2015WhiteGTI
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Chester Springs, PA
7
LIGHTWEIGHT Wheels
- Thread starter MidKnight7
- Start date
AKA - Not light weight
Yeah.. and for $880/ea!? No thanks. I'd rather have 3 COMPLETE SETS of flow formed Neuspeeds than 1 set of those BBS REs. Not to mention, each Neuspeed wheel weighs ~4lbs less than the BBS)!
Yeah.. and for $880/ea!? No thanks. I'd rather have 3 COMPLETE SETS of flow formed Neuspeeds than 1 set of those BBS REs. Not to mention, each Neuspeed wheel weighs ~4lbs less than the BBS)!
https://www.bbs-usa.com/road_wheels/wheel_details.cfm?wheel=8
$880 each isn't awful for an actual forged wheel. Weight isn't everything! A more rigid forged wheel has it's benefits, even at the cost of increased weight.
I've posted this before but it's one of my favorite tests/reads about wheel weight vs strength from Enkei.
https://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=479110
A little ironic posting that in the lightweight wheel thread.
Appreciate the link. I'm sure they're sturdy wheels but that's quite heavy for forged. Saw a set on craigslist but they'd have to be a great deal considering that weight.
Faceman
Autocross Newbie
- Location
- Long Island
- Car(s)
- '17 GSW 4Mo
You'd rather have 3 sets of wheels that bend and crack easily over a set of wheels that won't?Yeah.. and for $880/ea!? No thanks. I'd rather have 3 COMPLETE SETS of flow formed Neuspeeds than 1 set of those BBS REs. Not to mention, each Neuspeed wheel weighs ~4lbs less than the BBS)!
I sure as hell would. There are so many better things I'd rather invest $3500 in than wheels.
cbr600rr
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Ottawa, Canada
Check out www.super-speed.ca it's a new Canadian wheel company making flowformed, low pressure cast, and soon forged options. I like their designs too!
Jarbear
Ready to race!
- Location
- SF Bay Area
I like your style
The only issue I've found, they're not big brake friendly (since this seems to be what you battle with the most lol). Stoptech, Neuspeed, Racingbrake. All hit the spokes according to their PDF templates.
dunkelweizen
Go Kart Newbie
- Location
- Great White North
Great info on rigidity. Never thought about it having so much impact on driving dynamics, but completely make sense.
However, the lightweight wheel test case in the article you linked is just a heavily shaved down version which dramatically reduced rigidity, while the Neuspeed or any flow formed wheel is suppose to be closer to best of both worlds - coming close to forged rigidity, be very light and without the forged price tag. Not sure when flow formed wheels became a thing, but that article seems like it is at least pre-2010 - and might pre-date having your cake and eat it too flow formed wheels.
So if that's the case, then I would say AlxMk7 has a good point.
There are always compromises for cost, and I definitely wasn't taking shots at Neuspeed or disregarding good cast/flow form wheels. Everything has it's purpose and for most folks (me included) cast wheels are just fine. I was just trying to give perspective on why anyone would want to buy a heavier and more expensive wheel when a lighter, cheaper option exists.
Flow forming has been around for a while, and while Enkei's MAT process isn't exactly the same it produces a similar result on the rim. Flow forming only effects the barrel/rim portion however, so the center of the wheel is still just a cast wheel. You can't get around that unless you actually fully forge a wheel or go multi-piece, and that's where rigidity benefits show.
I'm 99% sure that article stated they did FEA analysis to determine how far they could go for testing, and they did say in the article that "although the rigidity of the special lightweight version has been reduced to its bare minimum, they are still capable enduring the driving field without fracturing". It's not like Enkei made a paper wheel and called it good, but if you had to warranty the wheel and sell it to all different types of customers, you wouldn't release that wheel at it's lightest weight. There are also lighter wheel styles in general, even from Enkei. The GTC-01 isn't their lightest model, for example an RPF1 in the same size as the one in the test is 17lbs, nearly 3 pounds lighter than the light wheel in their test.
victorofhavoc
Autocross Champion
- Location
- Kansas City
flow-forming came about a while ago. BBS was doing it in the 90s: https://www.bbs-usa.com/expertise/processes/
Enkei and OZ are some of the more rigid flow-formed wheels currently, and Enkei has been doing their thing for a while as well: http://enkei.com/engineering/.
A few years ago there was a great article in grassroots motorsport about how we should all be treating our wheels as wear items. Over time, and especially with track use, wheels will go out of round and develop weaker areas from localized stress (often around the end of the spoke).
The stronger your wheel, the longer it takes to stress/deform it, but they all eventually bend and crack.
Assuming all of your wheel choices are flow-formed, that doesn't mean they're all the same. Enkei, BBS, OZ, and a few others end up weighing a bit more than their competition (even the knock-offs), but I have seen far fewer incidents of broken/warped wheels from them than from any other cheapo wheel. The material and purity of the metal is also a very big factor, and in my opinion, that's the difference you pay for. Higher quality raw materials produce a more expensive product.
^ Another great point! Wheels aren't "forever" especially when they are used at the track and have that stress put on them. Metal fatigue can cause some pretty nasty failures, and that's where you see knockoff Rota wheels exploding on a track.
thez99
Go Kart Champion
- Location
- Raleigh, NC
I second this absolutely. In the 8 different cars I've driven in 4 different states (one being central PA) I have not once encoutered a bent wheel issue, etc. from pot holes or anything of that kind. The manufactured alloy wheels even at their cheapest are still surprisingly strong, no they won't stand up to running over a curb at 60 mph but at that point that's your own stupidity and fault.
Never in my life would I spend that kind of money on wheels alone. I just spent $1200 on a Fast F04 wheel and tire set for my car that performs fantastically at 8lb LESS than stock per corner and I have zero regrets.
If you have loads of cash to blow though, it's your green..
ourlee
Drag Racing Champion
- Location
- 3085 Pampas Streat
- Car(s)
- 17 TT 17 GTI S
My contribution:
Superspeed RF03RR 18x8.5 ET45 (18.1 lbs according to their website) on Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 225/40/18
Sorry for bumping the pics but the website says et35, not et45. I hate poke but love 8.5” width. If these shown are et35, I’m all in. Can you confirm?
t2-squared
New member
- Location
- Toronto
Yes, mine are definitely 18"x8.5" ET45. Not sure why their website doesn't list this spec any longer, but best to check with your local dealer or contact Superspeed directly.