Track days and even amateur racing are activities that the 944 bunch enjoys, as well as autocross events and time trials. To do these things, we need sticky tires with a larger contact patch to go along with our suspension upgrades. That means new wheels. Wider wheels, and maybe even larger diameter.
Wheels can get expensive. And let’s be honest – we are NOT going to pay a thousand bucks a wheel for our cars. We are going to look for a wheel that will fill the bill without costing a ton of cash.
So with all that in mind, here is a little bit of a cautionary tale.
Our great friend Nort Northam retired from his lifelong racing career a few years ago after stints at the Rolex 24, Sebring 12 hour, IMSA gigs, PCA Club Racing with a national championship in a 924S, and a lot of other driving opportunities in a variety of cars. Nort has a summer place in the middle of the mountains in North Carolina, and he has built up a 2003 Boxster S with suspension, extra power and such to feed his habits on some great mountain roads. We have all heard of “the Tail of the Dragon,” but another great road known as “The Rattler” ends behind his house!
Every spring he takes his Boxster S to the mountains for a season of spirited driving alone or with friends in the Appalachian Region PCA. Does he lean on this little car a bit? Sure. In past driving seasons he has worn out rear tires in a couple thousand miles. Granted, they are sticky DOT tires with a tread wear rating of around 200, but still…2,000 miles? Really?
Towards the end of the summer he noticed that the right rear CV joint was making some clicky noises. So the Boxster S was put in the garage for the last few months of the season – he also owns a classic and rare 1989 911 Speedster that took the Boxster’s place on mountain rides. (It is probably one of the only Speedsters left that is actually driven – not housed in a collection or museum somewhere!).
So a couple of weeks ago, the Boxster S was loaded on the trailer to make the return trip to Nort’s home in Winter Park, near Orlando. We had already talked about changing out the axles and CVs at the shop. Then about halfway home and after a meal break near Interstate 95, he came out and checked the straps and such on the trailer – routine stuff. That is when he noticed something…something pretty scary.
The wheels on the car are five-spoke aftermarket alloy 17″ wheels. But the right rear where the bad CV was making noise had a disturbing issue with the wheel itself, probably the source of the clicking noise.
Four of the five spokes had cracks on them. And the cracks went all the way through each spoke. To put it a little differently, the only thing holding the outside of the wheel to the inside of the wheel was one spoke.
How long would this have lasted in the mountains of North Carolina before complete wheel failure and a horrid crash?
So what is the lesson here?
These wheels were not expensive wheels, nor were they Porsche wheels – they were aftermarket not-too-pricy wheels that any of us might have purchased. With that said, they are probably fine for daily or weekend drives to car shows or the ice cream store. But for more spirited driving, autocross or track days, they may not be as robust as needed.
Does this mean that you have to run out and replace your wheels with high-end, expensive wheels? No, and we won’t do that. But what you need to do is inspect your wheels and inspect them often to look for cracks or signs of impending failure. Losing a wheel at speed isn’t fun, especially when you realize that wheel failure normally occurs when the wheel is undergoing lateral stress – hard cornering. Our buddy Nort lost a tire, wheel and the entire spindle in Turn One at Sebring during a race – the tire kept bounding down the track all the way to Turn Three. The wheel didn’t fail, but the result was the same. Bad news.
So put this on your list of things to check. Take a look at the photos, and learn from others. This could have been very bad for Nort in the wonderful world of mountain driving in North Carolina. Don’t let it happen to you.
Very sobering reality check. Not many of us take our vehicles to the extremes that Nort does, but unless you know the history of your rims AND tires, a close inspection of both these critical components could be a lifesaving task.
In 2008, I had just purchased my 87, 928 from a collector/enthusiast. My wife and I drove from Houston to Banner Elk, N.C. for a 928 get-together, called “Sharks in the Mountain”. It was my first time attending anything as a 928 owner and one of the events was a very spirited drive-up Hwy 184. (The kind of drive that you have to sign a R.O.L to participate in). I had driven in several auto-cross events in my 80, Triumph Spitfire and 72 Datsun Z, so, needless to say, my confidence level was higher than my skill.
184 is not the N.C. Dragon or Arkansas Pig tail, but there are sheer drops and guard-rail free corners that would end things very quickly. There were 11 of us that signed up and 9 finished with 2 pulling out during the drive. We pushed it and my wife, who tagged along, held her thoughts until the end, and at that time, gave me an earful..
A little later I noticed that my Bridgestone tires seemed to be a little rough and really worn. I mentioned it to some of the guys and a closer inspection revealed a 1996 DOT date code……
Enough said.
Scary!
I have not used aftermarket wheels on my Porsches since the 70s and 80s when I was a track rat.
That’s a good thing. I was lucky back then.