6UL wheels. Check them!

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:33 pm

Some of you may know Gen 2 wheels can crack/break under high load, but Gen 1 may be affected.

Below are photos of the same wheel; a crack on two spokes circumnavigating each spoke.

Please check your wheels!

smy0003 · Postby **smy0003** » Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:39 pm

Are those your wheels?

Sent from my LG-H815 using Tapatalk

Steampunk · Postby **Steampunk** » Mon Jun 06, 2016 11:50 pm

Nope, a good friend's

greenMachine · Postby **greenMachine** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:30 am

This is nothing new. 6UL failures have been reported in the past here, amongst other places, along with failures in other brands.

In the absence of any information about the age/usage of those wheels it is difficult to draw any conclusions from those photos. In any event it behoves everyone to regularly check their wheels, especially if they track their cars with high grip tyres. I eyeball mine before every meeting, and make a close inspection every time I put new tyres on the rims. So far so good, my 6ULs have not shown any signs of problems in the six or seven years since I bought them off a bloke in Melbourne, and who knows how old they are now.

:mrgreen:

Postby **NitroDann** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 12:36 am

What green said.

Lightweight wheels ARE a comsumable.

chops · Postby **chops** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 8:39 am

absolutely, lugs too

I have run a number of sets of 6UL wheels in a variety of widths and have never had a problem. I generally replace them within 2 years. Had a small incident with a mini at the last round of the cup and a wheel took a scrape, it is not cracked/bent but it is destined to live within my old wheel collection and get replaced

MINX · Postby **MINX** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 9:12 am

Big thanks to Steampunk for spotting these cracks in the pits before I went out on track!
These were last used at Mt Cotton, gurnied then put away until refitted yesterday morning and I didn't notice the cracks.
The are from 2010, so have done maybe 25-30 track events in their life.
Never had a hard curb strike or any untoward hits. But have occasionally been dríven slightly aggressively

. I'm not disappointed really. Time to start researching wheels!

Stuart

SKYHI · Postby **SKYHI** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:12 am

MINX wrote:Time to start researching wheels!

15x9 Gen 4 6ULs

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 11:17 am

Just get the Gen4 versions (preferably in Tungsten since I want to see how they look on a Ti SE).

From 949racing's site:

Gen 4 6UL 08/14-

This current design has the same great style as all previous 6UL's but features a flow formed outer rim barrel for a better strength to weight ratio and lower rotational moment. The entire wheel was redesignd from ground up to further enhance controlled dissipation of loads and increase fatigue life. Most sizes will see a 10-12% reduction in weight from the Gen 3 version. The gen 4 can be quickly identified by lug holes that line up symetrically with the valve hole centerline. Previous generation had lug holes clocked about 60° from the valve hole centerline.

FYI: Emilio had quality control issues with the Gen 2 rims. Like many businesses who manufacture in China, once he was happy with the process he turned the quality control over to the locals and these issues started to occur more frequently than should be expected. Chinese companies seem to have a culture of cutting costs wherever possible at the expense of the product - something you don't want when you need and are paying for a light track rim.

SKYHI · Postby **SKYHI** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 4:59 pm

Lokiel wrote:Just get the Gen4 versions (preferably in Tungsten since I want to see how they look on a Ti SE).

Lol....I was just looking for photos of some 15x9 6ULs in Tungsten yesterday to go on my VR SE

Lokiel · Postby **Lokiel** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:05 pm

TCR wrote:
Lokiel wrote:Just get the Gen4 versions (preferably in Tungsten since I want to see how they look on a Ti SE).

Lol....I was just looking for photos of some 15x9 6ULs in Tungsten yesterday to go on my VR SE

I liked the Gen2 bronze rims on VR SEs, they were darker:

- millsj's MSM/SE on 15x9 bonze 6ULs (from mazda-speed.com)

The Gen4 bronze rims are much lighter - do they darken over time or is it just dependent on the batch "mix"?

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:08 pm

Do they come in silver, 17", 5 stud for an NC and who is the Australian agent?

Roadrunner · Postby **Roadrunner** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:24 pm

JBT wrote:Do they come in silver, 17", 5 stud for an NC and who is the Australian agent?

Yes they do and MX5Mania are the Australian agent. Not sure if their shipment has arrived yet or not.

JBT · Postby **JBT** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 6:25 pm

Thanks for that. I'll give them a call tomorrow.

ManiacLachy · Postby **ManiacLachy** » Tue Jun 07, 2016 7:49 pm

I much prefer the old bronze. This new one is more of a gold than a bronze, IMO.

I was thinking silver or tungsten for my SS ... but it seems silver is being discontinued.