[MKIVBADGER]

Help with some basic questions please...

Now that I've finally got the BPU Go Fast mods under my belt, am considering upgrading from the stock wheels.

What are the pros/cons of different wheel designs, i.e., 1 piece, 2 piece, 3 piece, etc.? Are 3 piece better than 1 piece or vice versa? If so, why?

Any specific wheel (make/model) recommendations that look good on a black dawg?

Aside from aesthetics, anything else that should be considered??

TIA,

 

[Steve Jarvis]

You will probably have the wheels for a while, so you want a company that will stand behind their work and someone who has been around for a while. Other than finding a quality manufacturer, you want to get the right size and offset and light weight. Finally the styling is of course is very important. I think these 3 things are more important than whether the wheel is a 1, 2 or 3 piece. A wheel with a forged lip tends to be either lighter or stronger, depending on the design goal. Deciding on the right wheel is very hard. You may also want to consider how easy the styling and size would be to sell if you chose to in the future. Of course if you choose a wheel that you need to modify the car to fit, it will be harder to sale these rims in the future.

Later, Steve

 

[boostedsupratt]

Eighteen inch wheels will slow you down about a half second in the quarter mile. Also, the price of tires are at least $50 more per tire for 17" to 18".
I don't really know the difference between 2 piece and 3 piece. My wheels are 3 piece put I only really see 2 pieces. One advantage of 3 piece is if you bend them you only have to replace the part you bend and not the whole rim (in most cases). I also think that 3 piece rims are stronger than 1 piece and also a little heavier.
My 18" racing hart C5 (18x9, 18x10) weighed in at about 10 pounds heavier than the stock 17s.
Currently, they don't make 18" drag radial.
Oh, and also.....3 piece rims are a LOT more expensive.
Personally....if I had to do it again.....I would have my stock 17" rims chrome dipped.

 

[BLKMGK]

Enkei Aegis

is what's on my "new" Supra. James over at KCTrends.com was the previous owner and I think these wheels look awesome. These are 17X8.5 and 17X9.5. They tuck in VERY nicely and come super close to the front calipers but do NOT touch. Pics of them are HERE. They look silver powdercoated in the pics but are actually nicely polished. Now that the car is in my driveway I can take additional pics and closeups if you would like. On a black car I think these would look superb!

Hrm, I'd stay away from 18inch wheels. Not so much for the weight but the cost of tires. I talked to a guy today who just switched to 18s - he spent $1200 just for rubber That's insane IMO, wheels for $1200 maybe but rubber?! A wear item? Ouch!

Anyway, if you would like more details James can probably help you out - he sells those wheels out of his shop. I'll be happy to snap some pics if you'd like. My only concern is that cleaning them might be harder since the wheels are a bit "intricate". However I CAN get my fingers in the webbing pretty easily so perhaps it won't be too bad (shrug).

 

[Lonestar Dawg]

BLKMGK,
Congrats on the 'new' car. It looks great! Those wheels look sharp on the car also. How much do those cost?

 

[BLKMGK]

Honestly I don't know...

These were on the car when I purchased it so I don't know. Friends of mine looked at it and guessed they were pretty expensive but only James knows what these cost for sure Shoot a note to him off his WEB site and perhaps he can hook you up. I was really surprised at how good they look, the pics don't quite do them justice....

 

[MKIVBADGER]

Thanks for the replies!

I especially appreciate the comments re: 18" versus 17". My son is campaigning pretty hard for the 18", but I just purchased 275-40-ZR17's about 10K miles ago and the thought of spending an additional ~$1,000 - $1,200 for new 18" tires isn't too appealing. I know that the 18's look cool, but .....

BLKMGK - congratulations on a really sweet ride!!!!!!!

Steve - thanks for the good input. I agree that it will be a hard decision and I intend to extensively research before making a commitment. Besides, wheels cost big $$$$.

Anyone else? I'm still not clear on the pros/cons/whys of wheel design - 3 piece versus 1 piece, etc.

 

[Steve Jarvis]

boostedsupratt,

18" wheels will not slow your car down by 1/2 a second in the 1/4 mile. A heavier wheel and tire will slow your car down regardless of diameter. An 18" wheel does have some disadvatages due to centrifical force and the heavier part of the wheel being farther from the center but not enough for your or most stop watches to notice. The difference is in the weight. A stock 17x8.5" wheel with 235/45 front tire will weigh about 50 pounds. A qualty wheel like a Forgeline (or even an Enkei RPO1) with an 18x9" wheel and 255/35 tire will weigh about 48 pounds. In this case the 18" setup will weigh 2 pounds less per wheel/tire. This means you will not effect acceleration, but you will improve handling and braking (and lets not forget there is more to driving than going fast in a straight line). Just be very aware of the weight of the wheel you are going to use. Racing Hart makes very attractive wheels that are good quality, but they are typically vary heavy. I currently have 265/35R18's on 18x9.5" front and 295/30R18's on 18x10.5" rear and all for only weigh about 4 pounds in total more than the stock wheels/tires. The improvement in braking and cornering is phenominal.

Later, Steve

 

[SilverTT]

I bought rpo-1's recently ...pics on my silver dawg to follow soon...and let me tell ya i paid more for Kumho supra tires then i did for the 18" wheels! Not to many burn-outs in the near future for me

 

[vreaux728645]

Schweeet! THose wheels are the BOMB I have a black n/a & all the shops are trying to sell 18's! I'd rather do 17's. I haven't seen these on any of the discount sites though. So I can assume nobody's "wheelin" & dealin on the Aegis.