If, the dealer sold the car with the chromed wheel, then you are right, but then it's a dealer issue. The pictures show the stock 6 spoke wheel that has been chromed in the aftermarket. The Nissan Chrome wheel was a 5 spoke design.

Answer to below post - Nope, It is not a factory Chrome Wheel.

Lou

 

It is a FACTORY chrome wheel it wasn't done after he bought it.

 

Wrong. You do not have to have a dented lip or edge to bend or crack a wheel. Cast wheels can crack anywhere when hit hard. Let me see if I can find some Cast wheel cracked ownage pics.

 

Here you go boys. The best from the west as far as Cast wheels:

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1273397

Also I think part of the 18" factory wheel's demise might have been from improperly torqued lug nuts.

 

As I said above, It is NOT a Factory Chrome Wheel. The Factory Chrome 18" Wheel was a five spoke affair. Not many were sold, so few member's on this forum have them. The six spoke 18" wheels all came powder coated, and some dealers had them chromed. It is not rare for dealers to chrome factory wheels. This is a dealer problem!

Lou

 

This appears to be a stress fracture probably caused by hydrogen embrittlement. Hydrogen embrittlement is a serious problem associated with the plating process that makes the chrome plating of highly stressed parts (like wheels) a risky proposition. You will note that professional race teams never have chromed parts in areas of stress where failure could be a disaster. This is not to say that a wheel connot be successfully plated, just that it is a factor that can lead to failure.

BBS, Rays, Capmagnolo, Speedline, etc., don't chrome their very light racing wheels. The reason isn't weight, it's strength and resistance the stess. Do a goolgle search on "hydrogen embrittlement of aluminum" and learn more.

 

Good to know. I would like to see some pics of the 5 spoke chrome 18". If what you say is correct, then I could definitely see how that could weaken the wheel.