22 replies to this topic

[MichaelP]

Hi Everyone -

Im looking for lightweight wheels for the track...any recommendations?

Mike

[blazeone]

Look at CCW, very light and high quality for the $$. I have a set of C10's coming. BTW, what type of track? drag or road race.

CCW Site

Edited by blazeone, 04 July 2010 - 02:46 PM.

[i8acobra]

Enkei RPF1's. Had them on my 350Z. Very light and not very expensive.

[kahmann]

Jongbloed Aero's - very light and very expensive

[ilmor]

If you go to TireRack.com, you can filter by size and weight.....

http://www.tirerack....e&filterNew=All

[MichaelP]

ilmor, on 05 July 2010 - 03:02 AM, said:

If you go to TireRack.com, you can filter by size and weight.....

http://www.tirerack....e&filterNew=All

Thanks Everyone.  Anyone know what our stock 2010 rims and tires weigh?  Looks like some of the wheels at tirerack are between 25 and 30 lbs..

M.

p.s.  these rims for road racing....ummm  "performance driving school".....

[blazeone]

MichaelP, on 05 July 2010 - 10:51 AM, said:

Thanks Everyone.  Anyone know what our stock 2010 rims and tires weigh?  Looks like some of the wheels at tirerack are between 25 and 30 lbs..

M.

p.s.  these rims for road racing....ummm  "performance driving school".....

I have not measured but have heard the stock wheels are heavy, I would guess around 28lbs which is heavy for a forged wheel.

You don't want any cheap wheels for road racing. 30 lbs is WAY too heavy. Cast wheels are cheap and heavy. Look for forged wheels, for example the rear CCW C10 wheel in an 18X11 is only 23 lbs.

[MichaelP]

blazeone, on 05 July 2010 - 10:59 AM, said:

I have not measured but have heard the stock wheels are heavy, I would guess around 28lbs which is heavy for a forged wheel.

You don't want any cheap wheels for road racing. 30 lbs is WAY too heavy. Cast wheels are cheap and heavy. Look for forged wheels, for example the rear CCW C10 wheel in an 18X11 is only 23 lbs.

Thanks.  I have only started looking..  The c10 is a nice looking wheel.  does 5lbs make THAT much difference for a wheel? I was thinking different wheels and tires may be 20lbs difference per wheel/tire..  Maybe not...

M.

[i8acobra]

blazeone, on 05 July 2010 - 10:59 AM, said:

Cast wheels are cheap and heavy. Look for forged wheels, for example the rear CCW C10 wheel in an 18X11 is only 23 lbs.

Not all cast wheels are heavy. The RPF1's I mentioned are 19.7Lbs. for 18x10.5's. That's lighter than CCW's forged rims and at $337.50/ea ( http://lsdmotorsport...81056515SP.html ), considerably cheaper (C10's are $700/ea.).

Specs:
http://www.enkei.com..._chart/RPF1.pdf

[ksteinbach]

i8acobra, on 05 July 2010 - 11:23 AM, said:

Not all cast wheels are heavy. The RPF1's I mentioned are 19.7Lbs. for 18x10.5's. That's lighter than CCW's forged rims and at $337.50/ea ( http://lsdmotorsport...81056515SP.html ), considerably cheaper (C10's are $700/ea.).

Specs:
http://www.enkei.com..._chart/RPF1.pdf

I've been looking at the Enkeis as well since someone else just put them on but I want them for street use. However the offset of 38 on the 10.5's is going to put the sidewall 3/4" farther out which means it will protrude past the fender. On a lowered car this is going to cause problems unless a shorter tire is used, something which I was hoping to avoid.

[MichaelP]

So, for track use is Forged better (stronger) than Cast wheels given other parameters the same (size and weight) ?  Or, is it just a different manufacturing process?  

M.

[blazeone]

MichaelP, on 06 July 2010 - 12:22 PM, said:

So, for track use is Forged better (stronger) than Cast wheels given other parameters the same (size and weight) ?  Or, is it just a different manufacturing process?  

M.

Yes forged are much stronger.

[MMcGuirk]

IMO - the ultimate track wheel is the front 18 x 9.5 BBS FRPP wheel from the Ford GT. It weighs 17lbs and you can run it F+R with 275 40 18s. Not cheap, but effective.

[i8acobra]

Forged are stronger than cast. However, unless you're buying cheap no-name Chinese wheels, you'll be fine with cast on the track. Here's a picture of my 350Z after an 720+ degree off-road excursion with my RPF1's. No rim damage at all.

[MichaelP]

Well, it looks like the RPF1's may offer the best price/lightweight option for me.  If these are track wheels for road racing what size would everyone go with?  18's and tire size??  or stick with 19 inch rims?  I would save weight if I went with the 18's..  Im not concerned about how the wheel "looks" on the car..  Just looking for a good, lightweight wheel / tire setup to run on the track.

Thanks for everyone's advice....it has been very helpful.

M.

[GR40Freak]

I use the Jongbloeds JRW305 18x10.5 with 315/30/18 Hoosier R6s on all four corners.  The wheels are 18lbs. each and retail at $1100 each although they can be had for about $3800 a set.
I have seen less expensive wheels that are fairly light as well including Enkei, SSR, and CCW.  Depending on your suspension you can use at least a 285 up front, and up to a 305 if you have a Griggs GR40SS front end.

Stick with an 18" wheel.  Better tire selection, I recommend the Toyo RA-1 or Hoosier R6.

Colin Sebern
CorteX Precision Technology
Driver - Griggs Racing

Edited by GR40Freak, 07 July 2010 - 12:33 AM.

[i8acobra]

If you're new at track driving, stay away from the race compound tires until you can out drive sticky street tires. Go with Nitto NT-05's or something similar. The RA-1's, 888's, R6's and similar will hide mistakes and actually hurt you in the long run.

[GR40Freak]

i8acobra, on 07 July 2010 - 12:05 AM, said:

If you're new at track driving, stay away from the race compound tires until you can out drive sticky street tires. Go with Nitto NT-05's or something similar. The RA-1's, 888's, R6's and similar will hide mistakes and actually hurt you in the long run.

I have to disagree with this.  The benefits of having a track tire for beginner use helps with two major things.

First a novice driver is going to overdrive the car, overuse the brakes and generally drive "messy" if you will.  A sticky "street" tire is still susceptible to "chunking" (pieces of the tire coming of in chunks) when they get hot.  A track tire will resist this far better than a street tire will and more than likely actually last longer.  

Second... We aren't driving Miatas.  Track tires are cheap insurance when it comes to helping to avoid a driving mistake.  There is no need wad up a $50K plus Mustang when a better tire could have saved you or at least given you more feedback before the car is about to spin giving you the chance to correct.

That being said I would start with the Toyos before graduating to the Hoosiers.  The Toyos work better at less than optimum temperatures.

Colin Sebern
CorteX Precision Technology
Driver - Griggs Racing

Edited by GR40Freak, 07 July 2010 - 12:32 AM.

[i8acobra]

In my personal experience, track tires tend to give less feedback and less warning before letting go. This makes it MORE likely you'll wad up your $50K car. In fact, I believe Car and Driver just did a track-day tire comparo and even they mentioned this. I've only been tracking my cars for a couple of years but have been on bikes since the mid-90's and I've seen new drivers do stupid stuff because they had tires that let them get away with it. That's not going to teach you anything. You want a tire that's gonna tell you, "you're doing it wrong" without putting you in the dirt. Just my opinion.

[TX STIG]

kahmann, on 05 July 2010 - 12:58 AM, said:

Jongbloed Aero's - very light and very expensive

+1

However, they are soft so better suited for well groomed tracks.