HRE/Kinesis issue?
06-11-05, 01:08 AM
#31
Originally Posted by blueGS400
i sale wheels for a living and have always felt hre was extremely overpriced and overhyped, just my opinion so save the hater comments and dont be all defensive,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,in my 9 years of selling wheels and tires for a living ive came across many wheels i would rate as high if not higher than hre, despite what some think hre is not the god of all wheels, they are not the supreme wheel, and never will be, there are plenty just as good, and plenty of wheels that are better,,,,,,,,,,,,,again ive sold hre wheels and they are nice but not the best
He sights several other technical competencies as well, particularly the fact that an engineer designed these wheels and NOT a design artist.
What I heard from you was basically an opinion with no specific points as to why you feel this way.
With all due respect, this is a technical discusssion and opinion doesn't mean squat to me if you can't back it up with factual information derived from some form of real world experiences, analytical study, statistical data or other technical explanation.
That said, if you can site examples to your statement "plenty of wheels that are better" and elaborate why you think so, I'm open to considering your opinion, otherwise it will be hard to convince me of your opinion based soley on your qualifications of selling wheels for 9 years.
I'm not making an arguement that HRE are the BEST, but I CAN easily see WHY the price is above most others. This is no different than comparing a Bentley to a Mercedes. The Bentley is excessively overbuilt and they charge for it and those who are willing to pay for that will buy it. This might not be the best analogy, but hopefully you get my point.
How many wheel companies design their products to exceed government specs by double?
Any idea what it costs to be able to achieve that?
Looking at a physical wheel alone IS NOT adequate to judge the quality and value of a wheel. From SoCalSC4s explanation it is apparent that HRE puts considerable engineering dollars into Finite Element Analysis, design & development of their wheels.
Another word for that is called R & D.
Besides those with a trained eye, most people will not be able to tell how many R & D dollars went into making a wheel just by looking at it, hence the true value cannot be assessed.
It is also very easy for another wheel company to have a similarly designed wheel and give the impression that the quality and value are the same. Again a "trained" eye could point out these differences and expose the weaknesses that the un-trained eye could not.
The cost of that R& D has to come from somewhere and given the fact that HRE's business model is not focused on mass market high volume sales, it would make sense that this cost will be burdened on to each wheel price at a higher proportion.
I'd be very curious to know what kind of R & D $$ go into other higher end wheel brands. Atleast I know where the HRE $$ are going.
No intention of starting a flame war. Your opinion is your opinion regardless, but your comments compelled me to post an opposing view.
My way of keeping this thread FAIR and BALANCED.
Peace
.
Last edited by RMMGS4; 06-11-05 at 03:08 AM.
06-11-05, 04:24 AM
#32
As far as commenting to the original post topic on the banning of HRE wheels, I'm laying back and seeing where this goes over time.
There's no argument that these guys see a problem in racing , but I see no discussion indicating the problems are translated to non race conditions.
There was no talk of a similar sampling of I-Forged, Work wheels, etc. being used by these Viper racers, so it's totally unfair to single out HRE as being problematic when they have not sited any comparison to other high end consumer wheels subjected to the same conditions, i.e Vipers, hi torque, etc.
Now we know BBS makes great wheels, and they do make racing specific applications, so I'm making them an exception to my comment above. At the same time HRE makes no claims as being designed for racing applications..
So until I hear of consumer level problems with HRE wheels, I think it is too early to pass judgement or make any conclusions, especially based on racing conditions which are hardly applicable for street conditions.
The only conclusion I would make at this point is not to use HRE wheels on racing Vipers..
There's no argument that these guys see a problem in racing , but I see no discussion indicating the problems are translated to non race conditions.
There was no talk of a similar sampling of I-Forged, Work wheels, etc. being used by these Viper racers, so it's totally unfair to single out HRE as being problematic when they have not sited any comparison to other high end consumer wheels subjected to the same conditions, i.e Vipers, hi torque, etc.
Now we know BBS makes great wheels, and they do make racing specific applications, so I'm making them an exception to my comment above. At the same time HRE makes no claims as being designed for racing applications..
So until I hear of consumer level problems with HRE wheels, I think it is too early to pass judgement or make any conclusions, especially based on racing conditions which are hardly applicable for street conditions.
The only conclusion I would make at this point is not to use HRE wheels on racing Vipers..
Last edited by RMMGS4; 06-11-05 at 04:41 AM.
06-11-05, 01:05 PM
#33
Lexus Champion
SoCalSC4,
Very logical response, particularly the part about these aftermarket wheel owners that want their wheels to perform double duty on the street and track. I think this problem is compounded by the fact that the ideal wheel size for track use is definitely smaller than the average wheel size you see on the street. Most of us with aftermarket wheels have compromised some performance for aesthetics, and these same wheels should not be used on the track.
As far as the relative strength of different wheel designs (the more spokes = more strength argument), this makes some sense to me. Of course a broad, general statement like this cannot hold true in all circumstances, but it must be true in some circumstances. For example, my friends that have cracked spokes on their HRE's or SSR's usually have a very open face design wheel, such as the HRE 547 or the SSR GT3. And they've done so on the street - local SoCal roads. Surely these wheels have sacrificed some strength for aesthetics vs. a well designed mesh wheel or fatter spoke design...
Too bad there aren't more details provided for these wheel failures. I'd like to see what wheel design, what size, and on what car, failed in each case. I wouldn't be surprised to see wheel sizes that weren't ideal for track use.
Mike
Very logical response, particularly the part about these aftermarket wheel owners that want their wheels to perform double duty on the street and track. I think this problem is compounded by the fact that the ideal wheel size for track use is definitely smaller than the average wheel size you see on the street. Most of us with aftermarket wheels have compromised some performance for aesthetics, and these same wheels should not be used on the track.
As far as the relative strength of different wheel designs (the more spokes = more strength argument), this makes some sense to me. Of course a broad, general statement like this cannot hold true in all circumstances, but it must be true in some circumstances. For example, my friends that have cracked spokes on their HRE's or SSR's usually have a very open face design wheel, such as the HRE 547 or the SSR GT3. And they've done so on the street - local SoCal roads. Surely these wheels have sacrificed some strength for aesthetics vs. a well designed mesh wheel or fatter spoke design...
Too bad there aren't more details provided for these wheel failures. I'd like to see what wheel design, what size, and on what car, failed in each case. I wouldn't be surprised to see wheel sizes that weren't ideal for track use.
Mike
06-11-05, 02:44 PM
#34
Originally Posted by pvmike1
Too bad there aren't more details provided for these wheel failures. I'd like to see what wheel design, what size, and on what car, failed in each case. I wouldn't be surprised to see wheel sizes that weren't ideal for track use.
Mike
Mike,
I only wish everyone shared the same common sense as you. Your last statement is the most important point to me. We DO NOT have enough detailed information to form any conclusions or make any intelligent decisions, based on the spotty information and non-qualified remarks.
This is not enough information to pass judgement on the entire HRE wheel brand.
What we do know:
9 HRE wheels broke in racing conditions.
What we don't know:
No root cause or failure analysis reported to know why they failed.
There is no information stating whether any other consumer brand of wheels are being utilized by the Viper racers. There is nothing proving that another high end brand wheels subjected to the same conditions wouldn't fail as well.
If a Boeing jet crashes due to apparent mechanical failure, the UTSB spends months and sometimes years performing failure analysis before they can determine the root cause of the problem AND before making a final statement as to where the fault lies.
I don't need explain to people all the possible reasons why a Boeing jet could have a mechanical failure and yet have findings show that the mechanical failure was not due to poor design or manufacture of the plane by Boeing. Common sense and an open mind should find my comparison reasonable.
At the same time, it is also quite resonable to suspect that a particular design, size, etc. of HRE wheel may be entirely un-suitable for racing conditions on a Viper with wide *** tires and mega torque and HP.
That said, anyone who judges the entire HRE reputation based off of the limited information provided at this point,where currently no (un-biased) analyisis has been published and no definitve conclusions made is not making a fair judgement about the integrity of these wheels.
Last edited by RMMGS4; 06-11-05 at 02:50 PM.
06-11-05, 05:02 PM
#35
Lexus Champion
Found this on Rennlist:
"Bob Rouleau: After reading your thread, regarding the legitimacy of these claims, I also did a little sniffing around and didn't find much. I also emailed a few folks at VRL (Viper Racing League), the apparent source of the multiple failures. I will let you know if I hear anything. In the mean time, there is absolutely nothing about a ban on HRE wheels on the VRL web site. However, their "official" wheels sponsor is Forgeline, for what its worth.
Sorry folks"
Apparently, there is still not shortage of misinformation on the internet...
The true facts of this issue may not surface for a while. Unfortunately, the damage may have already been done. Don't you love how people sniff out a small issue and blow it up all over the internet?
"Bob Rouleau: After reading your thread, regarding the legitimacy of these claims, I also did a little sniffing around and didn't find much. I also emailed a few folks at VRL (Viper Racing League), the apparent source of the multiple failures. I will let you know if I hear anything. In the mean time, there is absolutely nothing about a ban on HRE wheels on the VRL web site. However, their "official" wheels sponsor is Forgeline, for what its worth.
Sorry folks"
Apparently, there is still not shortage of misinformation on the internet...
The true facts of this issue may not surface for a while. Unfortunately, the damage may have already been done. Don't you love how people sniff out a small issue and blow it up all over the internet?
06-11-05, 05:18 PM
#36
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally Posted by SoCalSC4
Found this on Rennlist:
"Bob Rouleau: After reading your thread, regarding the legitimacy of these claims, I also did a little sniffing around and didn't find much. I also emailed a few folks at VRL (Viper Racing League), the apparent source of the multiple failures. I will let you know if I hear anything. In the mean time, there is absolutely nothing about a ban on HRE wheels on the VRL web site. However, their "official" wheels sponsor is Forgeline, for what its worth.
Sorry folks"
Apparently, there is still not shortage of misinformation on the internet...
The true facts of this issue may not surface for a while. Unfortunately, the damage may have already been done. Don't you love how people sniff out a small issue and blow it up all over the internet?
"Bob Rouleau: After reading your thread, regarding the legitimacy of these claims, I also did a little sniffing around and didn't find much. I also emailed a few folks at VRL (Viper Racing League), the apparent source of the multiple failures. I will let you know if I hear anything. In the mean time, there is absolutely nothing about a ban on HRE wheels on the VRL web site. However, their "official" wheels sponsor is Forgeline, for what its worth.
Sorry folks"
Apparently, there is still not shortage of misinformation on the internet...
The true facts of this issue may not surface for a while. Unfortunately, the damage may have already been done. Don't you love how people sniff out a small issue and blow it up all over the internet?
, I looked all over, everyone is quoting the same link as the source. I see or hear nothing on racing forums or any SCCA, etc websites.I do see a bunch of damn HRE hating going on, the worst ones are auto sites where I don't think i damn owner HAS HRE wheels, they are bashing the damn brand.
Someone needs to contact HRE so they at least have a heads up on whats going on.
This looks like a BAD example of **** spreading. Thus I am changing the title
Bob, your explanation was awesome, thanks for chipping in wirh your expertise, it is appreciated.
06-12-05, 03:44 PM
#39
Lexus Champion
That is an ANCIENT HRE wheel!
Those haven't been produced in a decade- longer than many three-piece companies have been in business.
If I recall correctly, that is a 585 style- designed and produced WAY before HRE's current owners & management were on board. That's what can happen when you entrust an draftsman or graphic arts person with a design. Yes, that is a forged center, but that doesn't mean much withut proper engineering and testing.
Even though the pictured wheel is probably out of warranty, I'll bet HRE would stand behind it and make things right. Rather than bash them on the internet, how about making a phone call? You might be surprised.
I can see the HRE haters are coming out of the woodwork... classy.
Here's a Lorinser wheel I saw at a shop I was visiting the other week. If you'll notice, BOTH of the wheels in the photo are BROKEN... not just cracked. (I had to rotate the photo to get it sized right)
I've been in the wheel business for eight years now- I have seen all sorts of crazy stuff happen to wheels. So, let's not get in a pissing match about this- you can break ANY wheel given the wrong circumstances.
Those haven't been produced in a decade- longer than many three-piece companies have been in business.
If I recall correctly, that is a 585 style- designed and produced WAY before HRE's current owners & management were on board. That's what can happen when you entrust an draftsman or graphic arts person with a design. Yes, that is a forged center, but that doesn't mean much withut proper engineering and testing.
Even though the pictured wheel is probably out of warranty, I'll bet HRE would stand behind it and make things right. Rather than bash them on the internet, how about making a phone call? You might be surprised.
I can see the HRE haters are coming out of the woodwork... classy.
Here's a Lorinser wheel I saw at a shop I was visiting the other week. If you'll notice, BOTH of the wheels in the photo are BROKEN... not just cracked. (I had to rotate the photo to get it sized right)
I've been in the wheel business for eight years now- I have seen all sorts of crazy stuff happen to wheels. So, let's not get in a pissing match about this- you can break ANY wheel given the wrong circumstances.
06-12-05, 06:42 PM
#40
Originally Posted by Vegassc400
Where is that pic from SSK? Is it from last weeks VRL event?
Last edited by SSK0771; 06-14-05 at 12:20 AM.
06-12-05, 07:00 PM
#41
Originally Posted by SoCalSC4
That is an ANCIENT HRE wheel!
Those haven't been produced in a decade- longer than many three-piece companies have been in business.
If I recall correctly, that is a 585 style- designed and produced WAY before HRE's current owners & management were on board. That's what can happen when you entrust an draftsman or graphic arts person with a design. Yes, that is a forged center, but that doesn't mean much withut proper engineering and testing.
Even though the pictured wheel is probably out of warranty, I'll bet HRE would stand behind it and make things right. Rather than bash them on the internet, how about making a phone call? You might be surprised.
I can see the HRE haters are coming out of the woodwork... classy.
Here's a Lorinser wheel I saw at a shop I was visiting the other week. If you'll notice, BOTH of the wheels in the photo are BROKEN... not just cracked. (I had to rotate the photo to get it sized right)
I've been in the wheel business for eight years now- I have seen all sorts of crazy stuff happen to wheels. So, let's not get in a pissing match about this- you can break ANY wheel given the wrong circumstances.
Those haven't been produced in a decade- longer than many three-piece companies have been in business.
If I recall correctly, that is a 585 style- designed and produced WAY before HRE's current owners & management were on board. That's what can happen when you entrust an draftsman or graphic arts person with a design. Yes, that is a forged center, but that doesn't mean much withut proper engineering and testing.
Even though the pictured wheel is probably out of warranty, I'll bet HRE would stand behind it and make things right. Rather than bash them on the internet, how about making a phone call? You might be surprised.
I can see the HRE haters are coming out of the woodwork... classy.
Here's a Lorinser wheel I saw at a shop I was visiting the other week. If you'll notice, BOTH of the wheels in the photo are BROKEN... not just cracked. (I had to rotate the photo to get it sized right)
I've been in the wheel business for eight years now- I have seen all sorts of crazy stuff happen to wheels. So, let's not get in a pissing match about this- you can break ANY wheel given the wrong circumstances.
How ever, I am disappointed with HRE wheels. 9 failures is a lot in a single weekend.
Also, as for your Lorinzer pic, I do see a BIG dent which may have caused one of the spokes to be broken off and with that kind of impact, I don't think there is wheels out there that may stand up to that kind of impact. but if you see the HRE pics, I don't see single area that was impacted. It seemed like lots of stress from racing caused the center area to fall out.
(just my impression from the pic)
Also, I was going to get HRE's recently for my SC430 until I found out how long the wait was. I think HRE is a very nice looking wheels but at the same time, I think they are very expensive wheels but so are other wheels like Maya's which I recently purchased. Had it not bbeen for the wait, I might have purchased HRE's.
Once again, I am not a HRE hater. I don't know enough about the HRE wheels and how they are made to make that judgement. I only know what I hear, read & see.
I am not a wheel expert but I have been a car enthusiast for over 15 years and had got through many many wheels myself.
Last edited by SSK0771; 06-12-05 at 08:02 PM.
06-12-05, 10:21 PM
#42
Lexus Champion
comparing HRE/Kinesis in a track event w/ Vipers to work and various other wheels used in Drift events is completely useless and is simply just not a viable comparison.
The 9 breaks at the Viper event definitely raised a concern for me when I heard of it but I wouldn't be so quick to jump on the HRE hater band wagon..... let some more testings and actual comparisons speak for themselves. Anyways.... why would you track w/ a 5 spoke design in +18"? Everybody has to keep in mind that this business can get pretty dirty sometimes and there are other competitors out there just waiting for the top dog (HRE) to show a sign of weakness. I wouldn't be surprised if alot of the negative comments are fueled by the competitors. Just keep an open mind about this..... hopefully HRE will lower their price so I can get up on it and be cool like Rominl.
The 9 breaks at the Viper event definitely raised a concern for me when I heard of it but I wouldn't be so quick to jump on the HRE hater band wagon..... let some more testings and actual comparisons speak for themselves. Anyways.... why would you track w/ a 5 spoke design in +18"? Everybody has to keep in mind that this business can get pretty dirty sometimes and there are other competitors out there just waiting for the top dog (HRE) to show a sign of weakness. I wouldn't be surprised if alot of the negative comments are fueled by the competitors. Just keep an open mind about this..... hopefully HRE will lower their price so I can get up on it and be cool like Rominl.
06-12-05, 10:48 PM
#43
Guest
Posts: n/a
Originally posted by Cary Eisenlohr
Here’s my .02 which I’m sure some won’t agree or like it but, it’s just my point of view from being around the race track more than twenty years.
If PCA is actually considering Banning HRE wheels I’d really like to see the reason. Would it be from this one incident? I think the bench mark for racing wheels is likely BBS and I can’t begin to count the number of those I’ve seen cracked and broken over the years. In fact I believe BBS is even no longer offering their racing centers in the Aluminum/Magnesium blend the used for years do to the fact they’ve had so many problems with their wheels cracking with so few hours of racing. In 87 or 88 when I was driving at 24 hours of Daytona I had a left rear Ronal completely break like the wheel in the photo, it actually came off in a right hand turn in the infield and went under the car and I bounced over it with no warning but, that got my attention. The Ronal’s were 3 piece German made and only about 6 races old. When we got back to the pits we checked all the others and found 5 more of our 16 wheels were starting to crack! We learned the hard way to check our wheels every day at the race track from that point on. Don’t think for a minute that BBS, Fikse, OZ’s or any others you can think of don’t break because they all will at some point unless we do what NASCAR does and all go to Steel wheels (wouldn’t that be swell).
The wheel in the photo is a Kinesis but, I can tell you first hand they are a very serious Company when it comes to the strength and safety of their wheels. This is one of the reasons you don’t see them producing 50 different looking centers. When they design a wheel it is first done on CAD/CAM/CAE software which has the ability to do FEA (finite element analysis) which is complete stress analysis for the particular material. Then they physically build the design and send it to a wheel testing facility that does fatigue testing which cycles the wheel and stresses it until it actually breaks. Then a complete analysis is written on the results. This is not only time consuming but rather expensive. Most all of the larger wheel manufactures do testing similar to this so, the data and the research has been done. I don’t know what happened on the wheel in the photo and it’s really a shame but if nothing else I think everyone reading this thread should learn something rather than pointing fingers. If you like going to the track hopefully you’ll check your wheels for cracking more often now. Because it does and will eventually happen to all of us if we aren’t paying attention.
I can tell you that after 911 Design in Claremont had more than 25 BBS centers crack in less than a year and a half he now for the past 5 years only recommends Kinesis wheels to his customers. He had told me that he now almost NEVER sees wheels crack anymore. They service more than 50 track cars and usually take from 8 to 15 cars to each event. From that one example I think you can say Kinesis last longer than BBS … and I’m a huge fan of BBS … just look at my picture next to my name (that’s my street car)
What I’m trying to say is don’t draw conclusions too quickly without doing the homework. I think it’s not the norm for a wheel to break that quickly and you can bet Kinesis is all over this but, these wheels are clearly not junk!
Here’s my .02 which I’m sure some won’t agree or like it but, it’s just my point of view from being around the race track more than twenty years.
If PCA is actually considering Banning HRE wheels I’d really like to see the reason. Would it be from this one incident? I think the bench mark for racing wheels is likely BBS and I can’t begin to count the number of those I’ve seen cracked and broken over the years. In fact I believe BBS is even no longer offering their racing centers in the Aluminum/Magnesium blend the used for years do to the fact they’ve had so many problems with their wheels cracking with so few hours of racing. In 87 or 88 when I was driving at 24 hours of Daytona I had a left rear Ronal completely break like the wheel in the photo, it actually came off in a right hand turn in the infield and went under the car and I bounced over it with no warning but, that got my attention. The Ronal’s were 3 piece German made and only about 6 races old. When we got back to the pits we checked all the others and found 5 more of our 16 wheels were starting to crack! We learned the hard way to check our wheels every day at the race track from that point on. Don’t think for a minute that BBS, Fikse, OZ’s or any others you can think of don’t break because they all will at some point unless we do what NASCAR does and all go to Steel wheels (wouldn’t that be swell).
The wheel in the photo is a Kinesis but, I can tell you first hand they are a very serious Company when it comes to the strength and safety of their wheels. This is one of the reasons you don’t see them producing 50 different looking centers. When they design a wheel it is first done on CAD/CAM/CAE software which has the ability to do FEA (finite element analysis) which is complete stress analysis for the particular material. Then they physically build the design and send it to a wheel testing facility that does fatigue testing which cycles the wheel and stresses it until it actually breaks. Then a complete analysis is written on the results. This is not only time consuming but rather expensive. Most all of the larger wheel manufactures do testing similar to this so, the data and the research has been done. I don’t know what happened on the wheel in the photo and it’s really a shame but if nothing else I think everyone reading this thread should learn something rather than pointing fingers. If you like going to the track hopefully you’ll check your wheels for cracking more often now. Because it does and will eventually happen to all of us if we aren’t paying attention.
I can tell you that after 911 Design in Claremont had more than 25 BBS centers crack in less than a year and a half he now for the past 5 years only recommends Kinesis wheels to his customers. He had told me that he now almost NEVER sees wheels crack anymore. They service more than 50 track cars and usually take from 8 to 15 cars to each event. From that one example I think you can say Kinesis last longer than BBS … and I’m a huge fan of BBS … just look at my picture next to my name (that’s my street car)
What I’m trying to say is don’t draw conclusions too quickly without doing the homework. I think it’s not the norm for a wheel to break that quickly and you can bet Kinesis is all over this but, these wheels are clearly not junk!
06-12-05, 11:32 PM
#44
Lexus Champion
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Everyone keeps talking about 9 HRE's breaking during the event and I still haven't seen any evidence of one. I'm not saying it's not possible for them to break. One or 2 may have broken but this whole thing sounds like a big exageration to me.
06-13-05, 01:28 AM
#45
Originally Posted by 1SICKLEX
Well after reading like hell about this situation this is what it seems.
1. These conclusions are from people who track their cars many times a year
2. All rims have a chance of cracking. Every brand was stated by someone, they have seen a rim crack. Just not as bad as the pics I posted.
3. HRE never claims and claimed to be a racing wheel. Just go to the website. They are still very high quality.
4. The stress of racing is so great, it can crack a rim. That is why racing rims are so valuable to them, the correct ones are built to handle the stresses of racing.
5. Hairline cracks are the most common issue, but that is still rare.
It seems to me on the internet, someone/people always want to be the first to knock down something that has been highly regarded for a long time. I am not saying this situation is over-blown but we don't have too many facts besides the Audi posts.
Personally speaking, I have never heard of people buying HRE to go race. They buy them for the prestige, the high quality, the look. When I see/talk to people about racing, its O.Z, BBS, Rays more than likely.
1. These conclusions are from people who track their cars many times a year
2. All rims have a chance of cracking. Every brand was stated by someone, they have seen a rim crack. Just not as bad as the pics I posted.
3. HRE never claims and claimed to be a racing wheel. Just go to the website. They are still very high quality.
4. The stress of racing is so great, it can crack a rim. That is why racing rims are so valuable to them, the correct ones are built to handle the stresses of racing.
5. Hairline cracks are the most common issue, but that is still rare.
It seems to me on the internet, someone/people always want to be the first to knock down something that has been highly regarded for a long time. I am not saying this situation is over-blown but we don't have too many facts besides the Audi posts.
Personally speaking, I have never heard of people buying HRE to go race. They buy them for the prestige, the high quality, the look. When I see/talk to people about racing, its O.Z, BBS, Rays more than likely.
thank you to bob for stating all the important facts and information about hre and also other branes of wheels. imho it's great to see that bob is not working for hre anymore but he's still spending tremendous amount of time here to make sure everyone is on the right track.
about the 9 hre failures in the same track event, yup i have yet to see pics. and also, still no one has been able to answered my questions. were they only used for track or also for road? how many miles on them? are they inspectly closely with xray every now and then? are they rebuilt or xrayed after every track event?
if the wheels are brand new, only used for track and xray were done before the race, and then the wheels cracked, i have nothing to say. but if the wheels are on the car for that daily driving, and then this is the 5th track event in a yr, and actually after each race the wheels are not treated, maintained, and inspected correctly, then please give me a break.
go look at racing teams, they change rims after every race, or at least inspect al of them closely. they don't drive those cars on normal streets.
and to be honest, if you are really into racing, get bbs, volks, or weds true racing wheels. racing teams use them.... not hre....