Was thinking about a set of these for the front of my 55 which I hope will lift the wheels at the track. Made a few calls and inquiries and it was mentioned that there was a problem with breakage. Warranty was great but who wants front wheel problems at 120+ mph Has anyone here had any bad experiences with them of late? Was this just an early production problem?
I think if it breaks, and it prolly WON'T, it'll be on a hard landing, immediately after a bad wheelie, and nowheres near 120+mph
I think its a sort of urban myth due to the thin spokes on the wheels, people make assumptions. But then again I could be wrong.
Was talking to a shop that used to sell them. Brought in x amount of wheels and had a 20% breakage under use, sold 10 sets and 4 sets had broke. Shop also mention the was no problem getting warranty. They can pipe-up if they chose but it is not my place to name them here. Now I know those kind of numbers would not pass any company's quality control which is why I'm wondering if things, quality control or processes have changed. Before I talked to the shop I was going to buy a set used that a fellow started to polish the spokes on 1 wheel. Buddy mentioned after seeing how much work was involved that he figure the guy had damaged the spokes and had them welded and was forced to start polishing. If problem are fixed and I was to get a set now they would be new from Team-3
4 sets out of ten is 40% breakage!!!-----does that sound believable? These wheels are made by a pretty reputable company. I've seen some pretty fast cars laying a beating on those wheels and have never heard of them breaking. I agree with Doc Watson on the urban myth.
never heard of the 10 spokes breaking. old 12 spokes , seems like everone had seen a pair break back in the day....i seriously doubt that either. the only problem i heard with the et 10's , was the issue with the hub/rotor and the center of the wheel....
I think a call to the company would be in order here. I to can hardly believe that breakage amount. Are these wheels even recommended for cars of this weight on the frontend? I always thought they were more for the competition type vehicles where the front end weight was much reduced. Frank
I assume only 1 of the pair broke. Heard it from a reputable and highly recommended source by members here that no longer sells them Be giving team-3 a call on Monday.
In my quest for info I came across Rocket's site. Seems like they have a similar wheel coming out for what appears a lot cheaper than the ETs. $180 for either natural or gray spokes with polished rim or completely polished. http://www.rocketracingwheels.com/products/hot-rod-classic-muscle-car-wheels/rocket-launcher-series/
Maybe the Rockets are cheaper because they have a 60% failure rate instead of just 40%? Disclaimer: For SNARK purposes only. I saw a joke opportunity there and I grabbed it. It would be nice to get some hard statistics on what's going on with these wheels. I don't know much about the manufacturers other than they seem pretty reputable, well established and seem like they know what they're doing. Additionally, product liability is especially keen with wheels. I think a company called Centerline makes all the rolled aluminum hoops and blanks that get CNC'ed by various custom shops. These custom shops can't get their blanks without some kind of safety cert, I think? -90% Jimmy
I've had many sets of those and have never had any problems with them. I would not worry about them braking.
so if that means 4 wheels out of 20 (10 pair) that's 20% I'd think it would show up in an internet search if that was the case. I saw nothing but this thread when I searched.
my dads model a has had a set for 5 years and drives it all summer every day and ohio has shit for roads. just the road to his house is bad enough to kill the wheels if thats the case.
I allways wonder why people never call the manufacturer, we have made over 3000 pair and we have only ever had 2 wheels returned for broken spokes both cars, 1 a 1970 blown chevelle and the other a 40 willys gasser were in accidents. The chevelle rolled, jumped a curb rolled some more and hit a concrete building, the owner told me the officer was impressed with the wheel as only 2 spokes broke, most wheels he had seen in a crash like this were no longer on the car. The willys lost controll at the top end and hit the concrete guard rail at a 45 angle, this knocked the front axle off the car , the wheel had a broken spoke. No wheels have ever failed in general road use and if our wheel were to bend from a wheelie landing then a normal race wheel would also bend,as there design requirements are less stringent than a dot road wheel. scott
If you believe that, I have some beachfront property in Arizona that I'll sell you for a great deal too!
And if you would like to see the wheels i have them as we gave the customer a new wheel for free for the damaged wheel, so we could analize the damaged wheel. We also have all of the physical testing reports on our wheels. they are tested to SAE j175,j328,j2530 and SFI 5.1a,5.3a depending on the wheel construction. Please give me a call Scott ET WHEELS PRESIDENT 510-895-8880 9:00-5:00 pacific time M-F
You cannot ask for more than what Scott is offering here. Give him a call and all questions answered. Love my ET's. Bob
This is one of those everybody talking and nobody knows threads. Two weeks ago I contacted a guard rail at the posted interstate speed limit in a 33 ford at about a 60 degree angle. The car was heavily damaged. An all new 9" housing and axle was bent badly. The front rotor was broken off its hub. The Team III E/T wheels had damage from impacting the guard rail but were not broken. I spent 20 years as a collision repair tech and 20 more as a damage appraiser and manager of body shops. I have seen D.O.T. and aftermarket wheels break apart and crack on impact with much less impact than my E/T's. I was most impressed with how the wheels held up and so was anyone that knows the differance. If half of the crap thats manufactured for hot rods was as high quality as E/T's wheels we would all be better off.
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