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[quote=“barkerdm” post=66378]
Miata broadsided me just this past weekend…[/quote]
Barkerdm, I thought you stole my story and my picture. I had a similar wheel failure after being hit directly in the wheel by a SM at RA a few weeks ago. Hit was hard enough to send me up on 2 wheels as I exited the track, stage left! I don’t really blame the wheel for that particular failure, since it was a pretty hard hit. Interesting Deja Vu however!
I’ve bent two wheels, one in a pothole on my road car and one in a race, somewhere (I’m betting hitting an offset curb doing Buttonwillow backwards). I smashed two when a Miata broadsided me but that destroyed the whole right side of my car.
One slight bend in my Rotas by comparison.
If you guys see a failed wheel, take a picture of back side of the hub (and post it). That might have more information about the wheel/batch/manufacture location/etc…
There is a similar thread running on BimmerForums regarding DForce failures. My experience was enough to direct me & most of my fellow E30 Racers in Australia to the Team Dynamics. These weigh almost the same, and don’t appear to be anywhere near as fragile. The outer rim is thicker, the lips are thicker and the greater number of spokes is reassuring.
Those of us who still have DForce are either very budget conscious (and also very proactive in checking rims) or have moved the DForce rims to the ‘back-up back-up’ set of tires.
So what other good options are out there? I’m aware of TRM, TD, Kosei, but I’m also cheap. Anyone know any other than D-Force good deals out there?
I use Drag’s on the E30 and my E46 M3. Not enough track miles to comment on the longevity of either but the price is very attractive. I have not managed to crack the set on the E46 despite a couple of wintertime curb encounters that did not do much for the surrounding bodywork. They are not the lightest wheels around but they’re not grossly heavy either.
Interesting.
I have 10 D-Force wheels all bought 18 months ago from Bimmerworld. I have slammed lots of curbs and actually been hit by competitors several times and none of my wheels are bent, cracked or damaged in any visible way.
On my previous race car the D-force wheels never showed any damage either.
I will continue to check them.
[quote=“theShoe” post=67162]Interesting.
I have 10 D-Force wheels all bought 18 months ago from Bimmerworld. I have slammed lots of curbs and actually been hit by competitors several times and none of my wheels are bent, cracked or damaged in any visible way.
On my previous race car the D-force wheels never showed any damage either.
I will continue to check them.[/quote]
And there are new ones coming in about 2 weeks…
[quote=“philstireservice” post=67164]
And there are new ones coming in about 2 weeks…[/quote]
But who on this board is willing to buy any? Love you Phil and hope they sell, but new mold/production/fire sale price I won’t touch anything D-Force having seen these photos. My life and the $10,000 tied up in my car isn’t worth the $10-$20 per wheel cost savings over Team Dynamics.
[quote=“ddavidv” post=67228][quote=“philstireservice” post=67164]
And there are new ones coming in about 2 weeks…[/quote]
But who on this board is willing to buy any? Love you Phil and hope they sell, but new mold/production/fire sale price I won’t touch anything D-Force having seen these photos. My life and the $10,000 tied up in my car isn’t worth the $10-$20 per wheel cost savings over Team Dynamics.[/quote]
They will sell…
I’ve been in the wheel business longer than most of you have been driving. The handful and maybe a few fingers of the guys that have had problems with the D-Force wheels doesn’t even come close to what TD, Kosei and TRM have had as far as “problems”. A few outspoken people with little or no knowledge of the issue have blown this thing way out of proportion. Suffice to say for now, D-Force is a VERY reputable company and the owner has more character in his little finger than most of the self proclaimed experts who have shot his company down. I make it point not to associate with companies that don’t have the integrity or devotion to their customers and products, D-Force has both. To each their own…
As the nerd in me further researches the issue, here’s a thread with a well thought out response from Terry at Vorshlag from 2010:
Bimmerforums
Whether or not this applies to ‘new’ batches or not y’all can debate.
Google image searches for TD and D-Force failures came up with maybe one TD, and the same oft-repeated D-Force pictures of a few wheels we’ve all seen. If you want to see a bunch of failures, Google “Rota”. Ironically, I own a set of those (but not for race use).
Dealing with wrecked cars every day in my work I see a lot of destroyed wheels, but they are always from impacts to the wheel itself. To be fair in this discussion, any criticism of any wheel failure would have to be backed up with facts on what, if any, impacts the wheel has received. Are any of the failures simply a result of lateral loads being too much, or are we talking about impacts causing the initial fractures?
One thing I learned from reading the BF thread is that we should all be removing/cleaning/inspecting ALL wheels as part of regular race servicing.
I just got word that D-Force is recalling all their 15in wheel bought after Nov. 22, 2011. Details aren’t final, but they will replace them with wheels from their new manufacture. They are asking that you stop using any wheels bought after said date.
They are working getting exact casting numbers for the wheel effected.
Contact whomever you bought the wheels from for the details.
Nice to see D-Force being proactive with the situation.
Saw this posted over on the Mazda site:
Announcement from D-Force Wheels:
At D-Force Wheels, our first concern is safety. Recently we have been made aware of an isolated batch of wheels that were produced with a flawed tooling. To rectify this we are implementing a voluntary recall for 15x7 D-Force branded wheels shipped from our warehouse after November 22, 2011.
1.As a precautionary measure we are replacing all wheels that were part of that batch.
2.Production has begun on a replacement batch of wheels with new tooling but we do have immediate availability of product with a mesh design ready as replacements.
We are in touch with the manufacturer and are trying to determine exact casting numbers for these wheels but we do not have that specific information just yet. We did want to release this now to lessen the risk of injury or damage even though we do not have the exact casting information yet from the factory. For the time being and until we determine the exact casting numbers, we will offer to replace any wheels purchased after November 22, 2011.
If your wheels are part of this group, please discontinue use and contact us immediately via sales@dforcewheels.com (preferred) or call 888-502-0315 for my office. Any questions can also be sent here and we will answer as efficiently as possible. Due to the obvious volume of calls, we do prefer email. We will respond with shipping instructions and to make arrangements for replacement wheel(s) to ship to you.
We offer a sincere apology for any inconvenience caused - We want do what is right. We are offering this voluntary recall first and foremost to protect your safety, and as a small step toward regaining your trust.
We will update as more information becomes available.
Yours Sincerely,
Tom Merrifield
D-Force Wheels Inc.
D-Force have my vote…this is the result of someone trying to mount our car at NJMP earlier this year. No loss in tire pressure either.
