[jaymzx]

Well, shit. I was washing the car yesterday and I discovered this..

Yes..that goes all the way through..

Granted, I bought the wheels used from Les Schwab, but I'm confident they'll work something out with Centerline and myself. I didn't hit any potholes, the wheel is immaculate (other than some swirls that I need to polish out) and I haven't abused the wheel in any way. Good thing I'm due for a rotation, as I need to get that wheel off the front axle in the meantime.
Forged wheels...strong...but fragile...evidently...

 

[xither0ckxi]

should they not be some strong azz rims being that they are forged

 

[jaymzx]

Yea...very strong...but they weigh 13.8 lbs...so given the excess aluminum inside the spokes has been machined away that makes them brittle. I've never heard of a Centerline rim breaking...so this is kind of shocking to me..

 

[noTe]

Damn.

 

[jaymzx]

Update:

HOLY SHIT. Upon closer inspection of the other wheels, 3 out of 4 wheels have cracks in them! One of the wheels has hairline cracks on 4 out of 6 spokes! The wheel pictured above has one other spoke that has a hairline crack in it.

Google didn't show any other cases like this...so I'm thinking/hoping this is a factory fluke! This is crazy...I never abuse my wheels or anything...and there is no way I can break a wheel with only 230 ft lbs of torque (granted, that's in 3rd gear but c'mon!).

 

[rezin8]

Damn dude! I hope Centerline fixes the problem! If I were you, I'd put my stockers back on ASAP!

 

[Madman]

Yeah, ouch! Any idea on the history of them before the purchase?
Hope centerline does something to help out! Very nice wheels, but ack!

Take 'em off! Sheesh. Glad you caught it ahead of time.

 

[jaymzx]

I sold my stockers...no where to keep em.

We'll see what they say when I go by the tire shop tomorrow. The previous owner abused them..they were a flat aluminum when I bought them...took 6 hours to bring them back to a mirror shine. One of the rims has a dent in the lip, and another had a mild rash. Funny thing is, in order to get a crack like this would take an impact that would deform the wheel...and there weren't any cracks when I bought them...

Some sort of metal fatigue for sure..

 

[jaymzx]

Alright. Centerline made good and took care of the wheels. I now have a fresh set of Centerline RPMs in +42mm offset. They sure are purdy when they're so shiny
Incidentally, the old wheels were +50mm and required spacers in the front to clear the calipers. No more spacers
I broke a wheel stud taking off one of the wheels in the front. Luckily they're only $1.48 each and are a piece of cake to replace.

 

[Slaytanic]

Alright. Centerline made good and took care of the wheels. I now have a fresh set of Centerline RPMs in +42mm offset. They sure are purdy when they're so shiny
Incidentally, the old wheels were +50mm and required spacers in the front to clear the calipers. No more spacers
I broke a wheel stud taking off one of the wheels in the front. Luckily they're only $1.48 each and are a piece of cake to replace.

Awesome! Too bad other companies don't take care of their customers like Centerline did with you. Now I know who to keep in mind when I decide to put new wheels on the car.

 

[Kremithefrog]

I've heard of other people having problems with the RPMs, not cracking but the wheel coming from the factory sorta bent so that it is impossible to have a tire balanced on it.

 

[evo77]

WOWZERS! That is just crazy man! Luckily you saw them when you did or that could have turned out to be a really messy accident. :eeeek:

Glad to hear you have been taken care of dude. I'm going to send this to the wheel forum for others to see.

 

[jaymzx]

Thanks.

I gotta thank the NW guys for pitching in as well. I posted a thread asking for help with some wheels to borrow and within 5 minutes my phone rang. It was JR with some leads on who may have a set. Ultimately, Matto donated a set of 4 PT Steelies with tires and that held me over until the new wheels showed up. Inzanesrt4 even offered to put his car on blocks so I could borrow his wheels. Good group of peeps, I tell ya

Regarding how true the wheels are, my wheels are balanced just fine. I actually had a big dent in the lip on one of the broken wheels that was there when I bought them (hence why i got them so cheap) yet the wheel was still true and the bead intact. I could have worked out a plan to take the wheels as credit in the store and get some cheaper wheels, but I knew I would have made a mistake. IMHO the best 17" wheel you can get under 14 pounds.

 

[dymondboy2f]

lucky, got brand new unrashed and undented rims for free.

nice to see centerline doing good to make owners of their wheels happy.

 

[Freak]

thas great they came through and hooked you up. maybe they need to rethink there wheel design. its scary that such a reputable company lets shit like this in the market place. if it was one wheel, thas one thing. but 3 out of 4, id be wanting my $$$ back and get a set of some better crafted wheels.

 

[jaymzx]

It wasn't a fault of the design, it was some sort of metal fatigue. It may have been Friday at the X-Ray machine in their QA department who knows :lol:. Definately a factory fluke.

 

[zr8td2k]

centerline has soem of the best wheels in the world. I had a set as well as my frined on our lowered trucks and you couldnt dent them. As you can see..they stand behind thier product. Its good to see a company doing this. I was seriously considering getting these wheels. well i still am...just not sure on the bling factor yet.

 

[jaymzx]

Update.

As mentioned in another thread, Centerline made good and gave me a new set of RPMs. The ones they (Les Schwab) gave me were New Old Stock-they were in a warehouse. These are the original style with the universal 5-hole drilling.
Guess what, within 3 months, the BRAND NEW set of wheels developed cracks, too. No shit. Once again, this was not during hard driving, no potholes, etc. All of the cracks are in the same location (right at the center hub).
I asked Centerline to replace the wheels with a set of the new style RPMs (without the universal drilling and the black logos). I figured if it was indeed a 'bad run' of wheels, the problems would be worked out in the new version. They refused to do so. Evidently Centerline stands behind their wheels, but only so much.
Les Schwab gave me credit for what I paid for the RPMs and I picked up the TSWs. The manager at LS said himself that after watching what I have been through with Centerline, he cannot honestly recommend their wheels anymore because they just won't stand behind them. So sad, because their wheels are so nice.

The reason I'm posting an update after all this time is because I just found this post:
http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?p=9133665

IF YOU OWN CENTERLINE RPM WHEELS, CHECK THEM CAREFULLY FOR CRACKS ON A REGULAR BASIS. YOUR LIFE IS AT STAKE

 

[midnght]

Thanks for the update. Sorry to hear about the situation.

Seems as if everything is all good now.

 

[Neo]

Oh great. I have 18x7 centerlines sitting in my house waiting for tires. Bought on special, all sales final

Any suggestions?

-A

UPDATE: I just pulled one out of the box and they must be the 'new' style. If I am correct, these are slightly heavier. Looks like Centerline saw an issue and took corrective action? Mine are the 5 hole only, silver edition. So I think I will give them a shot.