While driving on I-10 west today I felt a slight vibration. I turned down the radio and I heard some slight rumbling from the right front. So I decided to pull over. Thank God. I had three of the five spokes with hairline fractures that went clear through. They had flexed and were offset about 1mm from thier original alignment. Everything else was perfectly fine. The wheel had never taken any kind of hard hit, the car has never been in any kind of accident. Has anyone ever had this happen before?

Second GM's roadside assistance gave me a tow to gateway chevorlet which is where I really became frustrated. They couldn't find any sign of damage or abuse so they said that the wheel was a dealership aftermarket option and since it wasn't factory it wasn't covered under warrenty. I called freeway chevorlet where I bought the car and they said that it was the original wheel that they sent to get chromed locally. The service manager said that the chroming process could theoreticaly damage the wheel and therefore would void thier warranty. Bull****! I have a B.S. in Mechanicle Engineering and I know bull**** when I hear it. I called GM corperate help line and they got the issue resovled. I have had way to much frustration dealing with GM dealerships. I told the corperate support that I wanted to know if I would be covered in the furture if I was out of the area. ( the only reason why my car got fixed is because freeway chevorlet agreed to provide the replacement wheel). I would figure for the amount of money I we pay for these vechicles they would provide better service.

 

"get chromed locally . . ."

All chroming processes use heat to assure the chrome plating is attached solidly, but too much heat weakens the wheel.Typically, the ovens used by local, aftermarket
plating shops often do not have the precise thermal control needed, and the shops are also too aggressive in using heat (they want the chrome to stick, period): the net result is that they overheat the wheels and weaken them. This is a common problem with plating.

My strong advice: get rid of the whole set now : the next failure (and there will be a next failure) might be with little or no warning in a high speed curve and your car will not survive it (maybe you won't survive either).Ngotiatewith the dealer to make it up to you but get rid of the wheels now.

Further advice: ifyou want shiny wheels either buy factory chromed wheels, or much better, buy polished aluminum, not chrome.

 

Great advice Lee.
A sophmore lecture on thermodynamics and properties of metals comes to mind.
I too am a mechanical engineer, and would be leery of any type of aftermarket chrome plating.
Just to reinforce Lee's advice, I would advise you to start looking for a new set of wheels. It's only a matter of time before the others reach their failure threshold. I would even venture a guess that at least one, if not more, of the remaining wheels also have indications of a impending faillure.

IMHO polished aluminum is easier to take care of, and if the quality is high enough is superior in the "bling" factor to chrome. Also, altering the physical properties of any OEM metallurgy would most defintiely void the manufacturers responsibilty to warranty the part.
Unsolicited of course so take it with a grain of salt.

 

Salt? did you say salt? . . . let's think about what salt does to aftermarket chromed wheels: if you live where they salt the roads, the chrome is going to flake off anyway after three years because of the salt . . . if it doesn't kill you first, it will look ugly . . .

( Sorry, could not resist this play or words, particularly since it is so true . . . )

 

Well, It's impossible to tell if there is any sign of imminent failure due to the chrome covering it up. I told GM that I wanted to ensure that the wheels will be covered under warranty. But know I would rather have the painted wheels with my $2,000.00 back. I don't know if they were an aftermarket set of chromed wheels or the originals that they sent to be chromed. The service manager at gateway chevorlet couldn't tell me either way. Also, I didn't care what rims were on the car. I wanted a set of all Black rims, but the chrome ones were on the car when I baught it.Freeway chevorlet was going to charge me the $2,000.00 for either polished or chrome I thought chrome would have been easier to maintain. There is not alot of salt in AZ and SOCAL.

So, sophmore materials if they heat the metal to change the crytaline structure to something weaker (not as hard i.e. pearlite) wouldn't that take something like 1500 degrees fahrenhiet. And they would have to let it soak for some period of time. If this is the case then this is a much bigger issue then just my car. Both of these dealerships had brand new corvettes on the lot with the same wheel package that they put on my car when I bought it. I am definately getting a new set of wheel. I regularly try to take the car to NASA HPDE in the SOCAl region and it's not worth the risk. I have pictures of the failures, but when I try to upload then it tells me that the file is too large even with one photo. How can I post them?

Who would be the correct person to bring this issue up with. I will relay this information to the corperate GM office when they call me with the resolution.

Again if anyone in this foru has expierienced a similar failure it would be helpful to campare the damage and the resolutions.

Thanks for the advise. Time to start shopping for some all black forgelines.

 

Something about those two phrases just don't go together.

Do you mean a BS (a four-year degree) in mechanical engineering?

Chroming will make some metals very brittle - that's a fact. I DON'T have a chemical engineering degree, and I know that. Chromed metal will under the wrong circumstances not just fracture, but it will SHATTER, JUST LIKE GLASS.

Glad you're okay there, cnj...

DO NOT CHROME LOAD-BEARING COMPONENTS.

 

Now I'm readin' the others' replies there, cnj.

Lee and BZ are correct too. They beat me to the punch.

 

Just to be clear here ...not all chromng processes will be detrimental. Most will, but not all. The chroming, or electraplatingprocess tends to render the wheel more brittle than a standard-finish wheel. Most of the time chroming is mentioned people think of the wheels being dippedin a vat of molten metal - not the case. However, the high currents used are just as detrimental. 1000 amperes in a heated caustic solution is most definitely going to do some damage.
Hell, you can even chrome plastics, wood, etc. today.

 

CWB Thanks for correcting my grammar and spelling. The point I'mwas making is that in the process of getting my Bachelars in Science for Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona (GO WILDCATS) one of hte required courses is strenght of materials. In this class there is a required lad where you heat up several sample of mild (read low carbon) steel. These sample are heated (somthing like 1500 degrees cel.) Then they are all cooled differently. Some cool slowly at room temp, some are quenched in water, some have a time combination. You get la large variance in the toughness and maleability of the samples. But in order to do this you have to heat then in this 1500 degree oven for more than 30 minutes.These samples are three inches long by about an inch wide and may half an half an inch thick max. The spokes and center section of hte rim are significantly thicker than that, and they are not heated that long during chroming. Have I done a study on it to see what the effect is on the strength no. Will I, no. Does chroming have an effect on the material properties, yes. But if you ask me I think that it's neglegable. I think the wheels had a flaw in them when they were originally cast. It doens't mean all the wheels are bad, during casting sometimes gasses can be released and cause pockets and week spots. I tired to cast some pedals for formula SAE when I was a senior and I could never get it to work. I have lost faith in the wheels on my car so I am ordering a new set from WCC. They will not be chrome ( I wanted them painted black). I wanted to post picks of the wheel but they say the file is too large. Is there any way aroung this? Anyways thanks for the advise there is alot of good information here getting passed around.

 

I got the call from GM. If you have chrome rims on your Vette they are not covered under warranty. It will be up to the individual to work something out with the dealership. If you are like me and have original factory rims that are chromed then you are at the mercy of the dealership. If you have aftermarket chrome rims, then the manufacturer will have some kind of warrenty usually like 12mo.