Location: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
HRE's failing? answer: no
A recent C4 Gen post claims the HRE wheel is banned from some forms of racing for being failure-prone....specifically in Viper club racing events.
I am concerned....
Location: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
I'd read that link to the Audi forum before...just a lot of opinons and not much in the way of facts.
That Audi forum was the reason I posted my question.
Concerned with this I asked the guy I'm buying my HRE's from - he says theres a bunch of knock offs "HRE" style wheels and those are the ones that are failing after further investigation. He warned me about the stcok look Z06, ZR1 wheels as well.
I've known this guy for years and I know its not a sales pitch, he sells all wheels makes and swears by HRE.
Location: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pio
Concerned with this I asked the guy I'm buying my HRE's from - he says theres a bunch of knock offs "HRE" style wheels and those are the ones that are failing after further investigation. He warned me about the stcok look Z06, ZR1 wheels as well.
I've known this guy for years and I know its not a sales pitch, he sells all wheels makes and swears by HRE.
There appears to be a failed, non-HRE in the last post's photo that is being offered as proof of HRE's problems. I beginning to think that this is a Chicken Little situation....
Those pics are are scary but those dont look like HRE's to me either. The center of the broken wheel doesn't have the HRE badge and the other wheel with the crack looks way to flimsy to be.
They're expensive but if you go to a wheel store (boutique ) and compare, the difference is obvious.
Location: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
"All I know for sure is that they were banned from the Viper Racing League due to many failures on the track at Viper Days"
Luke, HOW do you know?
That's my question....
I've read this same statement from several sources, but no one seems to be able to substantiate it....no announcement from the VRL, no copies of rule books. (the only printed rules from the VRL I've seen offered up indicated no ban on any wheel)
Back to the original question; anyone have any evidence of this, or is this another urban legend that lives on?
Hum..........been watching this online and all I can say is there are ALWAYS 2 sides to a story. Lug nut torque is key to ANY wheel life.
I like the HRE 545 design cause I know how its built.
No issues on any of our {10} HRE 545s and I check them on a regular basis as I abuse them w/o issue as well
One set of OEM Magnesiums and HRE 545s will be at CMP in October
Not only does the first photo look like a non-HRE, but comparing the second photo to HRE's full-line catalog shows that HRE does not offer a wheel of the same design as the one in the photo, the HRE center cap notwithstanding.
You can easily see this for yourself on the HRE website...just notice where the lug holes on the HRE wheel are in relation to the spoke slot, then compare it to the wheel in the photo...also notice that HRE's spokes are tapered and the photo wheel's spokes are parallel-sided.
I'm beginning to think that HRE's, for some reason, are getting a bad rap...
I just got off the phone with Skip Thomas, who is THE big dog in the Viper Race League, and he confirmed that the HRE ban is in the Race Driver Rule book that ALL VRL drivers get. And it only applies to cars with race slicks / DOT R-Compound tires.
HRE has since come out with what they call a competition wheel and they are trying to get that wheel approved but, at this time that has not happened.
Another part of the wheel rules is that all wheels must be stamped with date of manufacture and be no older than 2 calendar years ....
he also said to feel free to contact either him or Courtney Thomas at their website http://www.viperracingleague.com/ if you would like more info
and the wheel that has the broken center in the other post is not an HRE
but, with that said all wheels experience metal fatigue and it is accelerated when be used in a racing evironment
Last edited by Luke@tirerack; 07-19-2005 at 05:45 PM.
Location: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
Thanks, Luke. Having sources identified add credibility to statements and you "done good".
From the C4 General forum: UPDATE: HRE has a policy of not engaging forum threads (and they explained why), but have given permission for me to paraphrase what they said about banning and HRE wheels:
1) Seven years ago, VRL did indeed ban HRE wheels from their events, based on one failed wheel. This wheel is no longer made by HRE. The VRL has since allowed the HRE Comp Series wheel.
2) Neither IMSA nor the Porsche Club of America have ever banned HRE wheels.
3) HRE plans to release an official response to this issue by the end of the week.
There was much more to their response, but this is the gist of their position. Draw your own conclusions.
Me? I'm no longer worried about my HRE's.
EDIT: Feel free to call Alan Peltier at (760) 598-1960 if you have questions. He is the VP of Operations & Engineering at HRE.
...looks like the only unclear issue at this point is whether the HRE Comp Series is or is not currently approved by the VRL.
on a similar vein, I had a Fikse wheel almost fail on me.
from a post I made on another site:
...one more lap, or even one more corner, and it would have been done for sure. Also, there are scores on some of the spokes, but the spokes that cracked aren't the ones with scores in them either.
Also, I noticed that the cracks are starting on the back, along the very very small machining lines (they act as little stress-risers). You can see how the cracks start along one line, then jump to the other as it goes across. It sort of looks like a side view of a stair-way as the crack jumps from line to line. You'll have to look close to see them.
All cracks are pretty much same distance from the centre of the wheel (within a few millimetres).
Anyway, I'll just give you links, as putting up the photos would throw the page all out of whack.
Location: SCMR Rat Pack'r Charter Member..Great Bend KS
I would call Fikse, Malcolm, to not let them know would be a disservice to them.
I just received an email from Skip Thomas (Viper Racing League). While I was unable to find any mention of banned wheels in the rule books published on their website, he verified that the HRE was banned "5 or 6 years ago" as the result of one wheel failure.
He also said "HRE are not the only wheels that have failed and all competitors are informed of all brands that have failed."
He emphasized the importance of inspecting wheels used on the track, just as HRE emphasized that very same thing.
What I get out of all of this is that it is up to YOU and ME to take responsibility for the condition and use of our car's components, that all wheels have a finite lifespan and can experience failure if that is exceeded, and that HRE wheels are not necessarily inferior to other brands on the market.
at this time the HRE Competition series wheels do not meet the requirement of having the production date branded onto the outside face of the wheel so, they are not allowed .... Alan from HRE told me that they were working on a remedy for that for that situation
Corvette Store
HRE's failing? answer: no
