Weld Evo Chrome 20" Forge Star Wheels

[LV51FER]

Hi there. Hope someone can point me in the right direction here. I know someone here has these wheels and I was hoping you might know who as I have a major problem with mine.

I was one of the original buyers of the Weld Evo Chrome Forge Star wheel back in November 2005. Due to import delays and tire availability, the wheels never made it to the car until about March 2006 and it was found that the first batch of these wheels had been made with the incorrect offsets. Due to the silly cost of sending them back to the US from the UK, I persisted with them and Weld eventually sent me some rear wheel spacers and fresh lugnuts and they went on the car

Now, 2000 miles of dry road use later, the chrome has cracked and flaked off one of the rear wheels. I don't know if it's just a chrome issue or a safety issue but I'm contacting Weld with details of the problem and just wanted to know if anyone else has had problems with these wheels.

I don't want to get drawn into sending them back due to the costs and to be honest, I'm so disappointed that I'm not even sure I want to risk leaving them on the car, I'd rather bin them and buy a set I know I can trust.

Mny thanks.

 

[ShowYa06]

I hope you know Weld was bought out last Fall. They are now owned by American Racing.

 

[LV51FER]

Hmmm, just my luck. I guess I can look forward to nothing then. I'd still like to know if anyone has them as I may have to buy two new rears - perhaps in the 9.5" width rather than the 10.5" this time. Cut my losses so to speak.

 

[rahp]

I have not had any problems with mine at all. According to American Racing they will keep up with all Weld warranty issues, so give them a chance to make it right.

 

[coupe302]

I've got them on my car and they are still in great shape. I also recieved one of the first sets released and required spacers to mount the rear wheels. Still happy with them, hope American Racing can work something out with you.

 

[LV51FER]

As an update, I checked the rear wheel on the other side today and all along one of the spokes, the chrome has shattered into tiny flakes and has fallen off so I am now convinced that this is a defective set. It looks like too much stress is being placed on a thin-spoke design. The front 9" rims are fine, it's just the 10.5" rears.
Do either of you have the 10.5" rears?

I've noticed a lot of the dealers have dropped this design too - I was wondering if there was a link.

 

[coupe302]

Just went out and checked my 10.5in rear's and no sign of chrome flaking off anywhere.

 

[LV51FER]

Thanks for that. It's some extra info I can give to Weld if they come back to me. It's odd because the chrome has been fine for several months and it's only now it's suddenly gone nuts.

 

[LV51FER]

Thought I'd update this thread as a warning of how buying wheels can be a nightmare.

I contacted Weld who didn't want to know and referred me back to the dealer (who were pretty good). I had to send the defective wheels back to the dealer in the US (Cost over $270). They were delivered to the US back in May and it took Weld until July to approve the warranty claim and replace the two rear wheels. I then had to get them collected to get them back to the UK (another $410) but I thought the end result would be worth it as I now got the correct offset.

So anyway, I got the wheels and found that Weld changed the design (I'm pretty sure they knew too as they had the old wheels back and the design is now called the Forgestar XT. The new wheels have a bigger centre, shorter, less curved spokes and a taller section where the spokes meet the rims. I suppose that's as good as an admission that the original 10.5" rim design was wrong (the front ones are still fine with no sign of any flaking incidentally).

Long and the short of it (literally) is a set of wheels that don't match and as they're different width rims front and back, they can't be interchanged. It's not critical to the untrained eye but it is obvious to anyone with vision.

Given the costs involved in shipping, there's nothing more I can do. I'm consoling myself with the fact that they look a little like a drag wheel effect but this really shouldn't happen.

As an aside, the quality of the chrome on the replacement back of the rim is inferior and the machining marks far more pronounced. I guess that's why the warranty has gone down from 5 to 3 years.

 

[cowtown]

That sucks dude. I had Weld Draglites back on my 81 Mustang and then on my 86 and they were fantastic for quality and the rest, I'm bummed they went downhilll on that design.

FWIW I think the combo looks good even with the change in spoke design.

 

[McQueens Dream]

i actually like the bigger spokes in the rear, it does kind of resemble that drag wheel look. i do hate Weld is not easy to work with. i ran their draglites on a 92 coupe for 13 years, with absolutely no issues and no blemishes at all. but with Weld now being owned by American Racing, maybe they will step up the quality control, because American Racing makes some very nice high quality wheels now...