I`ve just got my Coop up on the ramp and i`ve found cracks in the same area on the opposite front wheel . Both my rear alloys look fine but this passenger side front one has thin cracks with alloy deposits from the water getting into it.

These cracks are only visible from the rear so if your paranoid about your wheels then you would be best to take them off to check. I`ll get some pics up when I get home.

My Coop is a `96 R-reg just in-case there was maybe a bad batch of alloys but I seriously doubt that,seeing as there are plenty of other Coops doing more extreme things than mine.

Baz

That’s a bit worrying. Did you spray your alloys black yourself? If they were powder coated, is there any chance anything might have gone wrong in the baking process? Are the wheel bolts nice and snug on that one too?

I’ll check the set I’ve got kicking about in my garage tonight, see if there’s any signs of cracking on them.

Bugger more coupe paranoia!

Maybe it was just being in the radioactive poo hole that is Kilmar%*7k? sorry Baz!

Just had a thought, surely if this was a common thing, the almighty god like Carlt would have pointed it out!

(Unless he really is on a secret mission to ruin all coupes)

Don't suppose your brakes have overheated, thus causing faults to appear in the wheels? (but the paint probably would have bubbled)

Similarly a big impact would dent the wheels somewhere, and more likely the chasis would be wonky too.

Get yourself some O.Z alloys, they are immensely strong compared to the coupes Speedline rubbish

I very much doubt that - If that was possible then Flea, highwayman, me - etc. would have noticed.

As Matt says, I wonder if something has gone wrong in a the baking process, (if they have been powder coated/repainted).

To see that level of cracking suggests some catastrophic chemical change with the metal.

Baz I think I would bin you remaining wheels and get some replacements, dunno whats caused it, but I would not run the risk of the the other wheels not failing. G

Here`s some pics from the back of the broken wheel :-

Pic 01

Pic 02

Pic 03

Pic 04

Pic 05

Pic 06

And here is some pics of the cracked wheel from the other side.

Pic 07

Pic 08

Pic 09

Hope they are of help to people who may be worried about they`re wheels.

Baz

Did u do an HPI check on your car before you bought it?

I imagine it probably just my wheels because as you say there have been plenty of other Coops doing trackdays and other high stress activities all of which i`ve never done in my Coop. The suspension set-up on the front of my Coop is all standard with the exception of Powerflex bushes and lowered springs (30mm) so nothing out of the ordinary there.

As I said in the other thread i`ve never hit any potholes(at least none hard enough to cause any damage) so that would just leave it down to being either something to do with the powder coating process (done by the previous owner) or they`ve been repaired at some point but I can`t see any evidence of a repair from the rear side of the wheels .

Baz

Nice, Am I right in saying the cracks on both wheels appear to be in the same place... Its hard to tell what caused it but I guess its either a dodgy recon of the wheels heat treated too long or something that has fatigued the wheels ?

Not good Baz, but I agree with Matt here. When I had my wheels your colour, a long time ago, I'd just painted them myself but as I'm a picky bugger I decided to get them powder-coated. However when the chap I use saw them he said they seemed a very soft alloy and he wasn't keen on powder-coating them so in the end I just got him to paint them the same as the original colour...

I would go with the refurb of the wheels( heat issue ) as said above.

I would bin the lot of them Baz

Better safe than sorry

Aye I reckon that`s what it`s down to,hopefully Carlt will be able to sort me out,just need to wait till Wednesday till he can check something out .

Baz

One's a worry, two's a pattern...

Yikes !

just seen this thread also Baz, you are living on borrowed time with them rims, just throw all in the bin. The cost is irrelevant in this case.

Heating up in the powder coat oven could do some damage, but I doubt they get the ovens above 200 deg C ? You need to check with a decent powder coaters ( I would have thought about 120 deg C ).

I note that all have broken where there is a big change in cross section, which is indicative of classic fatigue, however they all seem to crack from the rear, indicating that the rims have flexed too much, once a crack occurs, thats the end

I would be that concerned if other coops displayed this failure that i'd be on the phone to FIAT technical to ask questions ?

In the depths of my memory I seem to recall the recrystalsation temp of 8086 alloy (a fairly typical alloy) was a little under 400F. If it got anywhere near that, they will have been royally fccuked.

Is there anyway to test the alloys for fatigue, mine have been refurbed before I brought it. Taz mentions max oven temp of 200 c = 400 f...

I wouldnt think so I would just check up every now and then. It seems the cracks would be located around the position of bazs probably the most streesed section of the wheel..

ROFL

Baz - this is serious enough to worry a lot of Coupe owners.

With your permission, I'd like to contact Fiat UK and ask them if they would like to see the wheel and have it tested (assuming you're prepared to let them have it)

It might cause a recall, or at least a process of inspections, which ultimately, might save someone's life

Post here or PM me if you prefer

Ah excellent, it's been a while since Fiat had a Nigel 'style' letter.

Oh-er. Good idea Nigel.

That`s fine with me Nigel .

Baz

Nigel, they NEED to remove the paint in several areas & do some vickers hardness test to see the actual material qualities in several areas ( I have an Equotip 2 hardness tester at work, alas, it's just out of calibration, by about 1 month, but has its own Proceq calibration block ).

I would suggest any decent metal man would use such a device, then do some major bits of examination under a microscope to check the grain structure.

Baz has got me worried, as I wonder if the coop alloys REALLY ARE NOT suited to excessive heat when being powder coated etc.....

I am not scaremongering, but this is peoples lives we are talking about here

Yeah that does seem to be a good idea, if its not just a one off case and could be a fault somewhere. I'd suggest too someone who knows about alloy testing etc just have a look and try to identify what caused it. In the mean time anyone whos had their wheels powder coated or heat treated just reguarly check up on the alloys.

Oh yer and I have just spent out on a new set of alloys and tires. I wish I had waited just incase of a recall hehehe

Thats a good idea to take it to FIAT UK.

We're all really just guessing at this stage, what the underlying failure has been with these wheels, so this should at least classify what the actual cause of failure is.

On another note, I still say this was blo0dy lucky. Particularly as it was the back wheel that was affected. That also strikes me as being strange, as there's far less weight and stress on the back wheels.