Cracked 21" wheel

[Lee Chiacos]

Has anyone else had this happen? Must've been a pothole. And any advice?

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[lcarron]

Yes unfortunately the 21 does not like the pothole. This is why I switch to 20.

 

[Taycan4S_UK]

replace it rather than getting it fixed (used would be fine) - my logic is that this is such a heavy car and risk is too high.

 

[RED!]

replace it rather than getting it fixed (used would be fine) - my logic is that this is such a heavy car and risk is too high.

I 10000% agree. Welding is a temporary fix that creates a combination of a hard spot as well as two new weak spots. It will last you until you find a smaller pothole and you have failure again, but either way worse, like catastrophic or minor slow leak, but it's one of the two for sure.

I've cracked an AMG rim and my solution was to look on Facebook Marketplace for a full new/used set with bad rubber, keep three, use one, and then be ready for next time... sadly.

I have two sets of RS Spider 21's and I've been watching some 20's on marketplace since they don't move fast, one set is down to $1500 asking with decent rubber... but I'm holding out since I'm not in a hurry and I'd prefer to keep running 21s. it's just that they're selling for $5000-6000 right now, that will change in a few months when someone is trying to sell winters in July

 

[KLHubb]

I cracked a wheel in a pothole.....I was on the low chassis setting in Sport.
I saved the wheel, but is sounds like a repair is not advisable.

 

[SoccerMan94043]

Curious what you all think about the chassis level and the likelihood of this kind of damage.

I went on Mr. Toads Wild Ride in the Santa Cruz mountains yesterday using the Raods app to map a path. It was absolutely beautiful but took me on some really poorly paved roads: lots of potholes and uneven surfaces enough that I was driving 10 MPH or less for miles. I did change the chassis level to normal as I saw this, kept it slow (as mentioned) and carefully avoided everything I could. I still hit one pothole much harder than I would have liked (it was camouflaged by shade and uneven surfaces).

I have 21" Spyders with Pirelli PZero Rs so I'm really paranoid about such things (enough that I bought Porsche wheel and tire protection)but the tires still hold air and I don't see any visible damage (I didn't hit it that hard or going too fast and I was in normal). Is there really that much difference before the chassis levels on the damage potential?

 

[RED!]

Curious what you all think about the chassis level and the likelihood of this kind of damage.

I went on Mr. Toads Wild Ride in the Santa Cruz mountains yesterday using the Raods app to map a path. It was absolutely beautiful but took me on some really poorly paved roads: lots of potholes and uneven surfaces enough that I was driving 10 MPH or less for miles. I did change the chassis level to normal as I saw this, kept it slow (as mentioned) and carefully avoided everything I could. I still hit one pothole much harder than I would have liked (it was camouflaged by shade and uneven surfaces).

I have 21" Spyders with Pirelli PZero Rs so I'm really paranoid about such things (enough that I bought Porsche wheel and tire protection)but the tires still hold air and I don't see any visible damage (I didn't hit it that hard or going too fast and I was in normal). Is there really that much difference before the chassis levels on the damage potential?

Speaking as a race car guy who's experienced TONS of chassis and setup tuning over the years,
1) the sidewall of your tire is part of your suspension!

2) a properly tuned suspension compresses at as close to a constant rate as possible, tire, spring, damper - if you don't have this right then the car seems jittery (my word for it, it's like describing wine, you may disagree with the language for the same flavour) jittery comes from: compress a bit, then suddenly a lot and then hardens up, in an unpredictable way

3) Tire/wheel damage (on race tires like slicks and R-Compounds) I've seen tires that when removed from the rims you can see the sidewalls inside are flaking off. (Mostly seen in 944 Turbos where Porsche Club lore is that you need HEAVY, like 6-700 lb springs, so your tires ARE most of the suspension - you ACTUALLY should be running 350 lbs! which came on factory cup cars, but often "club heads" talk amongst themselves and conclude that the Factory said that 20 years ago, physics must have changed over time, right? Sorry for the aside, but I think it helps the average person filter BS/cognitive dissonance from reality)

4) When your car is lower, suspension travel is automatically reduced. the only logical solution to prevent "bottoming out" is to stiffen the suspension

5) Stiffening the suspension, by definition, puts more of the suspension's ability to absorb shocks (like potholes) onto the sidewall of the tire.

6) the sidewall bone is connected to the rim bone... and they become the weakest link

7) Boom! You blow a tire, get a sidewall failure (goose egg) or break a rim

If you agree with my chain of reasoning, then you can conclude that if you're on shit road (potholes) keep your suspension at a higher setting (like normal ride height, assuming Porsche Engineers did their job) to protect your rims

My problem - I need to drive distance in one charge that means I need to decouple the front motor since my GTS is power hungry, and Range Mode lowers the car... so I'm at risk of a highway speed pothole with a low suspension setting... Sucks, and "Individual" mode doesn't have a "decouple front motor" option - So I'm cruising for a broken wheel until the weather warms up and I get some range back... and of course, winter is pothole season!

 

[SoccerMan94043]

Speaking as a race car guy who's experienced TONS of chassis and setup tuning over the years,
1) the sidewall of your tire is part of your suspension!

2) a properly tuned suspension compresses at as close to a constant rate as possible, tire, spring, damper - if you don't have this right then the car seems jittery (my word for it, it's like describing wine, you may disagree with the language for the same flavour) jittery comes from: compress a bit, then suddenly a lot and then hardens up, in an unpredictable way

3) Tire/wheel damage (on race tires like slicks and R-Compounds) I've seen tires that when removed from the rims you can see the sidewalls inside are flaking off. (Mostly seen in 944 Turbos where Porsche Club lore is that you need HEAVY, like 6-700 lb springs, so your tires ARE most of the suspension - you ACTUALLY should be running 350 lbs! which came on factory cup cars, but often "club heads" talk amongst themselves and conclude that the Factory said that 20 years ago, physics must have changed over time, right? Sorry for the aside, but I think it helps the average person filter BS/cognitive dissonance from reality)

4) When your car is lower, suspension travel is automatically reduced. the only logical solution to prevent "bottoming out" is to stiffen the suspension

5) Stiffening the suspension, by definition, puts more of the suspension's ability to absorb shocks (like potholes) onto the sidewall of the tire.

6) the sidewall bone is connected to the rim bone... and they become the weakest link

7) Boom! You blow a tire, get a sidewall failure (goose egg) or break a rim

If you agree with my chain of reasoning, then you can conclude that if you're on shit road (potholes) keep your suspension at a higher setting (like normal ride height, assuming Porsche Engineers did their job) to protect your rims

My problem - I need to drive distance in one charge that means I need to decouple the front motor since my GTS is power hungry, and Range Mode lowers the car... so I'm at risk of a highway speed pothole with a low suspension setting... Sucks, and "Individual" mode doesn't have a "decouple front motor" option - So I'm cruising for a broken wheel until the weather warms up and I get some range back... and of course, winter is pothole season!

Does PAR change this equation at all in your opinion? It seems like PAR should try to drive the tire into the pothole making things worse... at the same time it could also detect this and lift the tire making it better :\

 

[RED!]

Does PAR change this equation at all in your opinion? It seems like PAR should try to drive the tire into the pothole making things worse... at the same time it could also detect this and lift the tire making it better :\

I don't know enough about how it works, but using the assumption that it needs to add pressure to the strut (airbag) in order to extend it - which means that if the system doesn't react fast enough and the wheel is at extension when it's hitting the "final" (deadly) edge of the pothole at a firmer setting than it would be had the car been equipped with steel springs (for example) then you're MORE likely to damage the rim than if the car didn't change from a more compliant setting.

 

[Lee Chiacos]

I 10000% agree. Welding is a temporary fix that creates a combination of a hard spot as well as two new weak spots. It will last you until you find a smaller pothole and you have failure again, but either way worse, like catastrophic or minor slow leak, but it's one of the two for sure.

I've cracked an AMG rim and my solution was to look on Facebook Marketplace for a full new/used set with bad rubber, keep three, use one, and then be ready for next time... sadly.

I have two sets of RS Spider 21's and I've been watching some 20's on marketplace since they don't move fast, one set is down to $1500 asking with decent rubber... but I'm holding out since I'm not in a hurry and I'd prefer to keep running 21s. it's just that they're selling for $5000-6000 right now, that will change in a few months when someone is trying to sell winters in July

I located a wheel from an outfit called Autorim. Anything I need to know before I pull the trigger?

 

[RED!]

I located a wheel from an outfit called Autorim. Anything I need to know before I pull the trigger?

As long as it's OEM and the exact part number as what you're replacing then you should be OK.
You may want to inspect it since it's not coming from a stealership, so why do these guys have it and has it been "expertly repaired".

I know in my area 90% of the Taycan wheels for sale (all in sets of 4) are for sale by dudes who somehow are buying up, or have access to, used sets and then reselling them and effectively making/controlling the market. I have no idea what a full set would cost you, if you can buy a full set for $2000or a single for $700 there could be a case to have a spare, although I'll admit that it's way less likely you'll damage a back wheel from my casual discussions with friends who've suffered.

my only obvious concern is that the spoke at 5pm in the picture is a different color, has it been sanded to take off curb damage and not repainted?

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