G2 Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 I opted to wait and get a set of clear anodized Carrozzeria wheels hoping that all issues would be worked out by the time I received mine. I was wrong. The rear spacers were SuperGlued to the bearing race. When removed, they pulled the grease seals out of that side of the bearings. Removed glue and seals seem to be OK. Wheel width w/spacers is 12mm short of stock, call to CTS. Mike gets in contact with Matsu who says, "Oh, must use stock spacer and reduce torque by half". Would've been nice to know. Stock spacer is about 13.5mm and is too tight a fit to easily mount the wheel , not to mention looking like ass. Making new spacers & tightening up tolerances a bit, both sides. Front wheel check before rotor swap and all seems good. Axle looks a bit recessed in the wheel, shouldn't be an issue. While cleaning rotors and wheel prior to installation, I hear the clunk of the inside spacer. Looking, I see the spacer with a bearing grease seal stuck to one end. Both bearings move in and out of the wheel with a finger pull. I remove one (it doesn't even say China on it) and then the other (quality Japanese). After removing the glue from one end of the spacer, reinstalling the seal and putting it all back in the wheel...I notice the spacer is about 0.030" longer than the distance between the wheel bearing stop lips. This is allowing the wheel to slide back and forth on the outer bearing races. I probably would not have discovered this if the bearings had a tighter fit in the wheel. I can only guess what effect this would have on handling and the brake rotors/pads. Unreal. More metal lathe. These wheels look gorgeous. I hope once I get it all right that there won't be any other problems. Makes me question ALL of the engineering that has gone into these things since I like to occasionally exceed the speed limit. Mike @ CTS (who has been helpful) said he cancelled about a dozen orders with Matsu. He also said Matsu lost most of his engineering staff and maybe that's why it's so hosed up. Don't know. How are the wheels holding up for others who are using them? Is 35 ft. lbs. posing no problem for the rear axle torque? Any other suggestions and things to look out for? I need a feel good. Thanks. Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXTi Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Sorry to hear you're having troubles with your wheels. That sort of shit is what made me decide to send mine back for a refund. I completely lost confidence in Matsu and the Carrozerria products. I know the wheels have a 5 year warranty, but I wonder if the company will still exist in 5 years. I hope everything works out OK for you. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Cut the axle torque in half! Sure wish Matsu-Fucku would have told me that! On mine the spacers were screwed up on both (polished and clear anodized) sets. I ended up making new spacers as well. My front rim is for a Busa so it's quite a bit different from the XX wheel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXTi Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Cut the axle torque in half! That's a perfect example of why I lost confidence in the company. A guy who suggests that sort of shit is just dangerous and irresponsible. He seems to just be taking wild ass guesses to try to solve a problem he has no background to cover. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Hey Greg, how did the anodizing look on yoru rims? Mine had a bunch of dark grey stuff under the anodizing. I had to polish those areas to make them look good. Next time, Dymag carbon fiber rims will be where my $1200 goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exskibum Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 When I finally got my clear anodized wheels, there was an instruction sheet (cryptic and incomplete as all get out) that said to reduce the torque on the rear axle by one half. But the spacer inside the cush drive was maybe 1/16 to 1/32 too thick. I noticed that the outside spacers wouldn't quite fit with the wheel and caliper inside the swing arm when I tried to fit it and called Mike to make sure what teh problem was before I tried to fix it. Mike immediately confirmed that the spacer spacer inside the cush drive had been a problem on some of the wheels that had gone out, and that I could sand it down until it fit. (Seems he's been technical consultant on all these problems as Matsu supplies wheels with too little attention to details.) Took a couple hours with emery cloth to sand it down to proper tolerance. No other problems and they do fit and look great. Mike said they make a great product for the price, and he is still ordering them for that reason (he has the facilities to take care of those kind of screw ups on bikes he's building), but that most folks don't have those tools, that for that price the fit should be a lot better, and that he's been telling Matsu exactly that -- repeatedly. I'm real happy with mine, with the price for them and especially with Mike's assistance, but Matsu really needs to get his shit together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elefant Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 How are the wheels holding up for others who are using them? Is 35 ft. lbs. posing no problem for the rear axle torque? Any other suggestions and things to look out for? I need a feel good. Thanks. Greg I have a set on the 851 (black V6) and haven't had a problem. Also have white three spoke Magnesium Hi-Point (same company before the name change) on the 944 SS SP and no problems either.... Feel better now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G2 Posted June 12, 2006 Author Share Posted June 12, 2006 Feel better now? Absolutely! Had visions of something coming apart at triple digits. Hey Greg, how did the anodizing look on yoru rims? Not bad. There are a couple of spots that look like the "chemical" may have pooled but nothing too noticable. If you look at a reflective surface at the right angle, the surface has a slightly mottled or speckled (hard to find the right adjective) quality to it. Not a problem if it keeps me from having to polish. No dark spots. I questioned as to whether the anodizing really was done (or was I a sucker) and after Mike said Matsu assured him it was, he also said you had had similar concerns. As I understand it, clear anodizing is done with boiling water with possibly a nickel acetate or chromate additive. It hydrates the aluminum oxide structure and closes the surface porosity making an effective barrier against corrosion. (nice to have access to an M&P guy ) I was told to clean them with Windex (or something similar) and then apply a good silicone base wax. But the spacer inside the cush drive was maybe 1/16 to 1/32 too thick. Right. If the inner bearing race on the cush drive is supposed to butt up against the pressed in spacer on the inside rim bearing, then why does the spacer extend beyond the race thickness??? Is the intended design meant to load the thinnest part of the spacer with the axle torque? I think not. The spacers I'm having made will be recessed a couple of thousandths. I should've mentioned it in my first post but it was already long winded. (like this one) I won't be cutting the stock torque in half but may reduce it some. Then there is the bearing issue. I'm replacing the fronts since the grease escapes past the seal just by spinning it in my hand on this "Made in ?" bearing. Maybe the guys at Miller Bearing can tell me what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red J Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 Cut the axle torque in half! That's a perfect example of why I lost confidence in the company. A guy who suggests that sort of shit is just dangerous and irresponsible. He seems to just be taking wild ass guesses to try to solve a problem he has no background to cover. I'd be having him explain that shit before I went any further. If I had the patience to deal with it. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartonmd Posted June 12, 2006 Share Posted June 12, 2006 I am SOOO glad I didn't do this GB! My wife would FUCKING KILL ME if I had spent this kind of coin on something like wheels and they were fucked up and half-assed from the get-go! Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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