bolt pattern strangeness

[fretburnr]

I was bored at work, browsing around looking at wheels for the e30. However, i just ran across something that I've NEVER heard of before:

I was looking thru Rota's selection, and they don't offer much that fits - either the offset is too high or it's got the wrong bolt pattern. (they do, however, list the 16x8 et20 slipstreams on the site - i wonder if they can produce those at will now...)

i took a look at the "circuit 8" and, lo and behold... 16x7, et18... sounds great! It would sit 7mm further out than my current ones... but it has a bolt pattern i've never heard of - 8x108!

Now, I know all about dual-pattern wheels; my current set of ASAs is like that - 4x100 and 4x114.3 (i think) but why in the world is there a wheel with 8 lugholes all on the same pattern?

I can't think of any 8-lug vehicles (i.e. trucks) that would use a small-car-like 108mm bolt circle diameter...

can anyone shed some light on this?

reference info is here: http://rotawheels.com/products.php?id=14

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

you don't HAVE to use all 8 holes.....

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

btw mazda rx-7 (SA22 generation) used 4x108

[fretburnr]

you don't HAVE to use all 8 holes.....

oh no, of course - i guess my thinking is that there are more reasons not to drill 8 of the same pattern than reasons to do so.

Extra drilling can weaken the wheel unnecessarily; especially considering that removing weight near the center makes much less an impact in rotational inertia than removing the same weight near the edges. It's easier to accelerate a wheel with weight near its center than one with weight near its edges.

Also, if they were still to drill near the center, why bother making the holes finished for a lugnut/bolt - it could save time and money for them to just drill straight through, if thats what they were going for.

And i'm familiar with some cars using a 4x108, that's not the weird thing at all.

[StereoInstaller1]

Typo.

[SchnellerVert]

btw mazda rx-7 (SA22 generation) used 4x108

As did Audi with the 80 and 90 series Quattro's, Ford Used it on Mustang as a 4x4.25 aka 4x108

[Mastrcruse]

Dually's? 8 lugs on the back. They are always looking to get 16x7's on the back of them.

[O 16581 72452 5]

Rx-7s are actually 4x110, but it's close enough to 108 that Ford (and other 108...[i don't know of any other]) wheels fit.

[SchnellerVert]

Saab 900 turbo's Early 70's Mercury Capri's oops I mean Ford. Lancia had a model that used them can't remember model thou.

[fretburnr]

i'm going to call rota or a distributor today, i guess i'm hoping that the other pattern is in fact 4x100 - especially on a 7" et18 wheel. should be excellent fitment for us