Davey D
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 06:02 PM |
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Anothet victim to the RMD steering wheel
I was on a trackday at Cadwell Park yesterday. Weather was amazing, did my 3 sighting laps, and then got out on track straight away with the first lot
of cars. 6 laps in coming around Mansfield and my steering wheel suddenly felt all wobbly. Looked down and the arm on the right hand side of the
wheel had completely snapped!
Thankfully I didn't have far to go to get back to the paddock. That was my day over by 10am. Needless to say I was gutted, but it could have
been much worse if I had lost control of the car.
Managed to blag a few passenger rides with other drivers helped ease the pain a little
I have heard stories of these wheels breaking, and was only just talking to Relph on here on Saturday last week about these wheels breaking.
This time I'm going to splash out on a Momo mod 27 wheel.
If anyone else has one I would recommend binning it and get something better
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40inches
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 06:10 PM |
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That's worrying I have a RMD flat bottomed 300mm wheel fitted, do you have any photos of the fracture? How old is it?
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ian locostzx9rc2
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 06:17 PM |
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I looked at these wheels and they appeared very flimsy so I bought a momo wheel .
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Davey D
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 06:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 40inches
That's worrying I have a RMD flat bottomed 300mm wheel fitted, do you have any photos of the fracture? How old is it?
I don't have any photos but it is a straight clean break just where the suede covering starts
Its been on the car around a 1.5 years, which is around 200 road miles, and this would have been the 6th trackday I used it
[Edited on 25/6/15 by Davey D]
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ian locostzx9rc2
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 06:25 PM |
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I think you need to contact the seller of these wheels a sap
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Davey D
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 06:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by ian locostzx9rc2
I think you need to contact the seller of these wheels a sap
There are a few companies that sell these wheels, but I got mine from furore sports cars on here
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BangedupTiger
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 06:49 PM |
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I've got a brand new momo 27 for sale.
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Davey D
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 06:57 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by BangedupTiger
I've got a brand new momo 27 for sale.
Ooh what size? Have you already drilled it? Why are you selling and how much do you want for it?
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BangedupTiger
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 07:11 PM |
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270mm, undrilled, brand new. I'll dig it out the garage tomorrow and send some pics over.
Same as this http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/motorsport/steering-wheels/momo-model-27-steering-wheel
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Doctor Derek Doctors
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 07:29 PM |
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I had one of these RMD race steering wheels break in exactly the same way but it was on little garden go kart so I never reported it on here but its
worrying that it seems to be a trend.
Designer and Supplier of the T89 Designs - Single Seater Locost. Build you own Single Seater Racecar for ~£5k.
Plans and Drawings available, U2U or e-mail for details.
Available Now: The Sports Racer Add-On pack, Build a full bodied Sports Racer for Trackdays, Sprints and Racing.
www.t89.co.uk
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callan@t89.co.uk
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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40inches
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 07:54 PM |
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Do you think it breaks at the point that the "suede" is trimmed, possibly a score line left by a knife?
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Slater
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 08:19 PM |
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See similar thread from 2013
linker to thread
Why do they call Port Harcourt "The Garden City"?...... Becauase they can't spell Stramash.
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Relph
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 08:45 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by 40inches
Do you think it breaks at the point that the "suede" is trimmed, possibly a score line left by a knife?
Yes mate that's where it breaks.
Sorry to hear it ruined your trackday Dave.
I've been looking at steering wheels, the momo 27 does look nice.
Don't suppose you've got another one for sale have you Bangeduptiger. Lol
If in doubt, flat out.
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BangedupTiger
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 08:50 PM |
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Just the one mate. I'm too scared to drill the holes in it lol.
So going for a ready drilled one. Precision isn't really my thing, if you can't fix something with a hammer, I don't bother trying
lol.
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Relph
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 08:55 PM |
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Yeah that's one of my worries, I know if I didn't get it spot on it would annoy the hell out of me.
I take it Dave has had the one you offered him ?
If in doubt, flat out.
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Davey D
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 08:55 PM |
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I plan on using the broken RMD wheel as a drill through template for the Momo wheel. That's all is good for lol !
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Relph
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 09:01 PM |
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Hi Dave, I can't believe it happened to you and we were only talking about it Saturday night.
If in doubt, flat out.
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Davey D
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 09:09 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Relph
Hi Dave, I can't believe it happened to you and we were only talking about it Saturday night.
I know, it seems crazy! Maybe I jinxed myself by not touching wood when I said my steering wheel was ok hehe
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russbost
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 09:37 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Davey D
quote:
Originally posted by ian locostzx9rc2
I think you need to contact the seller of these wheels a sap
There are a few companies that sell these wheels, but I got mine from furore sports cars on here
Hi Davey
If we've sold this wheel then I would be very greatful if you could return it to us so we can return it to the supplier for analysis, if they
don't have the wheel back there is no way they can determine the cause of fracture
I have heard previously of some RMD wheels having this issue, but we've only ever sold the "D" shaped wheel & I've never
been made aware of any breakages on this type as opposed to the many other styles RMD sell.
The thing I find strange is that the wheel should not normally be stressed in the plane that would cause a fracture to a spoke. If you think about the
normal direction of forces on a steering wheel it is a torque around the circumference of the wheel - why would there be any significant force pushing
or pulling the wheel in a forward/aft motion? I can see that possibly on a race car the wheel might be "manhandled" somewhat roughly
fore/aft, but then on a race car I would personally be carrying out a frequent & thorough inspection of all steering components.
I have a detailed university analysis of the "normal" forces applied to the steering which we had done to assess the steering column on
the Furore for IVA, it only ever speaks of torque qround the column, never about fore/aft forces
It would seem to me that if one were using the wheel as a "grab handle" to pull yourself out of the seat to get in & out of the car
for instance, that would not be within the normal remit of a steering wheel - do you use the steering wheel of a tintop to do this? I certainly
don't, surely to fracture a spoke (I'm assuming this is a stress fracture) there has to be a significant force pushing the wheel back
& forth, which on any alloy based wheel would sooner or later lead to a fracture.
If anyone thinks I'm being daft here please point me in the right direction? I would say it would be impossible to fracture a spoke with a
torque applied around the centre even if you're a body builder & you jam the steering against the lock stops, however work it back &
forth in a forward/backward motion for long enough & a fracture is almost inevitable, irrelevant of the manufacturer of the wheel ................
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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Relph
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 10:49 PM |
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Hi russbost, I understand what your saying but they seem to fracture down a score line that is made when the suede is cut. If the manufacturer was a
little more carefull when trimming the wheel I don't think we would be having this problem.
If in doubt, flat out.
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alex1991
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| posted on 25/6/15 at 10:50 PM |
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I've always used my steeribg wheel to help me out of tin top cars when I had bucket seats.
I bought an RMD about 2 months ago, it's going to have to do for a bit although it feels pretty strong. I was just hoping it was an early batch
of wheels that snapped.
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Ben_Copeland
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| posted on 26/6/15 at 04:05 AM |
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Rally design (RMD) are fairly well known around here for having everything made cheap in China with (some say) inferior steel/alloy.
I have a RMD D steering wheel and the yellow centre line isn't even in the centre!!
The fuel caps they sell, the mounted holes aren't drilled inline with the cap latch so they look odd.
The RMD alloys I've heard they fracture as well.
The RMD hydraulic clutch master cylinder I had refitted while still building the car blew it's seals because the steel centre rusted against the
alloy outer. Costing me an engine tuning day.
Unfortunately Rally D's official answer is they sell thousands of these things to racers and never heard of any issues. Which is bollox !
Ben
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russbost
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| posted on 26/6/15 at 06:44 AM |
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quote:
Originally posted by Relph
Hi russbost, I understand what your saying but they seem to fracture down a score line that is made when the suede is cut. If the manufacturer was a
little more carefull when trimming the wheel I don't think we would be having this problem.
Yes, I've seen the other thread talking about this & fully understand the issue re a score line - in fore/aft flexing a scoreline would
certainly be likely to increase likelihood of a fracture along that line, however it would make virtually no difference in the sideways/torque
direction.
I can honestly say we've been selling the RMD "D" shaped wheel for probably at least 5 years now - the above failure is the first
I've been told of that we have sold - until a broken wheel has been examined by a metallurgist (which I most certainly am not) you can only
speculate with regard to the actual CAUSE of the failure
We don't sell anything else by RMD in our range so can't comment on their quality generally, but I think it is only fair to compare apples
with apples rather than low price with high, we use the RMD wheels on our own cars, I've put probably 6 or 7 thro' IVA & they are
happy with the quality & we've certainly never had one fail, difficult to say anything else without seeing a failure
I no longer run Furore Products or Furore Cars Ltd, but would still highly recommend them for Acewell dashes, projector headlights, dominator
headlights, indicators, mirrors etc, best prices in the UK! Take a look at http://www.furoreproducts.co.uk/ or find more parts on Ebay, user names
furoreltd & furoreproducts, discounts available for LCB users.
Don't forget Stainless Steel Braided brake hoses, made to your exact requirements in any of around 16 colours.
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/furoreproducts/m.html?_dmd=1&_ipg=50&_sop=12&_rdc=1
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NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
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Digimon
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| posted on 26/6/15 at 07:37 AM |
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I did question this with Rally Design before I brought my 300mm flat bottomed wheel.
They told me that they did have failures in the past because of the metal being to thin ( around 2.5mm - 3mm ) and they had the wheels remade with
thicker metal ( around 4.5mm - 5mm ) and they haven't had any reports of failures yet.
It would be interesting if you could measure the thickness of your steering wheel because I might change mine if one of the re designed wheels has
failed
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coyoteboy
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| posted on 26/6/15 at 08:02 AM |
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If you have a score or even if not, thin alloys will tend to fatigue and the occasional mishandling can have big impacts on the fatigue life of a
part, as can stress concentrators. To assume a steering wheel sees only torsion about the centre axis is a vast over simplification and sounds like
the sort of mistakes a formula student team would make in a first year entry - was it an fsae paper/report?
Lots of people use the wheel as a grab handle. As a designer I'd say you would have to be somewhat naive to ignore that use. But plenty of
products are on the light side because consumers demand it -.doesn't mean they're bad.
You have to remember people hold on to a wheel when accelerating and under hard breaking they will use it to resist forward lunge too. This sort of
cyclic loading is precisely what would cause failure like this. There are also questions in the past about whether the metal is heat treated
properly.
[Edited on 26/6/15 by coyoteboy]
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