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Thread: A question about proper split wheels

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    Guest Hugh Janus's Avatar
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    A question about proper split wheels

    I know they are generally a lot more expensive, what are the benefits over bragging rights?

    For this exercise I'm talking about JDM wheels; SSR's Works etc etc.

    Does the fact they are splits mean they are stronger?

    I know generally speaking they are also lighter in weight, is this down to manufacturing and materials used?

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    Guest ANDY black s13's Avatar
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    the centers are most often forged so much stronger much than plain cast or heat treated cast,the extra strength means less material thinner design's
    the barrels and outers are made using a rolling forging process (work and rays) so they can be thin but strong,
    I have a few different brands of 2 and 3 piece and they use slightly different barrels and outer lip designs
    I think if the bolts on the outer edge and the thickness where they all bolt together are factored in they are about the same as 1 piece
    if you can match the number of bolts and the pcd of the bolts then you can swap outer lips and/or barrels,many bolt/pcd combo's
    I have 5 sets of 17's and not one interchanges with the other,but owning old rare $hit is cool

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    Guest R3K1355's Avatar
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    They are generally a higher quality item and while you can change lips and stuff to give uber dish it's pretty expensive to do.
    I don't get too hung up on them being lighter than other wheels, it's usually only a kilo or so which isn't a great deal.

    There's almost no info out there on tyre weights either, there's little point going for a mega lightweight rim if the tyre used on it weighs a ****ing ton.

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    I <3 BBS LM Actual_Ben_Taylor's Avatar
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    The main benefit is the custom sizes and offsets that are available.

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    Guest Hugh Janus's Avatar
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    i get the "customisable" sides of the wheels, although a set i had (I've had to send them back as they were all bent :\) despite being 3 piece are actually welded from factory so in fact 2 piece.

    what concerns me I'd paid a fair chunk of change for a set of "previously enjoyed" wheels they

    a) a set of wheels that are seen as a "proper" wheel that bent seemingly so easily (of course have no idea what actually happened to them to be bent in the first place) that if I'm supplied another set the same will happen, either supplied or i bend them myself..given the state of our roads

    b) cannot easily be split apart and say for instance a barrel replaced as they are welded together.

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    Not supposed to be welded. People will weld them to try to seal leaks at the split. Welding destroys the forged/rolled material properties weakening the heat affected zone, can't be restored by heat treatment.

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    Guest *alansx*'s Avatar
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    Work Meisters are weilded from the factory effectively turning a 3 piece wheel into a 2 piece wheel. Not sure if any other companies do this. http://www.vwvortex.com/features/tak...factory-osaka/

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    Guest ANDY black s13's Avatar
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    around '97 '98 they started to be welded with a smeared bead of silicone hiding the weld ,either as a safety feature or air tight sealing method
    pain in the ar$e as need a fair sized lathe to spin up an 18" lip and barrel and find a place that will take the job on,
    can go full pikey and hacksaw the thing, takes for ever as the weld is hard and goes deep into the 'V'
    if the centers are date coded '96 or earlier on the back,they should be non welded

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    Guest Hugh Janus's Avatar
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    The wheels in question are a set of SSR's when I first saw them I thought I'd been short changed but an internet search showed they weld theirs too

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    Guest Si's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by skyshack View Post
    Not supposed to be welded. People will weld them to try to seal leaks at the split. Welding destroys the forged/rolled material properties weakening the heat affected zone, can't be restored by heat treatment.
    It's good that you know better than SSR, who have been welding their 3 piece wheels for donkey's.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Si View Post
    It's good that you know better than SSR, who have been welding their 3 piece wheels for donkey's.
    But don't have the process engineers I have access to in Derby.

    Our stuff flies at 35-40K ft. We don't weld repair any forged parts. NOT EVER.

    Electron beam or friction weld only and then do testing of first off parts to find residual stress. Electron beam weld a steel bearing track to a super alloy disc. Friction weld 4 titanium compressor rotors/blisks at the drive arms to make a compressor drum.

    Welding is casting using the parent metal as a mould. The resulting material may as well be cast and would have to be stress analysed for fatigue and crack propagation life as cast.

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    Guest R3K1355's Avatar
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    Perhaps they don't have to survive in conditions that your aviation parts would, so a lower quality of material is accepted.

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    Self confessed player of the pink oboe docwra's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hugh Janus View Post
    The wheels in question are a set of SSR's when I first saw them I thought I'd been short changed but an internet search showed they weld theirs too
    Most SSR's are like this, 3 piece wheels welded to make a 2 piece. You can split them if needs be but from what I can gather its not an amateur job.

    SSR also have JWL certification so I guess they know what they are up to.
    Quote Originally Posted by scimmy ben
    I get the feeling that this would only work if we could pursuade Ernest Borgnine to drive the Isle of Wight to Portsmouth hovercraft.
    Quote Originally Posted by sprout
    After I shave my balls swarfega helps soothe, but means the hair grows back quite quickly, so give it a go

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    Quote Originally Posted by R3K1355 View Post
    Perhaps they don't have to survive in conditions that your aviation parts would, so a lower quality of material is accepted.
    No. It means they have gone to the expense of forging them when they could have cast.

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    Guest Hugh Janus's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by docwra View Post
    Most SSR's are like this, 3 piece wheels welded to make a 2 piece. You can split them if needs be but from what I can gather its not an amateur job.

    SSR also have JWL certification so I guess they know what they are up to.
    Yeah further investigation has shown it's not an easy and certainly not a DIY process and more than likely costly too.

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    Guest Si's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by skyshack View Post
    But don't have the process engineers I have access to in Derby.

    Our stuff flies at 35-40K ft. We don't weld repair any forged parts. NOT EVER.

    Electron beam or friction weld only and then do testing of first off parts to find residual stress. Electron beam weld a steel bearing track to a super alloy disc. Friction weld 4 titanium compressor rotors/blisks at the drive arms to make a compressor drum.

    Welding is casting using the parent metal as a mould. The resulting material may as well be cast and would have to be stress analysed for fatigue and crack propagation life as cast.
    Genuine question: do you find that people often just wander off when you're talking to them?

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    my work equips are 3 pieces with no welding, theyre also for sale.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Si View Post
    Genuine question: do you find that people often just wander off when you're talking to them?
    Of course they do, except the people at work, they all have PHDs.

    The UK has stopped making Engineers that make the grade. R-R is staffed by French, Spanish , Italian, German, Korean, Singaporean, Indian, Kiwi, Nigerian, Brazilian, Polish, Greek and pretty much anyone except English.

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    Guest zeppelin101's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by skyshack View Post
    Of course they do, except the people at work, they all have PHDs.
    Astounding arrogance, congratulations.

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    He may come across as arrogant but at the end of the day the information about welding the forged aluminium is right and people are arguing with him just because a couple of wheel manufacturers weld them doesn't make it the technically correct thing to do

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