Recently concerns about the quality, safety and durability of 949 Racing 6UL alloy wheels expressed by a small group of Miata owners boiled over on the Facebook Group "Trackable Miatas." As is typical of our polarized world today where tribal politics rules, people very quickly divided themselves into two camps: 1) those who realize that race car parts break and 2) those who believe 949 Racing wheels fail at much higher rates than similar wheels from peer brands. A large portion of those in group #2 also believe 949 Racing should offer more goodwill assistance for wheel failures that occur beyond the warranty period. I agree with #1 and no one has all the data to be able to answer #2. That didn't stop people on both sides from arguing, with most of the mud flinging from group #2.

Today I received the following email message from 949 Racing. No doubt it was prompted by the recent drama. Regardless, I feel like their response is very well reasoned and is good advice to follow.

Race car 101

We have always recommended frequent inspections of the entire car if it is used for off highway high performance use or competition. Components that last a lifetime on street driven car can reach their design limits and fail in competition. Items like hubs, control arms, sub frames, miscellaneous brackets, engine mounts, and wheels can all reach their design limit sooner than expected. Impacts, excess heat, higher cornering, braking or acceleration loads from heavily modified cars-can overwhelm OEM or light weight aftermarket components. The aircraft industry performs constant and rigorous inspections on the most highly stressed and critical components. Professional race teams know of this need for regular inspections and therefore many components become consumables in this environment. But it can be a surprise to the weekend warrior new to high performance track day or HPDE events.

Since we launched our company in 2006, we have occasionally had customers directly contact us to report of their 949 Racing 6UL wheels cracking after extended use on a racetrack or in competition. Almost without exception, the wheels are many years old. In some case, they were purchased used with an unknown history. Reviewing samples, we find the wheels in question were designed, engineered and manufactured properly and to current industry standards. Digging further we find examples of similar LHP wheels from other brands cracking or breaking under similar usage conditions on track or in competition. This has led us to review the widely accepted test standards the wheel industry uses, JWL.

We categorize all 6UL wheels as "LHP" wheels (Lightweight High Performance). As with any brand or model LHP wheels used on track or in competition, we recommend careful, regular inspections of the entire wheel surface for cracking, bends, any signs of fatigue or impact damage that could reduce the wheel's ability to support the vehicle load. A cracked wheel that remains in service could fail catastrophically with the hub portion completely separating from the outer barrel. It is very unlikely that any wheel will catastrophically fail during hard cornering without cracking from fatigue or impacts first.

So perform this inspection on any LHP wheels you use, regardless of the brand. Going further, go through the whole modified car at regular intervals. Tell your friends and help spread the knowledge.

Statistically, your LHP wheels will probably never crack, regardless of brand. This is not a promise of course, merely a prediction based on available data. Just because it is not very likely however, doesn't mean you should avoid inspecting your high performance car regularly. You always wear your seat belt even though an accident is very unlikely.

As with virtually all LHP wheel manufacturers, we provide a one year warranty against defects, materials and workmanship. Please contact us if you have any further questions. Click the link below for more information on our warranty. Click the link below to learn more about wheel industry test standards.

-The 949 Racing team
Our review of wheel industry test standards
949 Racing Warranty Information