OUCH!

[DeutscheBAG!]

HRE's are actually being banned by most motorsports sanctioning bodies like the SCCA because what's in the following pic has been happening with some regularity and is, to put it mildly, a bit of a safety hazard.

[Tank]

damn im glad you jsut posted this i was about to get some HRE's 645 for my supra damn but looking at the wheel you sure it aint CCW's cause it kind of looks like it

[The Ren]

Dayum!

[HiPSI]

judging by the centercap that's def. not an HRE.

[Dr.G]

The wheel pictured is a Kinesis wheel and the story was originally posted on Rennlist.com:

I was shocked. I am counting my blessings that it happened on the slowest part of Spring Mtn. I was wearing a HANS device and had no problems. To their credit, Peter Stacy of Kenesis and John Brown of Wheel Enchancement flew out on Monday to review the tire and my damaged car. Luckily, no one had to visit my wife to explain why I died or was crippled.

We do not know 100% why it failed. We can guess that it might be related to the process of powdercoating the heating of the wheel when the powder coat was stripped off due to a previous problem with the Kenesis powder coat. I will post more information once we know facts.

BTW, this wheel WAS inspected by one of the best Porsche mechanics in the world and myself prior to the event. There were no obvious signs of impending failure. The wheels had only been used for four D/E's previously. No time trials, no races etc. I'm lucky it failed on the track and not in some canyon.

I had two friends have recent bolt issues with their Kenesis wheels, so I was on the lookout. The bolts were fine in this model, so the evidence leads to the powder coating process. Peter Stacy indicated to me he has never had this kind of failure on his wheels, even under racing conditions.

To LV Dell, if I had "gone off" under driver error I would understand your feelings, but this was a serious wheel failure that resulted to a lot of damage to my car. We were going to try adding a different wheel, but the other wheel had large cracks in it and seemed ready to fail as well. This would of delayed the event further. Did you want to drive it in that condition? So, the call was made for a flat bed -the only solution. The car was flat bedding as soon as possible using my tow hook, and one hour of the delay was lunch-no track time lost. You lost maybe one run group only. I hope you never have to experience any kind of problem yourself.

Obviously this topic has crossed over into various car forums and the rumor of a move to ban HRE/Kinesis wheels supposedly stemmed from this particular incident (a PCA event) and a supposed 9 HRE wheel failures in a Viper Racing League event one weekend last year. I don't think anything has ever mentioned involving any other racing orgs. like the SCCA. But its been said that,

...HRE wheels have only been banned by VRL simply because they feel they are “show” wheels. When the newer Competition Series were mentioned, they were unaware that they existed and said they would be okay. It appears the reasoning behind the action is based more on perception than any fact. When asked about other brands failing, the response was “All” other manufacturers have had track failures. In the end it appears the whole reason for all of this is HRE’s reputation as being a “bling” wheel with track guys.

Obviously, we are seeing an extreme case with the Kinesis wheel in the picture. We don't know the facts of what happened with this wheel- How old is it? And why was a race wheel even powder coated in the first place?

In regards to HRE wheels in particular- since when did they even become considered "racing wheels"? With the exception maybe of their new Competition Series (which are badass btw), HRE's are considered mostly to be "show" wheels. People that buy HRE wheels, do so, for the prestige and exclusivity, the high quality, and "the look". When most consider racing wheels- BBS, OZ, Fikse, Rays, etc. most often come to mind. Simply put, for us street guys- HRE and Kinesis are already overkill for the street, built with HUGE strength/safety margins that exceed DOT standards.

So Tank- If you can swing those 545's (6 series is SUV app.) I think you need to go right ahead my man Although I think 547's or C20's would look even hotter

[#1Beaver]

damn

[JustinSane110™]

I remember seeing the same pic on another board probably a good 7 months ago, there was a big debate over it on there about what kinda wheel it was.