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The Wheels Thread

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This one will be best with photos. What have you got - post diameter, width and offset, and tyre size used. Do they fill the arches? Fitted with standard or lowered suspension?

The 86 can look great on anything from 16x7s to massive wheels under swollen body kits.

Let's build a resource so people can see how to get the stance they want.

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Okay when it comes to wheels, a little known secret is that the lighter your wheels, the better. Now I know a lot will say forged wheels are expensive and that is true, but the opposing side of it is that a lot of people tend to go for bigger wheels and wider wheels, with inevitably wider and heavier tyres and before they know it, they've added a whole load of weight to their rotational mass which blunts acceleration, turn in, braking and well, everything else! 

So, with that in mind I was fortunate in that I was able to buy some Rays Engineering, Volk Racing TE37s, that okay needed refurbing, but most importantly with powder coating come in at 7.4kg. This is good  as they are 17x8 ET38, so an inch wider than the stock 7" rims which weigh in at 9.2kg. So a significant 1.8kg per wheel weight saving. 

I had mine powder coated red, just for the hell of it really! 

25049940482_9dfd6565cc_c.jpgTE37 by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr

How they look on the car:

24299788609_1b26a6c386_c.jpgIMG_5453 by Lauren Blighton, on Flickr

Obviously such things are hard to find second hand, but they do turn up if you look hard enough. 

Something else to add about wheels, is the width relative to the tyre. I opted to go for running stock tyre sizes on an inch wider rim. I tried 225's on my 8" rims, but I didn't like the sidewall flex I got on turn in and how this affected the balance when the tyres were in ther slip angle. I could feel the sidewalls moving as the car went to the limit of grip and beyond and to a point this dulled the responsiveness as I had to factor in the tyre wall flexing when going into a four wheel drift. So after some testing I went back to stock sizes of 215's as I found that the extra inch in width meant it took most of the sidewall flex out of the tyre. There is very little 'stretch' on my setup, but I much preferred the added responsiveness, even though it does make the car feel more alert and pointy, that to me is what I prefer. Choices and all that of course. But I do feel it gave me better control when I was right on the limit. :)

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These are one of my sets.

20130702_182848_Hagrid_Film.jpg

They are Konig Daylite's in 17x7" et40. They weigh in at just under 7kg each so, as Lauren said, a useful saving over the stock wheels at 9.2kg each.

And a fitted pic

20150707_153542_Hagrid_Nolariod_edit_143

I use these as my track wheels.

 

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Here are mine. 3SDM 0.01. 18x8.5 et35 (et30 on the rear thanks to spacers).

Unlike above, they're NOT lightweight, in fact I believe they weigh slightly more than standard at nearly 10kg each, but for the 99% of time when the car is either parked up, driving slowly through town or driving on the motorway, that's basically irrelevant. Then when I reach my destination I get to look at them, which is where they come into their own.

56c9be810b055_id3032(11).thumb.JPG.eb1ca

And a pic on the car:

IMG_1528.thumb.JPG.67227456231393aa1bcb9

Car is lowered around 25-30mm on Tein coilovers.

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And for something a little smaller...

My winter set. Japan Racing JR3s in 16x7 wearing Kumho 215/55R16 winters. These are budget cast wheels but have exceeded my expectations - build quality and finish are good, they've stood up to a winters abuse and still look as new, plus they're not heavy - a little over 6kg. The cheapskate route to lightness - just go smaller!

As you'd expect the ride is good on these, and the handling even more old school progressive and chuckable.

1a6b81f228fedca480042ea6d6039ea2.jpg

69c1b396450de862fb52211b270dcf5d.jpg

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On 21/02/2016 at 0:34 PM, Lauren said:

Okay when it comes to wheels, a little known secret is that the lighter your wheels, the better. Now I know a lot will say forged wheels are expensive and that is true, but the opposing side of it is that a lot of people tend to go for bigger wheels and wider wheels, with inevitably wider and heavier tyres and before they know it, they've added a whole load of weight to their rotational mass which blunts acceleration, turn in, braking and well, everything else! 

So, with that in mind I was fortunate in that I was able to buy some Rays Engineering, Volk Racing TE37s, that okay needed refurbing, but most importantly with powder coating come in at 7.4kg. This is good  as they are 17x8 ET38, so an inch wider than the stock 7" rims which weigh in at 9.2kg. So a significant 1.8kg per wheel weight saving. 

I had mine powder coated red, just for the hell of it really! 

 

Its worth noting for those looking for light wheels being forged doesn't necessarily account for everything. For example take Wedssports TC105N, a cast wheel, in the equivalent size to Lauren's forged TE37s they are a mere 6.75kg, makes them porky in comparison. Again Deacon's Fox FX005, a bargain priced cast wheel weighs the same as the TE37s at 7.4kg, just goes to show you don't have to throw tons of money to shed off some unsprung weight

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True enough - but it's a trade off between lightness and strength. My cheapo wheels are light, and have stood up well so far - but I wouldn't expect them to stand up to as much punishment as a forged wheel...

That said - I could buy two spare sets with the change for when I buckle them!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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3 hours ago, Varelco said:

Its worth noting for those looking for light wheels being forged doesn't necessarily account for everything. For example take Wedssports TC105N, a cast wheel, in the equivalent size to Lauren's forged TE37s they are a mere 6.75kg, makes them porky in comparison. Again Deacon's Fox FX005, a bargain priced cast wheel weighs the same as the TE37s at 7.4kg, just goes to show you don't have to throw tons of money to shed off some unsprung weight

That is true, though cast wheels won't be as strong as forged wheels. So it's a balance between lightweight and strength. Whether a really light cast wheel is a liability in terms of strength it's hard to say. One would think it quite unlikely. Though TE37's have been a popular choice for racing as they are light for what they are and also strong. The TE37's in my size are actually 7.2kg though I guess my extra 200g accounts for the powdercoat. They are anodised from the factory. 

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1 hour ago, Lauren said:

That is true, though cast wheels won't be as strong as forged wheels. So it's a balance between lightweight and strength. Whether a really light cast wheel is a liability in terms of strength it's hard to say. One would think it quite unlikely. Though TE37's have been a popular choice for racing as they are light for what they are and also strong. The TE37's in my size are actually 7.2kg though I guess my extra 200g accounts for the powdercoat. They are anodised from the factory. 

To add to the complexity there's also "flow-formed" wheels which are a sort of halfway house between cast and forged. The TC105Ns fall into this category. They have a rim that is similar in strength to a forged wheel, but standard cast spokes. In practice they're probably similar in performance to a forged wheel.

There's a video from WedsSport here showing the sort of testing they do on their wheels:

 

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On 2/21/2016 at 0:43 PM, Deacon said:

These are my winter wheels.

2015-09-14%2010.16.48_Hagrid_Clean.jpg

They are Fox FX005's in 17x7.5 et35 and weigh in at 7.4kg each. Again a useful saving over stock.

A fitted pic

20160130_140043_Hagrid_Round.jpg

 

I actually really like those Fox FX005 and actually did quick search and according to rimstyles those don't fit the 86?

http://www.rimstyle.com/alloywheels/wheel/index.html?wheel=fox_racing_fx005_gm&colour=gunmetal_anthracite

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Rimstyle is a terrible site to use to find out if wheels fit or not.

The site says my wheels don't fit too. I think they look at centre bore size too (and forget that things called spigot rings exist).

Best to just research wheels on other sites, even if you eventually use Rimstyle to buy them.

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10 hours ago, S18 RSG said:

Rimstyle is a terrible site to use to find out if wheels fit or not.

The site says my wheels don't fit too. I think they look at centre bore size too (and forget that things called spigot rings exist).

Best to just research wheels on other sites, even if you eventually use Rimstyle to buy them.

Ah thats cool..i'm complete noob when comes to changing wheels as i never really done it before, thanks for heads up. I was considering some Rota 18" GRA but those fox FX005 that deacon got really do look a lot nicer but i don't really want copy either. :P

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12 hours ago, kurosagi01 said:

 

I actually really like those Fox FX005 and actually did quick search and according to rimstyles those don't fit the 86?

http://www.rimstyle.com/alloywheels/wheel/index.html?wheel=fox_racing_fx005_gm&colour=gunmetal_anthracite

Yeah Rimstyle is wrong as you can see! The wheels have been on for about 6 months - absolutely no fitment problems.

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7 minutes ago, Deacon said:

Yeah Rimstyle is wrong as you can see! The wheels have been on for about 6 months - absolutely no fitment problems.

Did you need anything else with the wheels like any change of locking nut? Because i understand they do supply wheel nuts to fit them but would the stock locking nut fit these fine? Also what tyres to go for? I am very tempted to cop you Deacon and use them as my summer wheels. >_<

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17 hours ago, Lauren said:

That is true, though cast wheels won't be as strong as forged wheels. So it's a balance between lightweight and strength. Whether a really light cast wheel is a liability in terms of strength it's hard to say. One would think it quite unlikely. Though TE37's have been a popular choice for racing as they are light for what they are and also strong. The TE37's in my size are actually 7.2kg though I guess my extra 200g accounts for the powdercoat. They are anodised from the factory. 

Yeah of course, swings and roundabouts isn't it. Your Volks were designed with the intention of track work, undoubtedly a strong wheel and well proven in that respect. Fortunately our cars are quite light so this in theory should put less stress on the wheels we fit.

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I've been waiting for my wheel since December :unsure: 

Specs: 18x9 et35 18.5lb (8.4kg)

Paired with 245/45 Michelin Pilot Super Sports they should weigh a fraction less than stock rims with primacies.

Not bad for a 18" rim that's 2 inches wider than stock! Going for 17" would have saved a bit more but I've got a set of AP racing 356mm brakes to fit them over (which are also lighter than stock).

Will post pics once they arrive in the next few weeks

 

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12 minutes ago, Varelco said:

^^^ Not true.

If the wheels have a 60 degree taper and the nuts can fit in the recess then there is no you can't use the standard nuts.

Yeah but they look so bad.....

If someone needs some new wheel nuts I have a spare set of silver Titans I'd send to anyone willing to cover postage. Got them with my Rotas but already bought red ones. ^^

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