Weld Pro Stars making cracking noise?

[CHARGED]

My Weld Pro Stars up front 15x7 are making a cracking sound almost like I have stones inside the rims? Makes the most noise when going around turns. Anybody else had this problem? Do you need to grease the inside between the middle piece and the two outside sections of the rim? Very annoying problem..

 

[Intercooler]

Lots of aftermarket wheels do. My Convos don't so maybe it is the design. I think some are like two pieces but together and they are noisy! Do you have the correct lug nuts?

 

[Black Box]

Could be that middle piece of aluminum rattling. I have the Convo Pros too and have no noise. The added stress on the wheel while turning could be making the separate pieces rub together and could make some noise. Don't know how severe it would sound, my brother has Draglites on his '80 Z28 and they are quiet.

Are the lugs torqued correctly?

Grease 'em at your own risk....that could get messy when centrifigal force sends grease flyin everywhere

Steve

 

[Chris Taylor]

My Weld Draglites have the same cracking noise. It is not to bad. Like Jesse said, allot of light weight aluminum wheels make this noise. I torque the lugs at 75#.

 

[Taffy]

Not to make anyone paranoid, but on 2 of my friends street cars, one a Blazer and the other a Nova, the Star started to crack on the arm part. Check this out on your car to see if there is any sign of cracking. The guys I know, myself included, that use them mostly for racing have no problems. We think that they do not hold up to continued turns on the street. ERIC.

 

[Louie L.]

Ive seen this cracking on drag stars before. But i have also seen them on Draglites and My own Rodlites too. So its not just the star.

All of these style wheels make that noise ,some more than others. My old Rodlites creaked pretty bad. My Draglites now dont.
Its just what they do.

One thing ,always torque them down with a torque wrench. I bought one just for this reason.

 

[Mac in SD]

Yup. My ProStars have always creaked or crackled. I understand it's the nature of the beast. Annoying. You can make it go away for a while with graphite sprayed in there, but it'll seep out and streak on the polished surface.

 

[TURBOV6]

I'ved heard of only the 3.5" skinnys cracking inside of the rim.

 

[TRBON8R]

You mean I just spent over $600 for a set of Rodlites that are going to start creaking and eventually crack??? WTF is Welds problem?

 

[wyk3d]

my draglites crackle too on sharp turns. Thought it was something terrible but nothing is coming apart. Its just the crummy design of the rims.

Dan

 

[Donald Smith]

Hey Jim.....R those noisy wheels waking the new baby up when u turn into the driveway?

 

[Grumpy]

I have 4 pro stars...2 -15-5s an 2-15 -6s that we ran on Melissa's old Limited...broke everywhere...good hose racks

 

[Bens87tr]

Check the wheels. Sometimes they say that they are not for street use. These are usually the ones that make noise.

 

[tom h]

These complaints of actual cracking wheels are scary.

Seems to be mostly the DragStar, but even the DragLite has cracked, per Louie.

But it seems there have been no known problems with Centerlines cracking (??).

 

[Datsunboy]

I do belive the wheels you guys are talkin about are meant for straight line use. Summit specifies that they are NOT an autocross wheel, and they cant be used for that. I assume they are not meant to take side loads.

The centerlines are great street rims, and are NOT three piece for the most part. They are safe for autocross as well.

Evan

 

[TURBOV6]

Here's the scoops........

We got a local Weld's dealer here and here's what I was told......

Weld rims are a two piece design so its known to make noise and also the spacer between the rim. The Prostars and Draglites also crack depending the LOAD weight of the car. SO a bigger rim or wider rim "won't" crack. He also mentioned they are mainly for strip us only, so meaning most of the race car are lighter than a street car. Many of the guys I talked to there say Weld's are very good rims and very strong, that's why they are so popular.

 

[JASON]

I had a set of 6" weld draglites that done the same thing I thought it was just me..I went to centerline warriors no more noise

 

[65malibuss]

Weld wheels are crap.

I had Weld Rodlites on my Chevelle and they made the same crackling sound all the time - it drove me crazy.

I sold them on eBay and bought Centerlines. They are a much better construction and can't make noise because everything is welded together and there's nothing to rub and make noise.

I ddidn't like changing the Weld wheels either. They are like an inch thick and the lug nuts would always get binded and stuck. The Centerlines are only 5/8 to 3/4 inch thick and the nuts go on and off much easier.

I don't know if they come with the same backspacing as the Weld wheels, though.

My father is planning on getting Centerlines for his 87 Grand National. What backspace and tire sizes are best for those of you who are using Centerlines?

 

[JASON]

I have 10" with 41/2 backspacing on rear fit perfect!! and 5.5s on front but if its more for the street go with 8s...the funny thing is you can run a bigger slick with the centerline than welds with the same 10" wheel with the same backspacing