Having owned and autoxed a set of Moncoque wheels for four years I consider
myself only barely qualified to comment .....
First, these wheels are used in a number of lateral G applications.
Regardless of somebody's learned opinion that they didn't *look* like they
were designed for lateral loads, this is in fact what they are designed for;
unless of course Trans Am and other significant road race applications don't
qualify in your book as a lateral load situation.
Second, when I purchased the wheels in 1996 I was aware that some center
sections had been reported to have cracked in the past; emphasis on the word
"past". I purchased the wheels anyways because I was also aware that was a
"past" situation that had since been rectified.
Third, I did what anyone should do when dealing with a custom wheel
application. I supplied very detailed dimensional information to ensure
proper fitment; wheel offsets, brake caliper relationship to hub face, center
hub diameter, etc. In the case of this application; a stock class E36 BMW
M3, the brake caliper relationship is tricky since the oversize brake caliper
protrudes out further than the hub face. When my wheels arrived they were
fitted custom machined & integrally attached hubcentric spacers that provided
the proper caliper clearance, offset, and hub fit. Despite racking up many
hundreds of autox run cycles the wheels never experienced any material cracks
or failures on the 2800 - 3100 lb vehicles I ran them on.
Fourth, I've had the opportunity to disassemble, inspect, and reassemble
several different 3-piece wheel designs. The Monocoque wheel has impressed
me the most with it's precision machining, extremely light weight, and
reasonable price. There are less costly, heavier wheels and there are more
expensive, heavier wheels out there. The only reason you don't see a set on
the Z06 is because they don't plan to offer 18" sizes anytime soon. IMO, of
all those 3-piece wheel designs the only equivalent is the LiteSpeed wheel.
No 18" LiteSpeed's either.
Finally, my only complaints about Monocoque 3-piece wheels apply to all
3-piece wheels:
1) Sooner or later the bead seat will get torn out during a tire change and
the process of repairing a leaking 3 piece wheel is disliked even by the most
devout masochist. The more oversized the tire is for the wheel, the more
likely it is to happen. If it happens at an inopportune time and you don't
have a backup, consider yourself SOL.
2) The cost of a replacement rim half or center section just about justifies
buying a new, complete wheel assy.
Mark Sipe
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