Wheels, Whats the life span?

[paul_humphreys]

I am asking as I have broken 2 wheels in the last 4 weeks. Well I have not broken them as such, just the welding has cracked, same place on both wheels. I was told by the maker "we are afraid that it looks like the whole set has come to the end of its life"

So what would most people say the life of a wheel is?

Paul

PS I am not going to say what make of wheel it is or how long they say the life span is.

[Xtremeteam]

i know what wheels it is & its a common fault with them,2 different folk i know have both had 2 sets from same manufaturer till the prob was solved

[paul_humphreys]

Seems from what I am reading its all to common. My problem if I only use it for laning so doing up to 70mph on the road. What if the weld goes compleaty?

Paul

[Eeyore]

What if the weld goes compleaty?

Ooo, rats.  :shock:

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I think from the way you've asked, you already have a good idea of the answer. It's scrap I'm afraid, mate -  :(  As soon as it's cracked, it's bin-fodder.

As for life span - good question. I can probably get you Land Rovers view on the subject, if thats any help?

My Wolf rims are up to four years and 50k miles so far and still going - despite the best intentions of:
a) me, and
b) an Audi on the M6
No obvious cracking noted as yet.

cheers
 8)
Eeyore

[paul_humphreys]

I think it will be Wolf wheels next.

Paul

[landraver]

So how old are the wheels Paul?

Jeff

[Xtremeteam]

I think it will be Wolf wheels next.

Paul

ive got a set forsale attatched to 6 michelin XZL'S

[rollazuki]

since landy wheels will do 25-35 years plus, I cant see there being a time limit on wheel life........

Ive never seen so much as a crack on mine.........

Thats original rims, white gay spokes,etc

[ritchiea2005]

Sounds like bad workmenship to me.  ive cut the middles out of a set of disco rims and changed the offset and rewelded them back in aint had any problems at all.  I would have thought the manufacuter would have replaced these if they in otherwise good condition

[paul_humphreys]

They are about 4 years old. But no other damage. No they will not swap them.

Paul

[paul_humphreys]

Sounds like bad workmenship to me.  ive cut the middles out of a set of disco rims and changed the offset and rewelded them back in aint had any problems at all.  I would have thought the manufacuter would have replaced these if they in otherwise good condition

Well the fact that they have gone on the very same place same spoke on both wheels you could be right.

Paul

[paul_humphreys]

I think it will be Wolf wheels next.

Paul

ive got a set forsale attatched to 6 michelin XZL'S

I only need wheels. I will have a llok at the LRW show.

But how much for the wheels?

Paul

[freeagent]

as said above landrover steel rims are welded and they last for decades.
if the welds have broke then its a workmanship problem, if its material failure you should have some comeback...

i know the wheels you are talking about and think its pretty poor that they wont replace them, but then the manufacturer doesn't know what sort of conditions they've been subjected to.. and if they've been used outside their design perameters...

all welded structures contain cracks, and therefore will have fatigue life if subjected to any kind of cyclic loading, but wheels, especially big steel ones should be overengineered to the point that this shouldn't be a consideration.

i'd scrap them and fit wolf wheels, and warn people away from these rims...

[landraver]

Hi Paul
If you are scrapping the wheels & you really want to find out the cause of the failure, remove the defective section (& a couple of complete sections) & I'll do an assessment of the weld for you if you like (under the microscope), thats what I do (amongst other things)

Jeff

[mark.yellow.series.3]

right. so the weld has cracked?
if anything is welded correctly, the welded joint is as strong (if not more so) than the metal its welded onto. so for the wheel to reach the end of its life then you would see the whole rim deteriate.

if the weld is cracked, the its a defective weld.

after the first wheel went, i would sent it back and not use that company again, as there welds obviously arent done properly or checked, and if it broke on the motorway we might not be talking to you now.

[paul_humphreys]

Hi Paul
If you are scrapping the wheels & you really want to find out the cause of the failure, remove the defective section (& a couple of complete sections) & I'll do an assessment of the weld for you if you like (under the microscope), thats what I do (amongst other things)

Jeff

I will let you know. I an not sure about welding them up as if they break and cause an accident who is going to take the fall?

As for warning people off of them. Thats up to them to decide.

Paul

[Mart]

but maybe a notice as to the wheels for people who aren't sure of the ones your on about so they can take the fault into consideration before they buy said rims?

[landraver]

right. so the weld has cracked?
if anything is welded correctly, the welded joint is as strong (if not more so) than the metal its welded onto. so for the wheel to reach the end of its life then you would see the whole rim deteriate.

if the weld is cracked, the its a defective weld.

after the first wheel went, i would sent it back and not use that company again, as there welds obviously arent done properly or checked, and if it broke on the motorway we might not be talking to you now.

Mark's right, If a weld is done correctly, on a correctly designed component, in the correct position, the parent material will generally fail before the weld.


Jeff
Jeff

[Edge]

but maybe a notice as to the wheels for people who aren't sure of the ones your on about so they can take the fault into consideration before they buy said rims?

Yes tell us who dont know.......... you may help save someones wife/child/brother/sister dying in an horriffic road accident :shock:

If theyre selling faulty goods, you should be phoning trading standards and the press......This is quite serious.

If theyre the same as my wheels?????....... it'll be on the news pretty sharpish.

[Xtremeteam]

Right:

Please dont any of you take this the wrong way but im gonna say it anyhow,


its a know fault of these 5 spoke rims to crack where the spoke meets the outer rim,be it pash welding or poor materials i know of 2 different folk who have had 2 sets each before this fault was cured,paul unless you bought them brand new recently yours could be a set out of the old batch when the manufacturer was getting the outer rims rolled out house,

personally i would still buy a set of these rims as AFAIK the only rims that are cracking are those from the same batch which IIRC would make them approx 3 years old,


Landylover is correct in that the material will fail before the weld & jarrod i think informing the press etc is a pretty big step to take,

[paul_humphreys]

Its the HAZ (Heat Affacted Zone) that has cracked not the weld its self.

The bit that has got me is its the same spoke on both wheels.

Mike, mine are about that old so could be from that era. I have the ones with the rolled edge. As for buying another set. I was offered a discount, but I have been told the newer ones crack as well. I was told this by a person who has now stoped selling them.

If anyone wants to see the pictures of the cracks them PM me.

Paul

[Edge]

Thanks Mike & Paul, ive just come in and realised what make they are :oops: , thankfully i couldn't afford the £100+ i was quoted per wheel when i was going to get a set earlier this year.

What should people do like Paul who already have a problem? Surely he can get something back in compensation etc, unless when he bought them there was a bit of paper attatched stating "wheels only last x4 years".

[landraver]

Right:

Please dont any of you take this the wrong way but im gonna say it anyhow,


its a know fault of these 5 spoke rims to crack where the spoke meets the outer rim,be it pash welding or poor materials i know of 2 different folk who have had 2 sets each before this fault was cured,paul unless you bought them brand new recently yours could be a set out of the old batch when the manufacturer was getting the outer rims rolled out house,

personally i would still buy a set of these rims as AFAIK the only rims that are cracking are those from the same batch which IIRC would make them approx 3 years old,


Landylover is correct in that the material will fail before the weld & jarrod i think informing the press etc is a pretty big step to take,

Hey Mike, Paul's never gonna buy your Wolf rims if you post that!! :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[paul_humphreys]

What should people do like Paul who already have a problem? .

To be honest I dont know what people should do.

Paul