minitruckin mags semi wheel!!!!

maybe lock can chime in on this one

That's what happens when boys play around with trucks designed for men.

I've thought this for a while, and you can call me crazy, but I don't think it's going to be very long before the Feds catch on to what's being done to these wheels.

...and we all know what happens when the Feds get involved.

Exactly.

But I don't think the feds will get involved. It's just too small of an amount.. How many wheels you suppose get milled a year? I bet it aint much.

Maybe not right away...but I still think it's only a matter of time before there's a serious backlash regarding these wheels. More and more folks are figuring out how to do it, which will only drive the prices down, which will increase availability, which will potentially increase the # of modded wheels on the road. Couple that with the Budget Ballers rolling LoPros on .5's and steelies, and you got a recipe for regulation. All it takes is one nasty lawsuit involving a truck on milled wheels with passenger car tires to get the ball rolling.

I have yet to see one shred of evidence that supports the statement that milled wheels are just as safe as a factory Alcoa. I'm not saying they aren't. Hell, I don't know, they just might be. I'm not making assumptions or passing judgement. All I know is that wheel manufacturer's spend buku bucks on R&D before they put out a product. Everything must be D.O.T. compliant. Are you telling me that the average wheel milling guy is going to go through the expense and trouble of all that? I highly doubt it. It would be interesting to see if any of these guys are D.O.T. compliant. That's the first thing a Court of Law is going to look at.

Don't get me wrong. I like milled wheels. I think they're neat. I don't wish any ill-will on guys like Lock and Brent. However, it's just like anything else: when something becomes popular, the scrutiny increases.

Like I said: it's not a matter of "if", it's a matter of "when".

Don't even get me started on the adapters...

After taking a good look at mine which have been machined/modded, I can't see how in the hell it could blow the outer lip off. Even at it's thinniest point, they are still thicker production caliber 22's of any make out there. The only way these could come apart is from too much machining. I highly doubt the dumbest mofo out there could seperate the outer lip when mounting these. If who ever tried to mount this tire on this rim did this, I hate to see what any of the wheels mounted by any of the individuals who were involved in this. I have mounted tires, big and small and rims thin and wide at the shop, never have I come to this where it just blows up, tires maybe, but not the outer hoop of a "Big" wheel just seperating like this. Even when mounting anything big you take caution, wonder if these guys have ever tried doing reverse mount on 'Lowenharts', screw up on of those and you'll be broke for a minute. Also, why would you need to machine sooooo much? Perhaps to make the wheel lighter? Perhaps to save on pads? I still can't figure it out.

It wont be the feds it will be the insurance companies. I think if a guy ever got in a wreck and had milled wheels on it I bet they'd refuse to pay out. No matter what the reason for the accident. I've wondered many of the same things you have Campy.

I think the biggest saving grace on the wheels is they are designed for semi trucks. They are designed to haul a gazillion pounds or so. Put them on a 1 ton truck and they aren't even seeing a fraction of their load rating, so milling a little off isn't going to hurt anything(I wouldn't think).

What I'm curious about also is I was reading a thread somewhere where guys were talking how insurance companies wouldn't insure there business because they "altered" suspension. Now how does lock get insurance on his business.

I think the majority of these business owners are flying by the seat of their pants and taking on some MAJOR liability in doing so.

I'm not just talking about the wheel guys either. What about the guys who do stockfloors, etc.? The factory designed these frames with crumple zones and a whole host of other technologically sophisticated features. Now here comes Joe Blow and hacks all that out and drops in some 2x4x.250 tube and calls it good? C'mon guys.

The list goes on and on. Like I said, it's simply going to take one nasty incident and a tenacious Attorney before the whole house of cards comes crashing down.

Look what happened recently to hot rod builders like Boyd Coddington and bike builders like Jesse James. Boyd got nailed for what the Feds considered title fraud: manufacturing new model year vehicles (fiberglass bodies, newly manufactured frames, etc.) with 30's/40's/50's era VIN's. Jesse got a big fat black eye for not adhering to the emissions laws. It's not going to be long before the powers that be start gettting a bit more "tech-savvy" in thier ivestigations regarding the structural integrity of the modifications we have grown so fond of. I'm sure the NTSB will be involved to a large degree.

The hot rod guys have been building things for years. But I do think lawyers have cost a few businesses. It's when you get into negligence that you really run into problems. But sitting on the stand and saying "well we sold a bunch and never had problems" aint going to get to far.

And hey that's what I'm using to build my frame.

The simple fact of the matter is society as a whole has grown significantly more litigious than it was in the 1950's. In turn, that brings scrutiny by Attorneys and the like, which eventually brings legislation and ultimately enforcement.

I'll break it down so the home school crowd can understand what I'm saying: If people weren't such petty assholes about everything, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

Although upon personal reflection and a moment of honesty, if someones milled wheel/passenger car tire disintegrated causing their stock floored dually's frame to separate, which in turn caused their home-built goose neck hitch to fail and their overloaded wedge plowed into my family...you bet your ass I'd OWN them when it was all said and done. Somebody, maybe even a few somebody's, somewhere along the line would be doing some time for negligence...and I suspect it wouldn't be a difficult task to accomplish.

...And I am 110% serious about that.

But there is a difference between negligence and an accident.