July 2008 - Boston Chapter BMW CCA

Warning: Racing wheels not necessarily for street use
Mark Steven Schnoerr, sent the following personal
story to the Boston Bimmer to help other
club members prevent costly, dangerous wheel
damage. Mark is the owner of a 1996 M3 and a
1974 914 2.0. Thanks Mark for the heads-up!
To all who enjoy High Performance Driving School
with track tires and / or have made their cars better
with lightweight race wheels:
I have heard of some wheel failures on some exotic,
expensive and lightweight race wheels and have checking
my wheels while I clean them thoroughly after DE
events. I never expected to have a failure.
I made the mistake of driving the M3 to and from
NHMS last week to heat cycle some new Nitto NT-01
tires and save myself from changing them at the site.
On the way home I drove over the part of I-495 Southbound
where they are stripping and re-paving, South
of Mass Pike. There was one “bump” from the stripped
area to a bridge that did not have the leading edge asphalt
ramp built to it at all. The car did not deal well
with a 2 inch step at 70 mph. I had no idea how much
damage had been done until I got home a few minutes
later.
One of my rear tires was very low on air and on the
other side of the car I had broken one of the 6 spokes!
This is a 16.8 pound, 17 X 8.5 wheel, 40mm backspacing,
with a 5 x 120 bolt pattern with 255/40 x 17 tires. I
ordered a replacement wheel and had the tire remounted
at a local race shop. When I picked it up, they asked
if I had driven these lightweight track wheels on the
street since they have never had this brand fail on any
of their race cars. They also showed me hairline cracks
in 3 of the remaining 5 spokes before suggesting I do a
thorough look at the rest of the wheels.
At home, I rolled the others out of the garage and
found hairline cracks in at least one spoke on 3 more
wheels. Replacements have already been ordered.
So be careful driving your race wheels on the street
and thoroughly inspect them at tech, every time you
put them on, take them off, and between run groups
and especially if you ever go off track at an event. ♦
WE INSIST. SWEAT THE DETAILS.
CULLEN HOME BUILDERS
As with the car you drive, your
appreciation for individuality
and craftsmanship resonates
in all that you surround yourself
with. Cullen Home Builders
creates custom homes, garages
and barns that will reflect your
personality and sensibilities.
P.O. Box 171 North Marshfield, MA 02059 781-962-6373
boston chapter advertisers
TO LEARN MORE VISIT WWW. BOSTON-BMW CCA. ORG
These independent shops are supporters of the Boston Chapter. The Boston Chapter BMW
Please mention the Boston Bimmer or our web site when you patronize these fine businesses.
AlphaCars Boxborough, MA (978) 263-9000 service
Autobahn Automotive Natick, MA (508) 647-1500 service
Auto Engineering Lexington, MA (781) 676-7700 service
Bavarian Autosport Portsmouth, NH (800) 535-2002 parts supplier
Bavarian Performance Group Stoneham, MA (781) 279-4444 service
Blue & White Motors Inc. Attleboro, MA (508) 399-6320 service
The Ledoux Greer Group/
Morgan Stanley
Wellesley, MA (866) 752-4220 financial services
Century 21 – Rob Cohen Boston, MA (617) 262-2600 real estate - ext. 29
Concord Motorsport Chichester, NH (888) 477-2697 sales, service, parts
Cullen Home Builders N. Marshfield, MA (781) 962-6373 home builders
Escort Radar Worldwide (800) 866-3555 Radar Detectors
GPS Cambridge, MA (617) 349-2993 sales, service, parts
Gralty Automotive Natick, MA (508) 653-0909 service
HMS Motorsport Peabody, MA (978) 532-1170 member deals; equip.
Landshark Automotive Natick, MA (508) 655-3957 service
Prudential Financial Needham, MA (781) 449-9100 financial services
Rim & Wheel Works Waltham, MA (781) 547-5826 wheels; straightening
RimPro Tewksbury, MA (888) 274-6776 wheels, service
Sansossio Auto Body Inc. Natick, MA (508) 655-9646 auto repair
TEC N. Attleboro, MA (888) 594-7800 equipment supplier
Turner Motorsports Amesbury, MA (978) 388-7769 parts & service
Ultimate Motorwerks Plaistow Road, NH (603) 770-2525 service
Vintage Sports and Racing Bow, NH (603) 288-2888 service
CCA assumes no liability for the work or merchandise from these independent service shops
To become an advertiser, please see
www.boston-bmwcca.org/bimmer/info/rate-card.aspx
BMW DEALERS
This is a listing of the BMW dealers in the Boston Chapter
area . Most of these dealers offer a 10%-20% discount on
parts . Just present your CCA membership card to get your
discount .
BMW Gallery Norwell
98 Accord Park Drive
Norwell, MA 02061
(781) 982-455
www.bmwgallerynorwell.com
BMW Gallery Norwood
918 Providence Highway
Norwood, MA 02062
(781) 769-9600
www.bmwgallerynorwood.com
BMW of Peabody
221 Andover Street
Peabody, MA 01960
(978) 538-9900
www.bmwpeabody.com
Foreign Motors West BMW
253 North Main Street
Natick, MA 01760
(781) 235-9096
www.fmwestbmw.com
Herb Chambers BMW
1172 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02134
(617) 731-1700
www.herbchambers.com
Inskip Auto Center BMW
1515 Baldhill Road
Warwick, RI 02886
(401) 821-1510
www.inskip.com
BMW of Newport
1215 West Main Road
Middletown, RI 02840
(401) 846-6636
www.bmwofnewport.com
Trans-Atlantic BMW
25 Falmouth Road
Hyannis MA 02601
(508) 775-4526
www.transatlanticmotors.com
(no parts discounts)
Wagner BMW of Shrewsbury
752 Boston Turnpike
Shrewsbury, MA 01545
(508) 845-0505
www.wagnerbmwofshrewsbury.com
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