Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[radiantm3]

Their policy seems okay to me. They could have said, put your stock wheels back on and send the cracked ones in for inspection. The bottom line is they need to inspect before issuing a replacement. That's how it works in business. It just happens to be a bit more inconvenient in the case of wheels.

I've had nothing but great experiences with Tirerack. I had brembo rotors shipped from tire rack and damaged through the carrier. I snapped a few photos of the rotors and messed up box they came in and sent a quick email to tirerack. They responded right away and said a new set was on the way. I didn't even have to ship back the damaged set. They said to just dump them. Obviously this is a different scenario, but just wanted to reinforce the great customer service from tirerack.

As far as the cracks go, it seems like a freak accident to me. I live around some of the worst roads. Potholes, cracks, and dips are everywhere. I've hit quite a few over the 7-8k miles I've had my breytons and have done an autox and car control clinic. These wheels have been rock solid for me.

If you truly haven't hit anything recently, I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as getting them replaced under warranty.

[J-Sud]

I will have to say that is could have been a freak quality control issue in a certain batch of the wheels....since it was only the fronts. It doesnt make the wheel poorly made or not...defects do happen. And IMO, there is no need to start cussing and pointing fingers...

I would have been upset as well, but I would have just put my stock wheels back on and contacted Gill to see where to go from there. I have the GTS-Rs as well only for 2 weeks now and try to avoid every pot hole lol.

[Yearofthe1]

Originally Posted by J-Sud

I will have to say that is could have been a freak quality control issue in a certain batch of the wheels....since it was only the fronts. It doesnt make the wheel poorly made or not...defects do happen. And IMO, there is no need to start cussing and pointing fingers...

I would have been upset as well, but I would have just put my stock wheels back on and contacted Gill to see where to go from there. I have the GTS-Rs as well only for 2 weeks now and try to avoid every pot hole lol.

I have a feeling his stock wheels are missing tires. Looks like the OEM Bridgestones are on the Breytons.

[J-Sud]

Originally Posted by Yearofthe1

I have a feeling his stock wheels are missing tires. Looks like the OEM Bridgestones are on the Breytons.

I hear you....although...i am not sure i would run runflats on the wheel as the sidewalls are way too stiff. its only a 17lbs wheel...not much material...softer sidewalls would be much more forgiving imo...

[Lionel Hutz]

Originally Posted by J-Sud

I hear you....although...i am not sure i would run runflats on the wheel as the sidewalls are way too stiff. its only a 17lbs wheel...not much material...softer sidewalls would be much more forgiving imo...

If running RFTs is enough to cause the wheel to crack, the wheel has no business being sold for street use.

[J-Sud]

Originally Posted by Zed 2.0

If running RFTs is enough to cause the wheel to crack, the wheel has no business being sold for street use.

i never said that was the cause...just saying that putting regular tire would help with impacts.

[niuzai]

oh my....
my gts-r been running abt 15k and i loves it...
bought it from a local dealer in sg.
need to watch this closely

[tjockey]

Originally Posted by radiantm3

Their policy seems okay to me. They could have said, put your stock wheels back on and send the cracked ones in for inspection. The bottom line is they need to inspect before issuing a replacement. That's how it works in business. It just happens to be a bit more inconvenient in the case of wheels.

I've had nothing but great experiences with Tirerack. I had brembo rotors shipped from tire rack and damaged through the carrier. I snapped a few photos of the rotors and messed up box they came in and sent a quick email to tirerack. They responded right away and said a new set was on the way. I didn't even have to ship back the damaged set. They said to just dump them. Obviously this is a different scenario, but just wanted to reinforce the great customer service from tirerack.

As far as the cracks go, it seems like a freak accident to me. I live around some of the worst roads. Potholes, cracks, and dips are everywhere. I've hit quite a few over the 7-8k miles I've had my breytons and have done an autox and car control clinic. These wheels have been rock solid for me.

If you truly haven't hit anything recently, I don't think you have anything to worry about as far as getting them replaced under warranty.

+1 here...I love mine and had no problems with non-runflats ....Easy too maintain and great service from Tire Rack...

[Stig'sM3]

Houston does have some horrible streets. I always feel like I am offroading by the med center. I should have gotten the Rally 135i edition

[scott135i]

My Breyton's are cracked in the exact same way as 'TexasKid' above. Will post pictures later this week... I bought them used... Ordered a new wheel and will keep the old one as a spare...

A word to the wise about these wheels... They look awesome, they're super light weight... but you have to be very careful if you live in an area w/ crappy roads (i.e. myself in NY/NJ area...)

[HPFREAK]

That is a bummer man sorry. I was really considering these rims since they are light and look nice. The VMR Alufelgen are nice but are still too heavy for me. I know they will likely hold up better though. The only other well I am looking at are the APex ARC 8's if I can get them in flat black or gloss maybe. These light weight cast rims are a gamble it seems sometimes but if you hit a pot hole hard enough you will bend or crack any rim. None of them are fool proof.

Stick with the Breytons and keep your eyes peeled for dem holes.

Originally Posted by scott135i

My Breyton's are cracked in the exact same way as 'TexasKid' above. Will post pictures later this week... I bought them used... Ordered a new wheel and will keep the old one as a spare...

A word to the wise about these wheels... They look awesome, they're super light weight... but you have to be very careful if you live in an area w/ crappy roads (i.e. myself in NY/NJ area...)

[1speedbike]

Damn scott135i, and TexasKid, I'm sorry to hear that! Especially since I ordered the exact same rims from TireRack and they're due in sometime this week.

However, judging by the fact that both Gill and HondaGoneRogue have had no problems, I'm hopeful that this isn't a problem across the board, but also worried because NJ roads are rough at best, asperous at worst..

I'll try to remember and update this thread once I have some experience with my rims.

BTW Gill, give Jim a pat on the back, he's been no less than great with my order thus far

[mineo77]

Texaskid is full of shit by the way.

[Cisitalia]

Originally Posted by mineo77

Texaskid is full of shit by the way.

Agreed, that's for sure. I was hoping this thread was dead and all those silly posts and other threads. Oh, well.

[HPFREAK]

Threads like this never die, they just hibernate See I just made it go back TTT again.

Originally Posted by Cisitalia

Agreed, that's for sure. I was hoping this thread was dead and all those silly posts and other threads. Oh, well.

[IDBMW]

That is the problem with buying over the internet; you do not have the local customer support. It is a risk you take and you should know that. You really have to decide especially with heavy items that cost to ship not to mention the down time of your car. And the part about sending in the wheels I agree with. I would bet more people damage a rim by bad roads than have defect warranty issues hence the policy. Don’t take it out on Gill or Tirerack, they did not make up the policy after you had your problem but you failed to read the fine print. One more thing, you get way better service if you stay reasonable. If you loose your temper the Customer Service Rep. will shut down on you and not help you, that is just human nature.

My neighbor had a failure with his hot tub. He found out after he called for repair, the fine print said he was responsible for returning it to the factory. Yes he would have to send the whole hot tub to the factory in CA and pay for shipping both ways. I bet the company does not get many warranty returns.

How about installing the original rims and send the Breytons to Tirerack. It will cost to remount but way cheaper than new wheels which you would have to have tires mounted anyway.

Anyway I hope it all works out for you.

[scott135i]

I bought them used, so I don't know if they were cracked before I got them. You could only see the crack after the original tire was dismounted. The air pressure was holding the crack together to the point that you couldn't see it while the tire was on. Additionally, I remounted my new tire (because I don't have a spare) until the new wheel comes, AND... its been holding air thus far.

I'll be sure to post pics when the new wheel comes.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the Breyton GTS-Rs as a wheel itself. Lightweight wheels tend to be more prone to bending and cracking, but thats the tradeoff you have to be willing to take. Remember, I live in NY/NJ. Many others w/ the wheels live in TX, IN, CA, FL, ect.... where the roads air like driving on air in comparison to roads here. Anyone in NJ/NY feels my pain.

I'd be willing to be the crack is from some impact (likely before I owned them), and not a manufacturer defect, but you never know.

All I can stress is to be careful with these wheels (and all lightweight wheels). But, I even cracked one of my OEM 264 wheels on my previous 1er, so what does that tell you.

[JoeyBananaz18]

Originally Posted by aacabriolet

I agree. That was rather unprofessional on behalf of TireRack.

how is that unprofessional?

And whats the point of taking this out on Tirerack? if there is a problem with the construction of the product, it should be taken up with breyton themselves.

[TEUFELHUNDE]

Originally Posted by scott135i

My Breyton's are cracked in the exact same way as 'TexasKid' above. Will post pictures later this week... I bought them used... Ordered a new wheel and will keep the old one as a spare...

A word to the wise about these wheels... They look awesome, they're super light weight... but you have to be very careful if you live in an area w/ crappy roads (i.e. myself in NY/NJ area...)

a men to that man i live in nj you people think there are bad roads in texas listen we dont have pot holes we have cratersssss

[ILMOSTRO]

No shit. I'm from new york and when it would rain you could see cars and the taxi's accidently drive through a pothole and the front bumper hits the blacktop. That is deep! Swallowed up a whole wheel.

When I was in highschool I was driving my first car (2dr VW Fox) on the freeway and when exiting through a construction zone at about 50 mph I hit a block of concrete about the size of a cinder block but it was solid. It destroyed my right front suspension completely. I couldn't afford to fix it so I sold it for scrap.

Grow up kid from Texas - send um in to be inspected. Not afraid of what they'll find are you?

[muskamatt]

k i did not read everything because this seems to be going back and forth,

but anyway....could you post the specifications of the tires? like 225/30? or 225/35? or so? just curious

I had an outstanding set of rims and they cracked because I was running 245/30 driving up the coast in California and hit potholes. It was that or swerve off the freeway or slam on brakes and get rear ended. It's a tough call.

The thinner the side wall the bigger the problem.

[jtsherri]

I have the exact same problem. Obviously at some point in time I must've hit a decent pothole or something, as there *IS* an impact mark; HOWEVER, I've had several cars with aftermarket wheels (both forged and cast) and never had an issue with them bending or cracking.

At no point in time have I hit something in this car that made me think, "Man, I'd better check that wheel!" In my mind this is enough to question the strength of these wheels. It's great that they're so lightweight for their size, but this is still somewhat disappointing.

Regardless, Gill was helpful in pointing me to someone in customer support that sent my images over to Breyton. I was assuming they'd be replaced, as bending is one thing, but CRACKING is another. I've seen plenty of bent wheels, but it's not often they crack with that bend. Sadly, it seems it's pretty common with these wheels.

In the end, I was given the option to cross-ship the replacement and IF the damage wasn't caused by an impact, I wouldn't be out any cash. That's not the case, so I was offered a discounted replacement with free shipping. I'm much happier with this than eating the entire cost of replacing the wheel, but I can't say that I'm "100% satisfied." Such is life.

To those out there considering these wheels: Don't let this deter you from buying a set, seriously. They *are* fantastic looking, lightweight AND reasonably priced, but do keep in mind that this is a potential issue if any of the wheels experience some sort of impact.