Alternate Track wheel: what are those called ?

[Deschodt]

Apologies, but I cannot search on something whose name I don't know...

I'm looking to learn more about those wheels...



(photo source Curt Egerer)

As a possible alternative to 7+8 Fuchs for a track car... Or are they even more expensive than fuchs? Anyone know offhand who makes them in the correct offset for a 911 ?

Thanks !

[Bill Verburg]

Those are Mini-lights or Mini-light replicas

If you are shopping for track wheels light 8 & 9 are so much better.....

[Deschodt]

Figured, as I have minilite replicas on my BMW 2002. But more spokes, so I wasn't sure.
Anybody knows where I can find a seller for the correct 911 offset for these ? assuming they exist in 7+8s

[jpnovak]

The pictured wheels are American Racing "Torque Thrust" wheels. They are not commonly available in 911 bolt patterns. I know the archives and the Early S board has several discussions.

[Bill Verburg]

OOps now that my old brain has been nudged, Jamie nailed it.

[KTL]

Here's something close to those

http://www.vtoperformance.com/acatalog/Superlite_GTR.html

[Deschodt]

I like that style, I have exactly those on my Bimmer - Rota made.

I need something for the track though, in 7+8, light and strong. Do those fit the bill ?

Sometimes I wonder if a 25+ year old fuchs is as good as a new wheel anyway...
I wonder about weight too...

[tcar]

Originally Posted by Deschodt

Figured, as I have minilite replicas on my BMW 2002. But more spokes, so I wasn't sure.
Anybody knows where I can find a seller for the correct 911 offset for these ? assuming they exist in 7+8s

That's because your bmw has 4 lugs so the wheels have 8 spokes (2 spokes between lugs).

The above has 5 lugs, so they did 5 spokes.

They're not minilites, although they look similar.

Check them, some of the minilite type wheels are heavier than Fuchs.

[Deschodt]

The ones above, very nice and made for 911 offsets are 18 lbs... Do you know the weight of a 7 or 8 fuchs offhand ?

[tcar]

About the same, 18 lbs., for 16"

15" are about 4 lbs. lighter.

You don't say whether you're talking about 15" or 16".

[Deschodt]

I have 16s on an SC backdate - just like the first car below. I think going 15 would be a step backwards for track duty and tire availability, no ?

Those wheels loook nice, those are picts from their customer gallery..






And at $220 F + $225 rear, we're looking at just around $1000 for a set! If only I could trust those to be as strong as fuchs and fit for sure ! I've emailed them.

[KTL]

http://www.vtoperformance.com/acatalog/911.html

The link above takes you to the 911 offset wheels. They'll fit just like Fuchs (offsets are within 2mm of Fuchs) but there's no way they are as strong as Fuchs. These VTO wheels are cast, not forged.

[Deschodt]

Yes, that is where I was looking.... But how "not as strong" are they vs. a 25/30 year old unknown set of fuchs, you know ? Would you be afraid to ride on them for 5 track days a year ? Do you guys think an old set of fuchs would be safer (how old, how to tell if they're OK and not bent or damaged when buying remotely, anyway)

[Deschodt]

Reply from the vendor:

We actually sell more sets of wheels in the 15" combination than the 16" combo.

That combination of offsets is the same in each diameter and thus far they have fit most of the vehicles we have sold them for. The odd issue comes from the fact that Porsche have a huge variation with in fender manufacturing specs. This is not usually a concern.

There is only one lug nut available for these wheels which is the Open End acorn. We have to supply these because your stock lugs will not work. The threat engaugement is sufficient.


--------------------------------------

The price is right, I don't think they would crumble on track, but I could always use those as street wheels and my 6+7 fuchs on track (just w/ smaller R-tires)

Any opinion on 15 vs 16 ? I know oldies had 15s but it seems weird to downsize - wouldn't I be better off with 16s for tire choice and having a small side wall on track?

[mede8er]

Good 15" tires are getting scarce....

[KTL]

15 in. tires in R compound used to be much cheaper than 16's and are still quite plentiful. Prices are now about the same for 15 vs 16

In fact just this past weekend I watched an 2500 lb E30 BMW coupe with a hotrodded E36 M3 engine and close ration 5 speed run with the big $ cars (GT3s, 993 Turbos, 996 Turbos, sorted Z06 Vette, dedicated track cars, etc.) in the advanced group at our Gingerman DE event. Car held it's own and throttled quite a few of them. Point being, the car rides on 15 in. 225/45 Kumho Ecsta V700 tires.

If your car is light enough, I don't think it'll tax the sidewalls of the 15's as much. If you choose the shorter sidewall 45 series, you're of course better off.

I also concur with your assessment of the wheels' durability. I mean, there's a lot of people tracking their cars on cast wheels. These VTO Superlites are built with that in mind, so that's worth something IMO.

[Bill Verburg]

It will be best for you if you look carefully at the tires you want to use
compare available sizes to the wheels widths that they want in both 15 & 16

you'll have a 4x4 matrix, fill each box w/ the tires that are available keepin mind that you usually want f/r tires heights to be fairly similar though a car can be set up otherwise it's usually not a good way to go.

again 8 & 9 are going to be a much better choice for track use

[Deschodt]

Sounds good... I noticed there are very few choices in 15" over 225 already.

What should the correct sizes be for 15s? I am familiar with 16s but if I were to downgrade, what sidewall height would I need ? 60 ? 65 ?

It looks like 16s though for choice !

[Bill Verburg]

step1 Pick a tire
step2 go to the manufacturer's spec page
step 3 look at the tire size row and wheel range colunm and tire height columns
you want a tire at the wide end of the wheel width range and match f/r heights. Other constraints are w/i the window for overall height and width.

say Hoosier R6 is your tire