I've been looking a getting a set of dedicated 17" track rims. I keep worrying about the strength of rims under hard braking, cornering and the occasional clipping of a curb at the apex of a turn. I'm on a budget, and I'd like to get something fairly light, but everytime I see a cheap-ish, cast rim I worry about it failing catastrophically in the middle of a turn. Am I paranoid? For those of you who have been tracking cars for some time, have you ever experienced wheel failure? Any recommendations on brands to look for or avoid? So far, I've been looking at OZ superleggera (and now Ultraleggera) and Enkei RPM2, but just recently found a Black Racing wheel called the "Pro N1" that is reasonably priced and light, but I've never heard of the company.

 

Why not look at the Enkei RP-F1 18x9.5 45mm offset? At 17.2 pounds and 9.5 inches wide, you could mount 275/35/18 Falken 615Rts and kick some serious ***.

 

why not get a used set of stockers?

 

I've been doing HPDE's for 4 years, and I've seen 1 catastrophic wheel failure, and it was on a cast wheel. I've seen several of bent rims, plenty of cracks, but none of them failed in a catastrophic fashion. Needless to say, the cracked rims were junk, but I've seem some folks reuse the bent rims if the bend is slight and will balance. That's not a best practice, but I've seen it done successfully.

The failed wheel was on an E30 BMW 325is at VIR full 2 years ago. The spokes cracked and seperated from the rim in several places. The driver went off track under control, and there was no damage to the car. I believe the wheels were old Enkies, vintage early 90's. They had lots of track miles on them

I'd say you're a little on the paranoid side, but I understand. Most of my track time is in my old Miata (first school in the 8 is in Feb), and tons of people track and race on inexpensive cast rims. The TDR Pro Race 1 and 2 are around $100 a rim for a 15x7 and are VERY popular in Spec Miata. I had a set of Kazera KZ-M wheels for my Miata, and they're also $100 a wheel and very popular in racing. I also had plenty of track miles on a set of cast Rota Slipstreams.

Obviously we're not going to find $100 17x8 (or bigger rims), but inexpensive cast wheels aren't automatically crap. Personally, I look for LP cast rims. The LP stands for low pressure, and it is exactly what it sounds like - the molten metal is poured into the mold and then lightly pressurized during the cooling process. I'm no structural engineer, but my understanding is that the pressure forces the molecules to form stronger bonds, similar to forging. Don't get me wrong, LP cast wheels are not as strong and light as forged wheels, but LP casting is better than traditional casting.

 

HRE wheels, yes the ones that are $700+ ea and up, have been banned by the Viper Racing series as well as others due to wheels comming apart on track. So dont let price fool you, any company can make wheels that fail. Stay away from bling bling and go for something strong. Look at World Challenge, most TC guys use SSR and most GT cars use BBS.

 

SSR's are excellent wheels, and I just happen to have some SSR Comps 18x8.5 offset 42mm right now for sale on ebay for less then what you will get into those other wheels for. Sorry for the plug, but they are inexpensive (at the current price), are very light (less than 17 pounds), and have a known track record.

Out of your three current choices, I would go with the OZ's.

 

dude--look at edgeracing--they have new but oldstyle enkei's rpo2's 17 and 18 inch for 50% off. I picked up a set for the track 17x8 40 offset for $425 dollors. With an 8 inch wheel you can run up to a 255 size pretty good and if you go with the 17's get a little gear reduction (basically) and a much cheaper tire. Food for thought.
olddragger

 

You can go bigger than that... All the F stock and T2 Mustangs run 275s on 17X8s. The Fbody guys run 265s on 16X8s. Not the best setup but it will work.

 

agreed it will work-- i just like to have good sidewall support!
OD

 

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm more interested in 17" wheels because I can get cheaper tires later.

Olddragger: I saw another post where you mentionned the Enkeis on special, and I'm just concerned about the 40mm offset. I have 40mm offset wheels with 225/50R17 winter tires and they look really close to the front fender. I'm worried that a wider (like 245/45R17) tire would rub under bump or roll, especially with a lot of steering input. On top of that, I'm also worried about scrub radius with the lower offset wheels - I've searched through posts where people argued that it would be fine with 40mm, and others who think it would be bad. Since there's no consensus, I'm hesitant to invest in 40s for track.

Ullose: I saw the information regarding HRE wheels (and a few other "good" names) failing during my web search on this. That is part of the reason why I got a little concerned about wheel failure.

tomfree: Thanks for the info. I appreciate the fact that you backed up your comments by telling us your background. Here on the 'net, sometimes there are more BS opinions than facts, and a person's experience makes all the difference.

Marc

 

Hey Marc
Currrently (until I get my 17's in) I have been running a rpf 1 enkei 18x 3 with a 35 offset. Thats right with a 35. Course i am running the o40 tires. I had the stock suspenion with rb sways and NO tire scrub on the track has been experienced. Currently I have koni's and tein h springs and still no tire scrub with the 225/45/18 tire. I will be running a 225/45-17 or a 245/45-17 r compund in the very near future and I have been guaranteed no scrubbing problem will occur. (doesnt look like it either)
scrub radius after a good alignment was no problem for me.
hope this helps and good luck
Olddragger

 

Wow, OD really proved me wrong on that statement, so wrong that I ordered a set of the $105 17x8 Enkie's from EdgeRacing just to spite him

Since I'm new to this community and lurk quietly most of the time, I usually give some personal background to make sure people don't confuse me with an internet racer.

There are some fast drivers that hang out in this section (ULLLOSE, TeamRX8, Clyde, JohnV, etc.), and there is lots of good info to be had.

 

i think edgeracing should give me a kickback!
JK
Glad it was a help to ya!
Olddragger