New 15x8 wheel coming!

[Knockenwelle]

That last pic...

Droooooolllllllll-

Dammit Lee, I keep trying to convince myself that stock brakes are good enough for now...

[Massive Lee]

We tested Paintpro's 5 x 120mm et20 version with Massive's 332mm x 32mm and thick SL6R calipers as well as the narrower SL6R14. The outcome is very positive. The 4 x 100mm wheel should fit exactly the same. That wheel was really designed for BBK clearance as I remember seeing the various designs until this final version and consulted with Paintpro many times over the past year.

Pictures start at post# 296

http://www.s14.net/forums/showthread.php?t=32138&page=20

[z31maniac]

I have found another 15 x 8, I will check back in next week after I find out if they will clear a Massive Sport Kit.

[Brian D]

That's exactly what the manufacturers of some of the most trusted track wheels will tell you. I guess you should avoid Compomotive, Jongbloed, Fikse, and many, many others.

Not that I've seriously shopped any of those manufacturers, but no, I wouldn't use a track only wheel on my dual purpose car. They've sacrificed strangth and safety for lightness, which brings us to:

Keep in mind that superlight track wheels aren't meant to last 10 years. Unlike street wheels, they're not exposed to road salt, rubbed against curbs, or driven over 2" deep potholes regularly. Most importantly, they get inspected regularly and turned-over very rapidly...just like all race parts. Do you have any idea how often a team will replace the barrels of their 3-piece race wheels? The forged center is the only part they keep.

Come on now. You're calling a 13 pound 15x7 a "superlight" wheel? Enkei makes a 9.5 pound 15x7 and I don't see them saying they're for track use only! I'd also hazard a guess that most people that buy TD 1.3's aren't planning on chucking them at the end of the year. And what the hell does road salt have to do with this? ANY aluminum wheel is going to have problems with that!

Race parts aren't meant for the street...but that doesn't make them bad. The 4-piston calipers on my track car need to be serviced, cleaned, lubed, and rebuilt regularly. If I drove my car in the snow and ice, the brakes would probably be seized up solid in one winter. The OEM calipers on my mom's E46 sedan can go 10 years without so much as a fluid change and never need to be rebuilt for the life of the car. I guess her brakes are better than mine

I guess Lee should stop selling brakes to dual purpose users then.

My beef with all this isn't you Emre, although now you're making some pretty big jumps to justify your point. If Bimmerworld really feels the TD 1.3 wheel is a "track only" wheel, then they should state that clearly on their website, right in the copy of the ad. And they should state that it has a finite life, and needs to be tossed after a certain period of time, because you can't rehoop a cast, one piece wheel.

You're comparing a Compomotive track wheel to a 99 dollar 15x7? Come on.

Edit: Poking around Compomotives site, it appears that their current track wheels are also "suitable for road use". http://www.comp.co.uk/wheels/wheels.asp?range=CXR_0001 I tried to find the most spindly looking example. I don't doubt that they've made wheels that are "track use only", but perhaps that statement isn't needed with the current technology? Or maybe it's simply a legal disclaimer?

This whole argument is kind of silly. I think the TD 1.3 is suitable for a dual purpose car, you don't. You seem to think that a 13 pound 15x7 is ultralight and made of silly putty, and I don't. The 12.6 pound 15x8 949racing wheel must give you a heart attack.

[Emre]

if a manufacturer seriously told me that their wheel could not and would not stand up to street use, I would not trust their product on track.

That's exactly what the manufacturers of some of the most trusted track wheels will tell you. I guess you should avoid Compomotive, Jongbloed, Fikse, and many, many others.

Keep in mind that superlight track wheels aren't meant to last 10 years. Unlike street wheels, they're not exposed to road salt, rubbed against curbs, or driven over 2" deep potholes regularly. Most importantly, they get inspected regularly and turned-over very rapidly...just like all race parts. Do you have any idea how often a team will replace the barrels of their 3-piece race wheels? The forged center is the only part they keep.

Race parts aren't meant for the street...but that doesn't make them bad. The 4-piston calipers on my track car need to be serviced, cleaned, lubed, and rebuilt regularly. If I drove my car in the snow and ice, the brakes would probably be seized up solid in one winter. The OEM calipers on my mom's E46 sedan can go 10 years without so much as a fluid change and never need to be rebuilt for the life of the car. I guess her brakes are better than mine

[renfield90]

I don't know many 13 lbs. wheels at ANY price that would hold up to regular street (ab)use.

The 13 lb. Rota Slipstreams on my Celica have been doing exactly that for over a year. Roads aren't bad here, but they do get abused with regularity. ;)

Running over curbing on track at 70+ mph scares me more with respect to wheel longevity than anything I've ever encountered on the street. I understand that over the long term, street driving can be more hazardous than the track, but if a manufacturer seriously told me that their wheel could not and would not stand up to street use, I would not trust their product on track.



But Bimmerworld didn't tell me that directly, I'm picking these wheels up soon myself. :p

[z31maniac]

Yes they do, and used both in the same sentence.

Let's not start arguing semantics chief.

[Emre]

True, so you have to stop implying that weight is the only significant factor in wheel strength.

I neither wrote nor implied such a thing.

And you said 13lb wheels at ANY price, so I was pointing out a lighter wheel that is significantly stronger.

Reread what I wrote:

"I don't know many 13 lbs. wheels at ANY price that would hold up to regular street (ab)use."

"Many" and "any" mean different things ;)

[z31maniac]

It's not fair to compare a forged wheel to a cast wheel that costs 1/3 the price.

True, so you have to stop implying that weight is the only significant factor in wheel strength.

And you said 13lb wheels at ANY price, so I was pointing out a lighter wheel that is significantly stronger.

[Emre]

My 11lb SSR's (16 x 7) never got messed up on the street with 45 series tires and the guy I sold them to has them on his DD Miata and they are just fine. Save some clearcoat peeling on the lips.

It's not fair to compare a forged wheel to a cast wheel that costs 1/3 the price.

[Massive Lee]

One comment about claimed weight on TD wheels. Most likely the claimed 13lbs is for a high offset wheel, which has a smaller/lighter hub. So, the real weight might be even more...

[z31maniac]

You have some pretty unrealistic expectations! Do you honestly expect a 15x7" wheel that weighs just 13 lbs. and costs just $99 to also be strong enough to deal with a daily diet of potholes, frost heaves, and other abuse? Driving on the street is generally much tougher on a wheel than driving on the track. I don't know many 13 lbs. wheels at ANY price that would hold up to regular street (ab)use.

My 11lb SSR's (16 x 7) never got messed up on the street with 45 series tires and the guy I sold them to has them on his DD Miata and they are just fine. Save some clearcoat peeling on the lips.

13lbs doesn't seem that light for 15 x 7s when Enkei's RPF1s come under 10lbs and the SSR Type C come in at 8.8lbs.

[Brian D]

Hey Brian, you never told me you lived in Montreal...

Ha! The sad part is, some of the paved roads around here are nearly as bad as my cowpath!

Emre, I'm not saying that any wheel can't be bent, obviously if you hit something hard enough something's gonna give. I just think it's BS that Bimmerworld told you that, and it would be enough for me to tell them to stick it. I wonder what TD's take on this would be?

[Massive Lee]

... and I have a mile long section of unimproved, rocky dirt road that I have to go over to get to my house.

Hey Brian, you never told me you lived in Montreal...

[Brian D]

You have some pretty unrealistic expectations! Do you honestly expect a 15x7" wheel that weighs just 13 lbs. and costs just $99 to also be strong enough to deal with a daily diet of potholes, frost heaves, and other abuse? Driving on the street is generally much tougher on a wheel than driving on the track. I don't know many 13 lbs. wheels at ANY price that would hold up to regular street (ab)use.

I have a set of wheels that have done just that. The Kazera wheels that Elephant was selling. 13.2 pounds, 15x7, 99 bucks. I drive the car every day, and I have a mile long section of unimproved, rocky dirt road that I have to go over to get to my house. The wheels are still straight. They have also survived a few track days, and 2 4 wheel offs.

Do you really bang your car off curbs on the street? I think track use is tougher on a wheel, unless you drive like an assclown. Regardless, 13 pounds for a 15x7 is heavy enough to build in some beef. It's also interesting to me that BW sells the wheels on the website without mention of street use being off limits, and then tell you different on the phone. That's bullshit on their part. The repercussions from a failure at the track are going to be higher that on the street, and some people bounce their cars around pretty hard on track. Not to mention that they are pimping these for spece30, which can get kind of rough also.

I think you have unnecessarily low expectations.