBrit

    ItalGerBrit Formula Junior

    Mar 15, 2016
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    S La
    Very common problem routinely repaired with TIG welding.
     
  10. SCKOMS

    SCKOMS F1 Rookie
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    Thanks all!

    Sent from my Galaxy
     
  11. INTMD8

    INTMD8 F1 Veteran
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    Jun 10, 2007
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    I can fix it for you.
     
  12. 360trev

    360trev F1 Rookie
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    Oct 29, 2005
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    I would say to the original question, it depends;

    Q. Do you ever vmax the car or track it?

    Personally I would never ever fit a stress crack repaired alloy wheel or patched tire to a high performance car that can go over 150mph. Each to their own. I appreciate the desire to try to save money but this is one area where I would just source a new rim and be done.

    The stresses on a rim at very high cornering and road speeds are enormous and enough to force uneven distribution of stress of the original fix to elsewhere on the rim with possible disasterous consequences. At those kinds of speeds it could be the last thing you know about it.

    Stay safe.
     
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  13. Need4Spd

    Need4Spd F1 Veteran

    Feb 24, 2007
    6,644
    Silicon Valley
    ^^^This. Yes, they can be repaired. Will your particular repaired wheel fail you? Maybe not, but I’d rather not be my own crash dummy to find out. Even a failure at ordinary freeway speeds, let alone spirited backroads or track driving conditions, has enough energy to cause something serious. It’s not that hard or expensive to find a good replacement. Stay safe.


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  14. sparetireless

    sparetireless Formula 3

    Nov 2, 2003
    1,529
    Replace it,

    welding will anneal the area around the weld,

    you could re heat treat after welding but the total cost will exceed a new rim.
     
  15. ragiya

    ragiya Rookie
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    Jun 30, 2023
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    Hello. i cracked my rim the other day and the crack runs just over halfway across the rim, the rim still holds air but i'm scared the rim will crack more if i try to ride it, again it's an aluminum rim so it's only about 150 dollars to replace, is it worth it to try to get it fixed? And if so what should i do? (Get it welded, would jb weld work? Also it broke at the seam if that's important.) I'd also like to point out this crack caused me to crash because it lost air. Thanks.
     
  16. GogglesPisano

    GogglesPisano Formula 3
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    Sep 13, 2022
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    If it's only $150 to replace, replace it. The repair might cost just shy of that. Plus, if the crack is that long, I'm not sure I would even consider repair unless it was an emergency.
     
  17. CoreyNJ

    CoreyNJ Formula 3
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    Apr 17, 2006
    2,004
    New Jersey Shore
    Weird your asking this on the ferrari forum. Isn’t this on your cayman since you mentioned it in another thread? I would think it was a lot more than $150 to replace the the rim.

    Have I had two rims welded once, yes, on my GT3 after hitting a road buckle coming off the outer bridge crossing into NJ. The next morning I found both my rear tires were flat and the replacement OEM rims were ridicually priced. So I had them welded while I waited for my current OZ racing rims and tires to come in since I was upgrading the size using the damage as a mental justification, but I was hyper conscious not to go much over 55 on the damaged rims.



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  18. LorenzoR

    LorenzoR F1 Rookie
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    Why risk it. It will be a weak spot in the wheel forever. I would not even think about running with a repaired cracked wheel.
     
    Need4Spd likes this.

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