I had a real close call this weekend at PIR while qualifying. I think one of my Konig Heliums collapsed entering turn 1, I enter that turn at full throttle (see video). At about the 4:15 mark on the video you hear a failure that caused the mishap.

The lip of the Helium was folded over and the RA-1 was totally flat spoted at the fold.

There are no curbs in that turn so there is nothing to hit that high in the wheel. What we are figuring is that there could of been some hidden fissures in the wheel that we could not see, we inspect the wheels before each event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoRIwTQxFsY

 

Saved the car Did you have to clean out your pants when you got out? I know I would have. I skimmed the guardrail at VIR a year ago and thought my pants were completely full.

 

Quality wheel...

Use rotas

 

Jesus Scott, that was close. Glad to see that you and the car are both ok. It's amazing that you got that thing hauled down in time to not hit the wall. It's strange how it seemed that the wheel failed before the lip at the transition in turn 1. Was it the front right that failed? That's kinda what it looked like, but was hard to tell. The right side takes a beating in NASCAR, so the failure probably started back there and right when you loaded up that side for turn 1 it just collapsed.

Are you still planning on running at Cal Speedway next weekend? I'm down to 1 set of wheels, but Erik might have a spare set that he could loan you if you're concerned about that. Erik and I are heading out Friday morning. Unless you're doing the Friday practice, we could all caravan out there together. Erik booked the hotel, so I'm not sure where we're staying, but I can let you know if you're interested. He said we're only paying $79/night and I think it's in that Ontario Mills area. I'll PM you my phone # on the CRA forum. Give me a call if you want to talk it over.

- Scott

 

Scott-

I am still going to Cal Speedway, I was on your old set of Heliums that I took from Jason. I had heat cycled a new set of RA-1's on my set in the first practice session. I only ran one practice session on the wheel before it let loosein qualifying.

When the car finally stopped I had to figure out if I was dead or alive. Then moved the car 20 feet so control knew I was ok.

Needless to say I didn't race on Sunday since I needed to clean my suit. hehe

We are staying at the:
Ayres Suites at Mills Mall
4370 Mills Cir
Ontario, CA 91764
800-346-8357

 

WOW. Are you serious? Those rims have barely been used. I think they only have like 5 wekends total on them. One of them was damaged in my crash, so I threw it away, but I looked over the other 3 very thoroughly and they all seemed untouched. It sounds like you inspected them also. I raced on them several times (maybe 3 full weekends) after the crash and before selling them to Jason and they seemed fine. I wonder if it was a pure defect or if there was some residual damage from the crash. I guess there's no way to tell. Hell, it could have even been the replacement that failed. I never marked them as to which was which. I definitely never would have sold them (or used them) if I suspected at all that they were not 100%. Sorry to hear about that.

Which day are you heading out next week? Are you doing the practice on Friday or just running the weekend? We'll be driving on Friday and plan on getting there in the late afternoon to setup camp.

P.S. - that nice suit makes a damned expensive diaper.

- Scott

 

I am going to get there about 3pm on Friday to set-up. I will keep a look-out for you guys so that we can set-up paddock together.

 

you have a pic of the wheel??

 

Ill take one tonight

 

Glad you're okay Scott.
Do you think that the wheel may have been damaged when you went over the transition from grass-pavement? I've enver been out that far so I'm not sure if there is a drop off or curb that you may have killed the wheel on. At the 4:19 mark there is a loud bang and some smoke coming from your driverside front wheel, which makes me think that you may damaged it after the spin began and not before.

 

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BlueTeg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Glad you're okay Scott.
Do you think that the wheel may have been damaged when you went over the transition from grass-pavement? I've enver been out that far so I'm not sure if there is a drop off or curb that you may have killed the wheel on. At the 4:19 mark there is a loud bang and some smoke coming from your driverside front wheel, which makes me think that you may damaged it after the spin began and not before.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I agree, I think that the damage to the wheel, is a result of the spin and not the cause. A failure in the left front would not cause the car to step out the way it did, after it stepped out there was too much steering input and that cause it spin the other way. Then hitting the transition from grass to track caused the rim to fail. jmho

 

that was close.. but you saved it...

 

You should check all your bolts and such in the front and rear suspension. I agree with BlueTeg and Itaintegra52 that the spin wasnt a result of the broken wheel. at 4:19 you can actually see the piece of wheel fly away from the car, following the loud thud when the car transitions from the grass to the banked oval.

Right as you enter the turn you hear some noises, and then the car steps out. Just make sure everything is tight before CA speedway.

 

That load noise on the transition to the oval is definately the tire blowing. I second what is being said. Something else started that spin. What is that noise, on turn in I wonder. Parts coming off the car or gravel? Do you remember anything in the track at all?

Chris

 

Cant blame that on the rim. Check the rear of the car seemed like a binding issue.
Check Swaybar bar control arms bushings.

Edo

 

Thanks for all the input guys I will have the wheels off tonight. I will go over every bolt and bushing before I take it to the alignment shop.

Whether or not it was a wheel failure I will treat it like spring cleaning, wiping down and tightening up the undercarriage.

It should be ready for Cal Speedway. If not, I might bring out a 1977 911 I have been working on.

 

It sounds like you fade off the throttle as you enter that corner. It doesn't seem any different than at the 3:00 minute mark, but it sounds like you run something over at 4:15 causing the over steer? Sounds like gravel, but that doesn't seem like an area that could haev gravel in it. Is there a gravel nearby that someone a lap before you could have deposited back on track?

I was also going to comment that you can see the wheel chunk flying off at 4:18

Glad to see you stopped just in time

 

As I turn in I am at full throttle, if I lifted at the entrance I would have plowed into the inside wall. I have seen plenty of people do that trick. That is the race line through there so it is usually real clear of any gravel or debris.

 

wow! good save!

 

Man i guess none of you learned when i broke two in a row just auto x ing....

 

^ i dont know if your referring to the wheels, but i was going to get a set of Heliums for myself before i heard of them cracking

 

you can clearly see a mark on the tires to the left and right of the broken piece of the wheel....looks like its when you went over the grass transition . looks like an impact break to me.

 

any update on what caused the spin?

 

After tearing everything apart I found out what happened. I currently run the Skunk2 camber adjustable upper control arms. When I was dropping into turn 1 my upper control arm loosened, I went from -3 camber to +2 camber; causing me to lose control.

I have gone through 2 sets of these in a year, since there is very little out there to change over to I used the same kit thinking it was just a defective item. Recently Megan Racing has come out with a new design and I will use them and see if they hold.

Thanks for every ones feedback and help on this incident.