Wheel circumference comparison of Kodiak (orange wheel) with properly sized wheel. This a special tool issued by the TRA (Tire and Rim Association)

 

The Kodiak also lacks a proper bead on the inside wheel shell. A recipe for disaster...

Correct wheel on the left (Gibson wheel), Kodiak wheel on the right.

 

That could ruin your day. Good thing it happened where it did, a ride down the side of some of those hills would be painful.

 

that ride looks pretty quick, where was the road?? the driver is pretty brave, cool vid

 

That's Ronin. 580hp widebody elise with paddle shifters. I didn't know this happened to him. Glad it wasn't very severe.

- Jeremy -

 

wow scary. could have been a lot worse....

 

Good to note. However, I think people should also consider that this car was being run on Hoosiers on a public road. Those tires are not intended for public roads (says so on the sidewall). They have a structure focused on lightweight which does not adequately protect a wheel from potholes and public road irregularities. Not saying that is what happened here, but not out of the realm of possibility.

FWIW, I'm not happy with Kodiak either. I placed an order back in February for 2 inner rim halves. Was told 6-8 weeks, 6 months later nothing! Still can't use the wheels.

 

Wasnt he running these wheels for a long while before anything happened?

Im glad to see nothing serious happened!!

 

I thought Kodiak had a pretty good rep for race wheels? Im not saying they are not flawed, but im not sure the evidence is complete here?

 

Kodiak has been making wheels for a very long time. First problem I've ever heard of.

The title on this posting seems as negligent as Ronin's driving style on public streets.

 

Unbelievable! not just the incident. Thanks for the post it may help others in the future.

 

I ordered two sets of wheels from Kodiak in April 2007. One set has been at Kodiak since October 2008, as they were not made correctly and did not clear the brake rotor. The other set is on the race car for mockup, but with 0.100" run out on the inner shell, I'm never going to be able to do anything more than use them for mockup. For me this has moved past 'bad business practice' to 'rip off'.

 

He also mentions in his post on the other forum how the Hoosiers constantly kept losing air and how others have experienced the same as well and the slip of the tires and how they are made.

 

The reason for the thread is to warn others that use Kodiak. The rim is undersized and lacks a bead, nothing inconclusive there, facts are facts.

If the purpose of the thread was to say something bad about Kodiak, I would have complained how my wheels arrived from Kodiak severely out of round, leaking air, the incorrect color and several months late. Now I'll have to dismount the tires and check to see if they are the correct diameter and whether the inside shell has an industry standard bead. Beyond those minor issues, they sure are great wheels.

 

John,

You might want to read this thread about powder coating aluminum wheels here

Your concerns may still be valid, but almost certainly Kodiak would have a different take on a wheel that has been powder coated (heat treated a few times) by someone other than them. Also didn't these wheels go thru at least two color changes?

I know when I was racing Mustangs in American Iron, I had similar problems with some wheels I had that were powder coated black by someone other than the manufacturer.

Rob.

 

Are you f'n serious?, are you suggesting the oven roast caused them to shrink?

 

I love my Bogarts. Rich makes the bead seat on the upper end of the spec measurement-wise to ensure good seat.

 

If some of you guys feel those wheels are great and safe I'm pretty sure Ronin (or MaineLotus) will sell his other set for cheap.

In light of what happened, maybe it'll be smart to have your Kodiak wheels checked. Those who don't care, just forget the warning.

:shrug:

 

can't say you didn't try.

 

While the powder-coating concerns are valid, i don't think they apply in this situation. Over-aging aluminum makes it more brittle, which means it is less likely to flex, and more likely to crack. Now if there were cracks in the rim as a result of this I'd say you might have a valid concern for this situation.