Cracked OEM 18" Wheel
 

So my TPMS system went off recently, and I found that my left rear tire was a little low. While airing it up, I noticed about an inch long crack one spoke beginning on the back side of the spoke, traveling towards the front. This is in a really odd place, as it is 3/4 of the way up the spoke, towards the center of the wheel. I complained and am having to replace it tomorrow before traveling midweek.

I did scrape a curb about 8 months ago, but it was a pretty gentle scrape (as gentle as those scrapes go). Never noticed anything until now. More alarming is that the crack has grown across the spoke and is now starting to head towards the front of the spoke. Approximately doubling in size in the last 3-4 days. At this rate, I estimate that the entire spoke will compe apart within a week or two.

Has anyone else had this problem? Any advice? I'm attaching a pic for your thoughts...
Thanks

Get A New Wheel

Wow... stop driving if you think it is going to fail... did they replace it under warranty?

stop driving on it, get a new wheel

lose the stock
 

Personally, I got rid of the stock wheels as soon as i could. I found that going an inch bigger (19in) looks damn good on there. Just don't go with the Konig Unknowns. I already got them. The only thing you'll have to do with that is remove a bolt on the rear end on each side, then put them back in, this will reset your tire pressure gauges.

Yeah, definitely do not drive on it. Since it started on the back I doubt a minor curb scrape had anything to do with it. Could be that something caused a nick on the back that served as a stress riser, or perhaps it was simply a weakness in the casting. The thinness of these spokes near the lug nut area does worry me sometimes. It just looks too "flexy" to me, but I'm not an engineer.

wow they had the same issue happen with the original FD wheels and had them reinforced in later years...

sometimes too light is not good

Cracks don't propagate at a linear rate...they accelerate. Don't drive on it, because when it fails it's going to happen too fast for you to do anything about it.

If you still have the Mazda roadside assistance, get a flat bed and tow it to the dealer.

Well, no the didn't replace it under warranty. Imagine that. Since it had that scrape on the same (sort of) side of the wheel as the spoke, they couldn't verify that it was not me. I like my dealership guys, but they say that the burden is pretty much on you to prove you did not do it, rather than them proving you DID cause the problem.

So the short version of the story is that they came $100 of the MSRP price to help me out, and I had it replaced monday. I've thought about replacement wheels, but anything I'd get will also be expensive and lightweight. I wonder if some O-Z's or SSR's or something will be softer even than the OEM's, considering their lighter weight?