© 2017 Power Automedia. all rights reserved.

Every high-performance wheel manufacturer has its own theory to form its optimal wheel design. One of the unique considerations surrounding 3030 Autosport was Keith Kern and Philip Watson’s initial statement: "We are a new company with 30 years of experience."

Keith Kern (left) and Philip Watson shared the motto of "30 years of experience" based on their professional background in some top wheel brands. They also share engineering theology and apply proven and innovative manufacturing processes to wheel design.

When I commented on wheel design theory, a unique aspect of 3030 Autosport is the different concepts surrounding its different wheel products. The blueprint of its hardcore drag racing wheel is very different from its corner wheel, which is also different from the street/muscle car wheel line.

The two "Drag Ops" styles of drag racing wheels are Launch and Legend designs. Each offers a wide range of options, such as bead locks, multiple back options, bolt styles and matching front wheels.

We will specifically study Drag Ops series wheels for hardcore street and traction belt applications. 3030 Autosport President Keith Kern (Keith Kern) explained the different design theories in its various wheel series and the personalized design implemented in each drag racing wheel.

"The leading wheel we use for drag racing is the so-called overall structure. The most important thing to me is that it is definitely the best way for you to design and produce 15×3.5, 17×4.5 and 18×5 inch front drag racing steering wheels. "Kern explained. "Some front runners are bolted together; there are front runners welded together. They are not as straight, strong and light as the overall design."

The whole block is essentially as the name describes. These front wheels were originally made from 50 to 70 pounds of forged 6061-T6 aluminum, produced in the United States. The grinding wheel is completely machined by a computer controlled (CNC) lathe and a milling machine to maintain the thickness of the material.

Each accumulation of various manufacturing processes will give priority to the best single wheel for each racing sport. These original one-piece forgings and processing steps demonstrate the technology specifically used to manufacture the 3030 Autosport one-piece (one-piece) front wheel wheels.

Whether it is the front wheel or the wide rear wheel, most manufacturers use roll-formed or stamped rim parts made of aluminum plates. The aluminum is rolled and flash welded, and then they are stamped and formed. These processes actually stretch these materials. The rim thickness can vary at different points, resulting in thinner radii, where they may need to be thicker. 3030 Autosport only produces one-piece front runners for racing and uses rotating seamless rim parts for their two-piece welded tugs.

If you think the design of the front runner is unique, please take a look at the rear drag action series of wheels that provide more cutting-edge ideas. Launch and Legend are designed in widths of 15 × 6 to 15 × 15 inches, and offer various rear spacing, bolt patterns, and rim lock options. All Drag Ops series wheels have passed SFI 15.1 and 15.2 strength and safety testing and certification.

Although many people believe that traditional resistance wheels have a large amount of negative or "dish" offset to accommodate the narrow rear end, the Modern Muscle lines of the 3030 Autosport Drag Ops wheels have a high positive offset option suitable for later model assembly.

Different wheels, different overall designs

Three-piece wheels (such as 3030 Autosport's MOD3 series) have a forged center that is assembled to the outer rim half and the inner rim half. This design is best suited for road racing or track and performance applications, providing the highest strength for cornering applications.

Kern explained the Duo-Block structure wheel. "Our HyperStreet series designs the entire front half of the wheel as a one-piece forged part. Then a rotating rim half is bolted to the back of it. This optimized design produces a high strength-to-weight ratio for outstanding performance And aggressive track driving.

The 6061-T6 aluminum solid block is heated and prepared to withstand 16,000 tons of pressure to form the center of the 3030 Autosport wheel. The forging press and forming die start the forging cycle by compressing the material. This molding process also strengthens the grain structure. Then the center forging continues to undergo the heat treatment process to establish the T6 tempered material condition.

The rear tug of 3030 Autosport is also specially manufactured using a process combination that matches its intended application. Kern commented: “We made three different wheel designs. The DragOps model was created in two parts, the forged rim part and the forged center, with 360-degree welding on the back.”

The Drag Ops series wheels are actually tested (except for SFI specifications) in the cornering aspect to handle deflection on the track when lateral strength is required. The trick is to manage the material, keep it within the expected design aesthetics, and achieve its strength goals through SFI certification. These forged aluminum wheels are not "flow forming" like some other brands. No imported materials are used in its wheel series, and the quality of metallurgical wheels may even be sacrificed.

The seamless ring rolling stock is controlled by a computer to rotate on a precision mandrel, which has the precise shape and contour of the finished product. Unlike the process of stamping or pressing materials, rotating rims shape aluminum in a manner similar to rotating forging. This spinning process further strengthens the finished rim part because it increases the thickness of the designed material where necessary.

"Each wheel model of the 3030 Autosport contains a different basic design," Kern argued. "We focus on performance first; lighter and stronger equals faster."

“Like the front runner we described, the outer rim of our Drag Ops series wheels at the beginning looked like a solid steel billet,” Kern continued. The billet is drilled, then ring-rolled and expanded. This ring expansion is a form of forging that stretches the texture and strengthens the rim-and it is completely seamless. "

From then on, the rim will undergo a computer-controlled rotation operation. This rotating operation forms all the contours and makes it part of the rim. The importance of spinning operations is manifold. This spinning process provides a high degree of precision. They can also design to increase the thickness of the material in the rim area to increase strength, and reduce the thickness in other areas to reduce weight.

These shelves show only a small part of the inventory used to quickly deliver custom wheels. 3030 Autosport uses only high-quality components and materials made in the United States. The next step is a carefully calculated "shrink fit" in which the edge part is heated, expanded, and then placed on the center part. When the two halves are tightly connected before the welding station, the rim then cools down.

The forged wheel center is partially matched with the rim through the thermal expansion of the rim. After pairing, the rim cools and shrinks to the center (called sweating). There is also a small pre-machined surface in the middle part to accept the upcoming welding.

"From there, we adopted the still hot wheel assembly, and we checked its two dimensional accuracy: radial and lateral runout," Kern pointed out. "Lateral runout is the amount of lateral movement or the amount of "swing" of the wheel. Radial runout refers to the inconsistency of the wheel radius from the entire wheel centerline to any point on the rim. Our radial runout standard is 0.001 to 0.015 inches The most industry standard for wheels is about 0.040 inches."

In addition to rim processing, the center part is also manufactured using a seven-step process. It includes multiple pretreatment steps, UV resistant polyester varnish or black powder coating, and a special seal coating to prevent outgassing. The middle part is placed inside the heated rim, where it cools and shrinks to the middle part to achieve an extremely tight fit.

For these people, an important part of the entire wheel process is preparing the wheel material for finishing. Although most coating machines use only solvent or steam cleaning, the 3030 Autosport uses an OE-level pretreatment process with zirconium surface conversion and sealants, all of which are based on a reverse osmosis water system for solid adhesion to all surface finishes .

After the two halves are paired and checked to meet 3030 Autosport tolerances, the wheel is ready for the welding process. We have described many wheel machining and shaping processes under computer control, but this is the pinnacle of their workshop process.

Welding two forged aluminum Drag Ops Series wheel halves together is both an art and a science. Robot welding machines are used to control all aspects of welding angle, speed and current repeatability. On the welding jig, the ring that you see around the rim part precisely draws heat from the rim during the welding process.

The wheels enter the robotic arm MIG welding station. The last time the wheels are double checked for accuracy, they must pass the final lateral runout of 0.015 inches or less. The typical industry standard for this tolerance is 0.020 inches or higher. The robotic MIG welder fuse the two halves together on the fixture table, also maintaining tight tolerances. The robot creates seamless welding across the entire 360-degree range between the rim and the center part. Uniquely, there is a cooling ring that can absorb welding heat from the rim.

Kern will notice that there are many high-quality wheel companies in the United States. However, distribution channels, retailers and wholesalers often complicate the buying process. These typical profit margin stacks and the delivery of growth to customers are the core reasons why 3030 Autosport is different, not only in its wheel design philosophy, but also in its sales process.

3030 Autosport provides an innovative tire bead lock system designed specifically for your specific tire bead. You can choose the lock wheel that best suits the bead of Mickey Thompson or Goodyear/Hoosier tires. The ring itself is also made of ring-rolled and forged aluminum, and uses HeliCoils to increase strength and service life.

"We sell 3030 Autosport wheels directly to car enthusiasts," Kern added. “Then you won’t see manufacturing corners cut to maintain profitability, nor the high prices of top-of-the-line wheels. Then racers are forced to abandon the wheels they want in exchange for something affordable. You can Visit our website, if you have any questions, you can easily call us; this is simply the best factory direct sales and service you should expect."

Kern concluded: "Our primary goal is to initially implement the ideal manufacturing process for each individual wheel. It is very important that we communicate to the racers that we have been manufacturing wheels for 30 years. We are now independent of this new Enterprise. This is the innovative wheel series and customer-first company that we hope to see throughout our careers, whose wheels are first designed for performance and function."

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