American Racing Sucks!!!
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 65
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American Racing Sucks!!! I bought a set of Torque Thrust 2's (17x9.5 & 17x11) from Ron's Rims about a month ago, 2 weeks ago I put them on. I torqued them down to 100 ft/lbs. and re-torqued them after 100 miles. About 400 miles later I was driving back to school and my car started weaving on the highway at 90mph, so I pulled over because I though I had a flat tire. I get out and see no flat tire, so I figrue maybe I messed up the algienment, so I get back on the highway. About 3 seconds later the car gets out of control, so I quickly pull off again and see my driver side, rear wheel hanging off! I look closer and see 2 studs completely broke off, 2 lug nuts you could spin with your fingers, and one lug was holding the wheel on. So I got a tow truck and had it towed to some little garage out in the middle of nowhere and they fix my studs for $190. Also 3 of the holes were rounded out, so the rim was wrecked. When I ask them what happen they said some of the lugs where not tightening correctly, they pulled 5 other lugs around the car and replaced them. The next day I call American Racing, and they say to contact Dan Nemes at the Ohio location, and send a letter of what happened, a receipt for the wheels and the repair bill. A week and a half goes by and I never hear from A.R., so I call Nemes today and he refuses to do anything because I put the wheels on myself, I told him I have put on several wheels in my life and they were torqued to factory spec, he tells me he won't do anything. So I have to say American Racing has some terrible customer service, the least they could do is give me a new wheel after their lugnuts almost got me killed.
Last edited by WIKDWS6; Mar 31, 2005 at 04:56 PM.
On The Tree
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 137
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From: Palatine, IL
SOunds like typical Corp BS. If there is an out (legally) they will use it. It prob says somewhere in the materials f(fine print) for the wheels that they have to be installed by a licensed shop to perform said functions.
It's not worth a legal battle for you... just make sure your voice is heard as you are doing on this forum. I would also contact the Better Business Office for that area and let them know.
Now if you had been hurt.... that would be a different story.
I too bought my rims from Ron's. No Probs so far, but only have about 50 miles on 'em. They are a stand up operation as far as I know. You may want to contact them and see if they can help you replace the wheel at the very least.
Good Luck.
It's not worth a legal battle for you... just make sure your voice is heard as you are doing on this forum. I would also contact the Better Business Office for that area and let them know.
Now if you had been hurt.... that would be a different story.
I too bought my rims from Ron's. No Probs so far, but only have about 50 miles on 'em. They are a stand up operation as far as I know. You may want to contact them and see if they can help you replace the wheel at the very least.
Good Luck.
Something doesn't sound right here . . .
I think to come onto a public forum with a slanderous statement of AR S&*ks, is pretty rude.
AR sells hundreds of wheels, and it sounds like something went wrong, what? who knows . . .
Was there possibly installation error?
Were the lug studs weakened from a prior event?
Were they the correct lugs?
Can you PROVE that the wheels were the culpret?
I think to come onto a public forum with a slanderous statement of AR S&*ks, is pretty rude.
AR sells hundreds of wheels, and it sounds like something went wrong, what? who knows . . .
Was there possibly installation error?
Were the lug studs weakened from a prior event?
Were they the correct lugs?
Can you PROVE that the wheels were the culpret?
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 659
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From: Red Stick, LA
Originally Posted by WIKDWS6
I bought a set of Torque Thrust 2's (17x9.5 & 17x11) from Ron's Rims about a month ago, 2 weeks ago I put them on. I torqued them down to 100 ft/lbs. and re-torqued them after 100 miles. About 400 miles later I was driving back to school and my car started weaving on the highway at 90mph, so I pulled over because I though I had a flat tire. I get out and see no flat tire, so I figrue maybe I messed up the algienment, so I get back on the highway. About 3 seconds later the car gets out of control, so I quickly pull off again and see my driver side, rear wheel hanging off! I look closer and see 2 studs completely broke off, 2 lug nuts you could spin with your fingers, and one lug was holding the wheel on. So I got a tow truck and had it towed to some little garage out in the middle of nowhere and they fix my studs for $190. Also 3 of the holes were rounded out, so the rim was wrecked. When I ask them what happen they said some of the lugs where not locking down correctly, they pulled 5 other lugs around the car and replaced them. The next day I call American Racing, and they say to contact Dan Nemes at the Ohio location, and send a letter of what happened, a receipt for the wheels and the repair bill. A week and a half goes by and I never hear from A.R., so I call Nemes today and he refuses to do anything because I put the wheels on myself, I told him I have put on several wheels in my life and they were torqued to factory spec, he tells me he won't do anything. So I have to say American Racing has some terrible customer service, the least they could do is give me a new wheel after their lugnuts almost got me killed.
Not to be a jerk, but 100 Ft/lbs for aluminum rims seems high?
TECH Regular
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 480
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From: Ft. Worth, TX
100 ft lbs should be fine keep in mind your stock wheels are aluminum too.
Are the lugnuts actually AR brand because i highly doubt it. It doesnt even matter but what does matter is that the seat of the lugnut matches the seat of the wheel. For example, all Enkei wheels are conical seat, as are most tuner lugnuts. Use the 2 together and you should be fine.
Maybe after on, off, on, off, your wheel studs finally fatigued. It happened to me after switching to slicks at the track numerous times. It looked like i had cross threaded the lug nut but i hadnt.
Are the lugnuts actually AR brand because i highly doubt it. It doesnt even matter but what does matter is that the seat of the lugnut matches the seat of the wheel. For example, all Enkei wheels are conical seat, as are most tuner lugnuts. Use the 2 together and you should be fine.
Maybe after on, off, on, off, your wheel studs finally fatigued. It happened to me after switching to slicks at the track numerous times. It looked like i had cross threaded the lug nut but i hadnt.
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thats an installer problem, not an american racing problem.
who ever installed them didnt use the correct lugs, didnt torque them properly, didnt remove the brake retaining clips, or didnt do something else correctly that they should have.
i sell/install all kinds of american racing wheels and never had a problem.
btw lug nuts dont "lock down" they just tighten like any other nut
who ever installed them didnt use the correct lugs, didnt torque them properly, didnt remove the brake retaining clips, or didnt do something else correctly that they should have.
i sell/install all kinds of american racing wheels and never had a problem.
btw lug nuts dont "lock down" they just tighten like any other nut
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Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 65
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From what it looks like to me is the lugnuts that came directly from American Racing where the problem, I've put several wheels on my car with no problems. I blame American Racing for their poor customer service and little concern about a serious problem. I was quite pleased with the wheels themselves, but if they had some defective lugnuts, they need to take some responsibility.
I bought TT2s also and I've pulled them off and put them on several times and never had a problem. In fact I know a ton of Fbody people with TT2s and none of them have had a problem either. I don't see how its ARs fault if you installed the wheels and if the wheel didn't cause the problem. I say if you can prove that the wheels are at fault then you have a case but blaming the lugnuts doesn't hold up too well. What style lug nuts are they and like what was said above how is lugnut defective?
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 65
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These are the acorn style lugnuts A.R. gives you when you purchase TT2's, and a lugnut could be defective if it is not tapped properly. The part about the lugnuts having problems is what the mechanic told me. I can tell you I'm not sure what happened exactly to cause this situation, but it is not because I put the wheels on wrong. Tell me you wouldn't be pissed if you were in this situation. I have never heard of a wheel coming off either, but it happened.
i would be pissed, but i wouldnt try to blame someone else if i did something wrong, id be pissed at myself
if the lug was the wrong thread it wouldnt have gone on at all and still would have been your fault for forcing it on
if the lug was the wrong thread it wouldnt have gone on at all and still would have been your fault for forcing it on
well if it wasnt tapped correctly it would have never gone on without forcing it. I would be pissed too but not at AR I would be pissed with myself. Did you remove the clips off of the rotors so the wheels would sit correctly? I still say there has to be something that you over looked when you put the wheels on. Maybe you over torqued the lugs and stripped them out and thats why they would just spin around
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 659
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From: Red Stick, LA
I think the installer should have caught the problem, if the lugnuts were not fitting properly.
I think AR should take care of the problem if the wrong nuts were supplied or they were manufactured improperly (inclusions in material, wrong material, machined improperly etc.)
I think AR should take care of the problem if the wrong nuts were supplied or they were manufactured improperly (inclusions in material, wrong material, machined improperly etc.)
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 65
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http://www.ls2.com/forums/showthread...hreadid=209916
"The same thing is happening to my wheels as well. I have the same and it seems my lugs are always coming loose. One wheel stud was broken but was replaced. Is this a common problem I wonder?"
"The same thing is happening to my wheels as well. I have the same and it seems my lugs are always coming loose. One wheel stud was broken but was replaced. Is this a common problem I wonder?"
Seems odd, any markings on the lug nut indicating the size and/or thread pattern?
Other questions . . . does the wheel sit flush on the rotor hat?
Does the seat on the wheel look similar to the seat of the OEM wheel?
What if you tried the OEM lugs?
If you remove the center cap, is the wheel tight to the hub ring?
I'm not denying that there is an issue, it' be nice to "narrow" down some of the issues . . . .
Other questions . . . does the wheel sit flush on the rotor hat?
Does the seat on the wheel look similar to the seat of the OEM wheel?
What if you tried the OEM lugs?
If you remove the center cap, is the wheel tight to the hub ring?
I'm not denying that there is an issue, it' be nice to "narrow" down some of the issues . . . .
Did you torque the wheel with the suspension loaded? Wrong nuts or not if they torqued to 100lb they arent gonna gon anywhere, Did you run them on with an. impact and cross thread them all? I have driven around for at least 15k miles on 4 lug nuts on my blazer with a 6 lug axle and never lost a wheel. Soemthings fishy here and its not the wheels
