My bad memory Did the Gen II OEM 17in wheels crack when tracked

[MrCreosote]

I seem to recall they were not allowed at Viper Days.

Or something to that effect.

[AviP]

I seem to recall that too. Think it was the 96 year only.

[Austin]

Yes. This happened many times.

[MrCreosote]

Was it all Gen II 17's or just the 96 variety?

I think they all had the little "bullet" ribs or bumps on the rim between the spokes OR how do you identify the good from the bad if only 96 bad?

[Solid Red 98]

The '96 rims were welded rims. They were later forged. You can tell the difference by examining the rim just inside between the web facing and the barrel.

[GTS Dean]

Despite how serious a subject it was back in the day, a Search here turns up nothing.

Pic 1 is the doomsday scenario. Pic 2 shows a '96 RT rim with sand cast finish on the back. These are track wheels. Pic 3 shows the OEM 96 GTS front rim machining and the dots are where the failures originate. Pic 4 is a closeup showing massive fatigue cracking evident. Pic 5 is of the Warranty Replacement rims that show revised machining and spoke casting.

I don't think anyone had problems with OEM rubber, or usage when auto-xing. It was only the faster guys running slicks or lots of laps on R-compound tires that had problems.

[99RT10]

If you want to use a 17" rim to track, ALWAYS use the 92-95 rims. They are the strongest.

[MrCreosote]

GTS Dean: Thanks so much for the pics which really should be a sticky. And yes, I couldn't find anything through searches either. Amazing.
____

I want to put 17's back on my 96 GTS so I can run PS2's - I doubt I would hurt a good set of forged Gen II's but I really don't like the way those rims look.

Of course, OE Gen II's are probably the cheapest 17's out there - I'm not real keen on abandoning my Kinesis K28 18's and buying 17's just so I can run PS2's. If I had the K28's in 17's, I would be keeping the Cool Factor I really like about my car.

[Viper87]

My 97 17's are forged, I think I read the early 96's were not and prone to cracking.

[Fatboy 18]

Great post above Dean, really easy to see the issues.

[AZTVR]

GTS Dean: Thanks so much for the pics which really should be a sticky. And yes, I couldn't find anything through searches either. Amazing. I just did a search. Here is the first item returned by google: https://www.viperclub.org/vca/threads/the-wheel-failure-thread.641710/

[Ricketts]

Yes as Dean stated, the 17's on the 96's were the ones to steer clear of for track usage. 97, had same style wheel just forged.

[GTS Dean]

Actually, most of the 97s had the weaker wheels. I believe the forged 17s were a mid-late model year update for 97. The 98 forged were polished and finished much brighter.

[daveg]

If you want to keep the car looking original, go 97's. Yes, some of the early 97's had cast. You can tell cast vs forged by the welded seam. The cast had that welded seam. keep those 96 wheels as they are a one year rim