John Spaur asked:
Was looking at my knock-off wings recently and noticed some small stress cracks in the outer, un-threaded, ring and wondered how serious these might be. Recall seeing 2-3 about 1/16" to perhaps 1/8", no separation between the metal tho.
From: William W. Moyer :
Doesn't sound like the kind of thing I'd mess with. I've driven a Healey on 3 wheels and it loses a lot of manuverability. A lot of it. In fact, almost all of it. Luckily I was going slow.
From: Alan Seigrist :
Go buy a new knock off. They are only about $20 brand spanking new from British Wire Wheel. Have no idea if your crack is bad or not... if it goes all the way through the metal, replace it. A bad knock off is not something you want to second guess... unless it's just chrome flaking off of the knock off, then it's no big deal.
From: Bob Bender :
Just a word of warning. Several years back, a friend was on his way home from a meet in his BJ8. As he was rounding a corner (in a sprited fashion) he cast an eye to his rearview mirror to watch his wife round the corner in her freshly restored BT7. To his horror, he watched as the front wheel flew off and a shower of sparks flew up as the rotor made contact with the road. To make a long story shorter (a little), his wife and daughter survived without a scratch thanks to driving skill. The Healey survived with just a ground down rotor. The reason for the mishap was a fractured knockoff....brand new fresh restoration. When the wheel was retrieved, the winged portion was as if it were welded to the wheel. The knockoffs had been bought from a reputable parts house but were apparently defective. Bottom line...Don't take a chance replace it if it's cracked.
From: Bill :
John - That doesn't sound good. I would advise your critically examineing the others and replace any that show cracks of any width.