Project update for March 30, 2011: The Quest For Wheels!
As you may have noticed in several of my thread updates, we've been fairly well stymied on our search for lightweight wheels on this car. Here's the parameters we've had:
1. They have to clear the stock front 14" Brembo brakes. This means some 18" wheels will fit, but definitely not all.
2. 17" wheels are out, as are 19" wheels. Seventeens won't clear the brakes, nineteen are too heavy and race tire selection/weight/cost sucks.
3. We need two distinctly different sets:
A) A set of 18x9" wheels for STX autocross use
o Something with an ET45 fits easily
o Even an ET38 will fit
o Lightness is important! We've already lost ELEVEN POUNDS PER CORNER but could lose even more
B) A set of 18x10 (or 18x10.5") for track use (when we move up to NASA TTA)
o We've found that there's really not one backspacing that fits properly front and rear (the GRAND AM teams use 18x10's with slightly different offsets front and rear)
o The 18x10.5" ET38 fits on the front with camber, but not the rear
o The 18x10 ET38 Enkei RPF-1 fit the rear "fairly well" but needed 7mm of spacer to clear the brakes
4. As much as I'd love to run 18x9.5" wheels - they are MANY more choices in this size - these aren't legal for STX and are too narrow for my needs on track.
5. Cost matters, too... Something under $400 a wheel would be ideal.
Weight matters more than cost
6. Looks matter a very small mount. I don't want hot pink wheels or blingy chrome, but I'm pretty open on the rest. Form follows function.
Right now we've got these 18x9" Enkei FP-01 wheels (see above) in ET45 and they are
19.3 lbs each. They clear the front brakes and front fenders and front struts by a mile - they have fairly curved spokes - and the are tucked inside the fenders a good bit (that's how we were able to fit the 10.5" wheels on the front) With similarly shaped spokes they could go outboard another 10mm and still fit inside the rear fenders.
We need another set of 18x9" wheels to better test the various 265mm "ST" legal tires. I was going to order another set of these and had a set on order, but I'm holding off for now. I want to try something new, and hopefully lighter.
Please post more suggestions for 18x9 wheels in 114.3 bolt parttern that are under 19 lbs and under $400 each! Thanks.
As for the wider track wheels... well we've got one each of these:
I love the weight on the 18x10" RPF-1, but it only fits the rear (front needs big spacer to clear the brakes). Love the width of the FP-01 in 10.5" but it only fits the front (sticks out on the rear, and its a bit on the hefty side). Hell, I might just use the 10.5" on front and the RPF-1 10" on the back, and get one more of each. Not pretty, mis-matched, and the rears are less than ideal (they really need an
8" backspacing) but it works... well, poorly. This option kind of sucks, but you can see the fit of this mis-matched set with 285/30/18s below.
18x10.5" ET38 on front... 18x10" ET38 on back
We are eventually going to try to make an 18x10" wheel that fits this car correctly, and clears these brakes, and is even lighter - soon. But I need wheels to race on later this month (NASA @ TWS) and I'm tired of waiting.
The alternative is
CCW Classics. $2380 for a set of race 18x10" versions, take at least 4 weeks to make, not exceptionally light (figure they'd be 22-23 lbs) but they look good and are at least serviceable. Again, anyone who thinks a 3-piece 18" wheel are light has never accurately weighed one. Lots of bad data out there. LOTS. Accurate scales don't lie. There are many 1-piece cast wheels that are significantly lighter than the same sized 3-piece. The modularity and customization of a 3-piece wheel is the benefit, not the weight. Yea, your brother had a set of 3-piece wheels that were super light. SHOW THEM ON A DIGITAL SCALE. I only believe wheel weights I can take myself, period.
Hanchey's 17x9.5" CCWs from the E36 (above left) were a staggering 20.4 lbs each and the 18x11" CCWs on the E30 (above right) are
much heavier.
Sure, with custom built 3-piece wheels I could then get two different offsets (front and rear), but these Classic centers aren't known for clearing big calipers without adding spacers. So they still might need maybe... 7.5" to 8" backspacing + a big spacer on the front to clear the calipers. That backspacing would fit under the rear fenders better and then with a ~1/2" spacer up front to clear the calipers. Might be the easiest solution for now, but
neither affordable, quick to build, nor lightweight. Pretty bad option, really. Already have long wheel studs up front for this very purpose, though.
Alternatives? A 1-piece 18x10" wheel with an ET50 or so and under 19 lbs would be ideal!