[DeTomaso] Hall Ultra Wheels

[Dave]

Peter

If a wheel came apart, the tire could shred, the aluminum wheel ripped to pieces and in the process either shredded tire or wheel can tear out the wheel well/body work and could tear up the ZF case (damage maybe 10-20 times the cost of a replacement wheel). You have to ask yourself how lucky do you feel each time you go for a drive.

None of my cracked wheels showed cracks from the outside rim. The wheel has three pieces, outer rim, center, and inner rim.

I would strongly suggest you visually inspect the inside of the wheels:

1.    Remove the wheels from the car.

2.    Use rags and brake cleaner to completely remove the dirt and grime from the inside of the wheel.

3.    Carefully look for cracks. Sometimes the crack will trap the dirt or grime, making it easy to see.

4.    A crack can look like a fine scratch or wide enough to see from five feet away, after using the brake cleaner.

I honestly think the Hall wheels, like mine, are unsafe at any speed and should be retired. When I had my issue, several members chimed in about problems they had or others had experienced. Several pleaded with me to not sell the remaining wheels to anyone!  If you find no cracks today that does not mean you won't have a catastrophe later. My safety is worth more than a set of wheels. Remember we are talking specifically about the Hall wheels.

You can remove the tires from the wheels and have the wheels Magnafluxed
Magnaflux® Magnetic Particle Inspection Equipment
Whether you are testing a small bolt, a large turbine rotor or anything in between, Magnaflux offers a complete selection of high-quality magnetic particle inspection (MPI) equipment for every application.
Value-engineered and manufactured to meet government and industry specifications, Magnaflux MPI equipment offers many advantages:

Here is a three minute video showing how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQoB7jpxSe8
The other option is X-ray. Either option will cost money. Personally, I would put the money on a replacement set of wheels.

Every wheel at Indy, before a tire is mounted, has a manufacturer's X-ray of that particular wheel showing the serial number on the x-ray.
The wheels also go through the Magnaflux inspection. X-ray will show below surface voids and hair-line separations.

None of the above will guarantee or insure your wheels will not crack.

Dave; what do you mean by "my wheels were not tracked"?
My wheels were not subjected to racing (tracked/racetrack)

I hope this helps.
IndyDave


From: Peter Cajthaml [mailto:pcajthaml at gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, February 10, 2014 5:51 PM
To: Dave
Cc: MikeLDrew at aol.com; jderyke at aol.com; detomaso at poca.com
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Hall Ultra Wheels

I checked the wheels yesterday: no missing bolts, no visible cracks from the outside.  The tire pressure is okay.  I drove the car around town, keeping the speed under 60.  Is there a way to check for cracks without removing the tires; i.e. is there any value to inspecting the rims from the inside?  (I am in socal / ventura county: does anyone know of a shop with the expertise to evaluate the wheels?)
Dave; what do you mean by "my wheels were not tracked"?

On Sun, Feb 9, 2014 at 6:16 PM, Dave <dave at damardirect.com<mailto:dave at damardirect.com>> wrote:
It's worth mentioning that when Hall was selling these wheels, he did so in a very earnest and sincere manner--that is, he didn't deliberately go out and produce wheels that would fail


>  I agree completely. No one should drive a car with these wheels. My wheels were not tracked. 3 0f 4 wheels had cracks.
IndyDave


From: MikeLDrew at aol.com<mailto:MikeLDrew at aol.com> [mailto:MikeLDrew at aol.com<mailto:MikeLDrew at aol.com>]
Sent: Sunday, February 09, 2014 4:34 PM
To: Dave; pcajthaml at gmail.com<mailto:pcajthaml at gmail.com>; jderyke at aol.com<mailto:jderyke at aol.com>

Cc: detomaso at poca.com<mailto:detomaso at poca.com>
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Hall Ultra Wheels


In a message dated 2/8/14 14 15 30, dave at damardirect.com<mailto:dave at damardirect.com> writes:


I don't recall the name of my Hall wheels, picture of front & rear wheel below.


>>>Notice that these, too, consist of centers originally designed for 15-inch wheels, mated to hoops to accept 17-inch tires.  Besides the fact that they always looked a little weird, I always wondered about how that kluge would work from a structural basis?  I haven't a shred of knowledge to be able to guess just by looking.

It's worth mentioning that when Hall was selling these wheels, he did so in a very earnest and sincere manner--that is, he didn't deliberately go out and produce wheels that would fail (sometimes catastrophically) a few years down the road.  He went in good faith to a wheel maker, who produced wheels to his design.  It is that wheelmaker (unknown?) who let the team down; Hall was just stuck in between him and angry customers a few years later.  Not a pleasant position to be in, to be sure!

Mike

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