>I've got a question about load ratings on wheels. This thread is a very >specific question. I am not referring to tires. I am not asking about >experiences with vehicles other than Vanagons. > >My question is: > >Does anyone have any firsthand knowledge of a wheel failure on a Vanagon due >to overloading? > >I am specifically talking about Vanagons. I am also talking about failures >due to an overload situation. I'd prefer not to hear about wheels that have >been drilled out to fit a Vanagon - I'm trying to eliminate variables here. > >So, how about it? Any first hand knowledge? > >Cheers, >Bruce >motorbruce@hotmail.com The only wheels I have ever heard of failing were motorcycle wheels... magnesium ones (Speedline) on a Ducati Darmah. They crack at the spoke bases and corrosion sets in... NASTY. I saw a 750 Four with similar wheels fitted, and looked at the spoke bases... sure enough, cracked! Avoid magnesium wheels... the metal is just too reactive. Never heard of car/van wheels breaking unless they hit something large & immovable... and even then, they weren't really broken, rather they were bent or even mangled. I wouldn't be hazarding a guess if I said that all wheels are made with huge margins of error in the stated limits. Having said that, I would avoid 3-spoke alloy wheels because the large unsupported sectors put huge loadings on the rims at the spoke edges. If any aluminum wheel is gouing to fail catastrophically, it's one of these. Until, that is, some bright outfit tries to market TWO-spoked wheels... -- Andrew Grebneff Dunedin New Zealand Fossil preparator <andrew.grebneff@stonebow.otago.ac.nz> Seashell, Macintosh, VW/Toyota van nut HUMANITY: THE ULTIMATE VON NEUMANN MACHINE DEMOCRACY: RULE BY THE LOWEST COMMON DENOMINATOR |
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