I've seen it happen on track mid-corner where the wheel fails due to fatigue, now that would be scary. Driver rolled multiple times and landed on the other side of the safety barrier.

In your case I think you got lucky the wheel failed so that it didn't rip the rest of the suspension off the car.

Yes, generally you want the wheel to be the fuse and save the rest of the car, it's what circle track guys do and I've seen a lot of cast wheels break that way at the rock crawling comps, usually due to rollovers etc.

Wow -- that sucks! Hope you're okay!

Did you lose control while driving too fast and then break the wheel or did a wheel start to fail (which is unusual, but not impossible) and cause you to lose control?

That you said "the car started to shake then drift" makes it sound like the wheel (or some other suspension related component) was failing, causing you to lose control, and then the crash just did it in completely. What happened?

so XXR and DRAG makes those 18's? :icon17: ;)

glad you weren't hurt, op. :)

Wow!

There must be more to this..

I'm guessing it wasn't the wheel at all but a suspension component that failed and caused the impending slide into the curb which of course totally detonated that wheel!

Of course wheel fatigue could play a roll but these are forged Rays are they not? Not saying it couldn't happen but unless a bunch of other hard driving/careless factors are at play here, I wouldn't guess that to be the case.

I mean I'm riding on gravity cast wheels and after 22k miles and 4 track days, they're holding up quite well (testament to Axis btw). It pays to get under the car and check things out from time to time. ;)

I believe that the Base 18" wheels are cast and made by Enkei

+1 on the OP hitting something, it happens

Rotas are notorious for breaking under hard driving. This is the first I've seen of the OEM wheels breaking. OP might be on to something; but judging from the pics, it appears he "drifted" (understeered) into a curb at just the right angle with enough speed to cause the wheel to break.


http://media.ziptied.com/members/fil...roken_rota.jpg

Try Rotas, since a share of them break like that.

Doesn't exactly inspire confidence in Rota's now does it?!

wow thats crazy, i have a set of stock 18s as well. glad ur safe!

:iagree:

How fast you did you take that turn? Glad your OK

it hurts to see so much damage. my stomach hurts.

glad the Z took the blow and not you! how are the repairs going?

Crazy incident

Just gonna put this here . . .

http://i567.photobucket.com/albums/s...7ee540bc20.jpg