Copied from over there..



chaman
ZmiSmok

Registered: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 7
(Post #1)
Careful with BMW Wheels! Wheel fell off!
Im posting this as an advice to all. Recently a friend of mine had a terrible accident when a front wheel came off from his S-10 pickup.(wich I believe are 5x120.65 like our f-bodies). The wheels were Borbet (dont know exactly what model), but they were originally for a BMW (5x120). He bought them cheap from a guy who had a bimmer and wanted to upgrade his wheels. Almost since the day he got them they (the wheels) were constantly coming loose, specially in the front. He had to tighten them with an impact air gun. Thank God he got from the wreck intact but his nice S-10 didnt. (Todd you were right...!)

Just be careful with wheels that dont are specifically for you car. I was just about to get some nice HP Racing wheels when this happen, now Im backing off. Sometimes I ride with my kid in the back and thats enough to make me think twice.

Drive safe!!!!



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02-15-2004 07:48 PM



Eugenio_SS
Yosemite Sam Moderator

Registered: Jun 2002
Location: Montreal (Canada)
Posts: 4101
(Post #2)

glad to hear he is OK, though.
Makes me think of my friend that had the 315s unmount his 17x9 wheel... he never put any 315s on the 17x9 wheels.
I guess we can never warn people enough.


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almost stock triple-black 2000 SS convertible with 17x11s on all 4 w/ 315s and At the track



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02-16-2004 12:01 AM



V8 Z Speed
LS1.COM Veteran

Registered: Feb 2001
Location: San Antonio, Tx
Posts: 400
(Post #3)

But saying that, that's the risk of any afermarket part. I have BMW wheels on my z. Had them about 2 1/2 years. Never had any problems with them.
on the flip side my HAL shocks that have been on the car about 1 1/2 years are leaking bad and they are sold for my car?
It's just inherent that something can and will eventually go wrong.



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02-16-2004 01:53 PM



Todd@DiscountTireDirect
Moderator / Wheel&Tire Sponsor

Registered: May 2002
Location: Scottsdale, AZ
Posts: 1799
(Post #4)
Re: Careful with Bmw Wheels
(Quote)
Originally posted by chaman
Im posting this as an advice to all. Recently a friend of mine had a terrible accident when a front wheel came off from his S-10 pickup.(wich I believe are 5x120.65 like our f-bodies). The wheels were Borbet (dont know exactly what model), but they were originally for a BMW (5x120). He bought them cheap from a guy who had a bimmer and wanted to upgrade his wheels. Almost since the day he got them they (the wheels) were constantly coming loose, specially in the front. He had to tighten them with an impact air gun. Thank God he got from the wreck intact but his nice S-10 didnt. (Todd you were right...!)

Just be careful with wheels that dont are specifically for you car. I was just about to get some nice HP Racing wheels when this happen, now Im backing off. Sometimes I ride with my kid in the back and thats enough to make me think twice.

Drive safe!!!!
. (Todd you were right...!)


I cant stress this to you guys enough. The chance may be ever so small. But what if this happens to you goin thru the traps at 120???? Even worse, what if its on teh highway and you have no helmet, other innocent people are by you (imagine where this flying loose wheel goes), what if your kid is driving your car?????

Years ago...I did this too. I know better now, and luckily I never had a problem. Would you accept this difference in tolerance in your piston to valve clearance? Different, but you know what I mean. Dont make a mistake youll regret. If you must continue to be on the wrong BP wheels...at least torque em down every couple days to be sure.


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02-16-2004 08:03 PM



chaman
ZmiSmok

Registered: Jan 2004
Location:
Posts: 7
(Post #5)
No use to take risks!!!
Yes its true an original wheel could become loose..but why take an unnecesary risk with aftermarket stuff not designed for your car?..
For looks?..well you should see how pretty my friends S-10 pickup ended, how about that for looks!!!!
Yes thing could always go wrong but why ask for it???

 

Driving cars like this fast is a greater risk than a wheel ever falling off. 95% of us are probably daredevils compared to normal society standards.

I had BMW lug pattern wheels on my 10-second car, never had an issue. I've put about 4K miles on my current BMW pattern wheels and they have never worked loose.

120.65mm bolt circle vs 120.00mm bolt circle. Thats only 0.325 mm (0.0127") off on each bolt. Less than half of 1% off on tolerances, 0.54%.

We are talking fractions of a mm here. If you have one slightly bent lug stud, it will be off more than 1 mm by itself. Most lug studs aren't perfectly straight.

Gotta disagree man, its the Engineer in me when it comes to measurements and tolerances.

 

and its a chance not worth taking to some. Maybe youll be that 1 in 10,000 that it happens to. We all hope not. Regardless...its information people NEED to know

 

hmmmmmm and one of the girls in my office is selling her wheels off her 740 that I am interested in. I may have to put some more thought to it.

 

the biggest problem i see is that he didnt mention anything about torqing them. didnt read the whole thing tho so i could have missed. only read to the part where he said impact gun. to my knowledge ALL BMW wheels are aluminum so they NEED to be torqued properly. hell the wheels on my 91 are for a porsche 911. havent had any problems except finding a lug nut for the front...

 

how many sets of wheels you think you need Boyce? I personally wouldnt worry about it THAT much, as long as it is a wheel you are going to be using for the street, if it is something you were thinking about for a ORR event then i would most certainly pass. gotta keep that SS in once peice baby

 

With an aluminum wheel you are needed to retorque. The guy put them on with an Impact gun? The guy who purchased my last car did the same thing. His wheel also came flying off while going down the road. Why? Because he over-torqued the lug stretching it, and weakening the studs.

 

Lets just say he did Torque them down properly. I have seen a wrong BP torqued properly come off. Its been two years, but Ive seen it happen. And Im sure ithappens more than any of us know. For those that dont care about this thread...at least be sure to check up on that torque once in awhile. Id say weekly. It only takes a minute and could save your life, and someone elses to.