actually... it all makes sense!!

I believe the powder coating was the cause of your failures. Look it up- many people will say they never had issues with PCing forged wheels, but there is a percentage of people who do have cracking issues. It stems from the heat cycle they put the wheels through when PCing. Well that, and whatever other forces the wheels face... in your case, having 500whp is a shit ton of force, plus they're on a heavy car.. it could have very well done them in.

I cant specifically say what happens with a forged wheel, but, from my materials engineering courses (from a decade ago...) metal that is heated to a high temp and then cooled fairly quickly, actually makes the metal stronger... but it also makes it more brittle and prone to failing when pushed to its limits. So, what before may have caused a forged wheel to simply bend, can now cause it to crack.

I did a quick google search and found a bunch of people saying they've had no issues PCing their wheels, but there is a definite group who have had their wheels subsequently fail after PCing. It almost seems like cast wheels seem to handle PCing better than forged (though don't take that as gospel).

I remember there was a local guy who had his forged wheels crack after PCing... there was much debate about it on the local car forum here in town... the outcome was that they said you can still PC your wheels, but, they should be baked at a much lower temperature to ensure the metal characteristics of the wheel are not changed.

read here for more info regarding heating/cooling metal, and how it becomes stronger/more brittle:

https://www.metalsupermarkets.com/ho...ts-properties/

Fitment looks on point. Car looks great!

The tire tread pattern made me think they were Bridgestone Potenza RE-11s, but they are just a wee bit different. I’ve never heard of Champiro tires... where’d you scoop them from? How much were they?

I must admit, I’ve kind of changed my stance on tires this year (gasp!)

There’s something to be said about super cheap tires that perform decently... I’d be burning those tires day in day out, not giving a fuck, because shit, a replacement set is only $280!! It’s like you can enjoy your car without the worry of seeing dollar signs every time you have a bit of fun.

I bought new, cheap tires for the Z at the start of the season... I had fun on those things, pushing the ass end out around corners here and there. My next option was going with something from Michelin, but it was easily $1000 more, for a set of 4 (I was rocking 325s in the rear, so not cheap). Did they perform as good as some other tires I’ve had in the past? No. But they definitely held their own and let me enjoy the car without worry.

#winning

Like the new setup!

nice find on the tires! That’s crazy cheap! Even at 200 treadwear, you can still get another set for less than I just paid for Firestone Firehawk Indy 500’s! (340 treadwear)


Give an update on those tires and performance! What a deal!