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BigBlock-
Sorry to hear about your problem.
Our 2017 is a Z51 and they are less prone to wheel damage than the wide body cars. But by 30k miles on the bombed-out roads of Illinois, we have bent 5 of the 8 (two sets, summer & winter) factory wheels.
Only one was bad enough that I could feel it, and that was fairly minor. But I don't like driving on bent wheels.
Over a period of two years (the wheels didn't all get bent at once) I took them to a wheel repair chain and had them straightened, $125 each.
After straightening, all of them road force balanced down to 12 or less, which is very good. The car feels perfectly smooth.
I know GM says that bent wheels should be replaced instead of straightened, but there aren't enough wheels in the world to keep the C7 fleet running on virgin wheels.
So far, I haven't heard of any catastrophic wheel failures on the C7, instead they develop small cracks which cause a slow leak that gets worse.
Since I switch between the summer & winter tires/wheels each spring and fall, 5k-10k miles each time, I clean the removed wheels carefully and inspect them for cracks, especially on the inboard rim that's hard to inspect when on the car.
If I get a slow leak, I'll have it inspected for cracks immediately. You might consider doing the same, carefully.
I read a story about a base C7 with a huge number of miles (500k?) and he too has gone through several sets of wheels. On the C7, they are a consumable item like brake pads.
Has anyone here ran non run-flats and encountered the same problem?
Same problem as what?
I bought my 2014 Z51 C7 w/run flats on it that needed to be replaced. When the old tires were removed, it was discovered that the right rear wheel was bent but it still held air so I did not replace it; it balanced fine.
Now running non-runflat Michelin PPS tires at 32 PSI all around on the 19/20" rims. No additional problems noted since they were installed.
The 2PSI extra does not affect handling/road feel and I hoped that it would help reduce the possibility of additional bends or, even worse, cracks associated w/the extremely low profile tires. Haven't tried 34 PSI yet but, if I do, I probably will only do it in the rear.
For purposes of comparison, I have 18 inch rims all around on my 911 which calls for 36/44 PSI (front/back) and also have 18 inch rims all around on my BMW which calls for 32/38 PSI (front/back) and they both run fine at those tire pressures.
My left rear wheel recently cracked (and found out the other three were bent) so I purchased a set of fully forged monoblock wheels from Tire rack made by forged one for my 2019 GS A8. The ride improved immensely. I will post a pic of them on my baby soon.
The bottom line is that My GS is my daily driver tooling the streets of Brooklyn and the only real road trip was down to see my daughter in VA (400 miles each way) so I wasn't hard on my tires but those substandard (EM molded wheels were true to their history and gave out after only 2ooo miles. After installation and balancing the final cost was $3400. The only down side was that my C7 cross wing center caps didn't fit and had to use the supplied Forged One center caps. Now I have 4 beautiful paper weights
Thanks for sharing this. These wheels may be a good option for me. I will research these wheels.
My Vette is a daily drive also.
Originally Posted by JoeD-C7
Has anyone here ran non run-flats and encountered the same problem?
I ran some non run-flats on my '14 with Z51 and never had a problem. I know those were not the wide wheels though.
Originally Posted by Gearhead Jim
BigBlock-
Sorry to hear about your problem.
Our 2017 is a Z51 and they are less prone to wheel damage than the wide body cars. But by 30k miles on the bombed-out roads of Illinois, we have bent 5 of the 8 (two sets, summer & winter) factory wheels.
Only one was bad enough that I could feel it, and that was fairly minor. But I don't like driving on bent wheels.
Over a period of two years (the wheels didn't all get bent at once) I took them to a wheel repair chain and had them straightened, $125 each.
After straightening, all of them road force balanced down to 12 or less, which is very good. The car feels perfectly smooth.
I know GM says that bent wheels should be replaced instead of straightened, but there aren't enough wheels in the world to keep the C7 fleet running on virgin wheels.
So far, I haven't heard of any catastrophic wheel failures on the C7, instead they develop small cracks which cause a slow leak that gets worse.
Since I switch between the summer & winter tires/wheels each spring and fall, 5k-10k miles each time, I clean the removed wheels carefully and inspect them for cracks, especially on the inboard rim that's hard to inspect when on the car.
If I get a slow leak, I'll have it inspected for cracks immediately. You might consider doing the same, carefully.
I read a story about a base C7 with a huge number of miles (500k?) and he too has gone through several sets of wheels. On the C7, they are a consumable item like brake pads.
It sounds like you have had as bad of luck as I have.
I remove and inspect mine also. But I have not noticed where the wheels are bent. I did notice the crack that developed in inner edge of my OEM wheels.
There are a couple of wheel repair companies by me. I plan on looking into that option also.
Originally Posted by Avanti
As is said..."Pick any two of those three options"
How true.
Originally Posted by sgt1372
Same problem as what?
I bought my 2014 Z51 C7 w/run flats on it that needed to be replaced. When the old tires were removed, it was discovered that the right rear wheel was bent but it still held air so I did not replace it; it balanced fine.
Now running non-runflat Michelin PPS tires at 32 PSI all around on the 19/20" rims. No additional problems noted since they were installed.
The 2PSI extra does not affect handling/road feel and I hoped that it would help reduce the possibility of additional bends or, even worse, cracks associated w/the extremely low profile tires. Haven't tried 34 PSI yet but, if I do, I probably will only do it in the rear.
For purposes of comparison, I have 18 inch rims all around on my 911 which calls for 36/44 PSI (front/back) and also have 18 inch rims all around on my BMW which calls for 32/38 PSI (front/back) and they both run fine at those tire pressures.
I would think that adding air to the tire would make the wheel more susceptible to damage.
Originally Posted by TheRajMahal
BC forged makes true forged wheels and they should be under 4k a set in GS fitment
Thanks for sharing this. These look like another very good option.
Like I've said on here many times, it's not totally an issue of poor quality wheels but more the wheel/tire design. The extremely wide barrel wheels along with the firm low profile ties are very prone to cracking/bending.
Other sportscars have the same issues.
Never had an issue with any of my Porsche wheels and they've taken some abuse!
I don't have a GS, but I still have a question. When purchasing after market wheels, does any kind of warranty come with them? If so, what do they warranty?
You guys need to check where all these cheap rims are made. Some of the Forgeline flow form wheels are made in Japan which would be perfectly fine but most are made in China and whatnot.
my vote is call Forgeline and talk with them about their flowform but if you don't think what you're hearing is sufficient, then drop the cash on a set of used monoblocks. This problem will likely happen again. You could also drop down to a 19/19 set so that you've got more sidewall in the rear.
You could also drop down to a 19/19 set so that you've got more sidewall in the rear.
This would be my suggestion. Ultra low profile tires mounted on wide wheels is asking for trouble.
I wonder if the offsets have something to do with it as well. Are the spokes (where the wheel is the strongest) located too far from the center line? That inside edge is far away.
All c7 wide body cars have what is called cast/rotary forged rims. They start off as cast rims and are then stretched/rotary forged/spun etc to make a rotary forged rim. They are also too wide of a barrel for that process.
Only z51 cars came with a forged rim, the base got cast rims.
The combination of a wide wheel, some negative factory camber, some bad roads and run flats pretty much will wreck any stock sized rotary forged rim given just time and mileage.
I bought my 2014 Z51 C7 w/run flats on it that needed to be replaced. When the old tires were removed, it was discovered that the right rear wheel was bent but it still held air so I did not replace it; it balanced fine.
Now running non-runflat Michelin PPS tires at 32 PSI all around on the 19/20" rims. No additional problems noted since they were installed.
The 2PSI extra does not affect handling/road feel and I hoped that it would help reduce the possibility of additional bends or, even worse, cracks associated w/the extremely low profile tires. Haven't tried 34 PSI yet but, if I do, I probably will only do it in the rear.
For purposes of comparison, I have 18 inch rims all around on my 911 which calls for 36/44 PSI (front/back) and also have 18 inch rims all around on my BMW which calls for 32/38 PSI (front/back) and they both run fine at those tire pressures.
Was going to post the anatomy of a run flat but don't want to insult anyone. Low profile=transferring more of the energy to the rim, more rigid sidewalls also equals the same.. My BMW had the same issues. Switched to non run flats and no problem. I wouldn't switch to non runs on my corvette but not sure of any fix unless you were switch to forged rims. Pay me now or pay me later.
03-13-2021, 09:34 PM
