BRAID 17" Fuchs Replica Wheels. Input Requested.

[sundevil64]

turbo offsets 9" & 11" and 8"&9" Carrera offset Carrera offsets must clear Turbo calipers or large calipers. I like the RSR finish or option for polish lips and custom colors.

[Plavan]

Paul- I chatted with you about this a few years ago. 17's would be a no brainer. I would probably order 2 sets right away. Getting proper race rubber on 17's has been a dream of mine. I'm limited to only one tire manufacturer right now, on very old wheels. I do not trust Fuchs anymore since finding a crack. It would open a whole new experience for early cars.

[BRAIDusa]

Thanks for all the input. very encouraging. I think I might have some news next week.

[KTL]

Originally Posted by BoxsterGT

The Ruf Classic 17 x 8's & 9's fit my car beautifully. Wonder what offset they were?

Len

The Ruf Classic (Yellowbird wheel for those who don't know what the Ruf Classic is) wheels are:

17x8 front with ET +30mm
17x9 rear with ET +17.7mm

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by KTL

The Ruf Classic (Yellowbird wheel for those who don't know what the Ruf Classic is) wheels are:

17x8 front with ET +30mm
17x9 rear with ET +17.7mm

Those would be some wheels to get made. Easy to cast, strong, but hardly any market, so probably not a chance.

[KTL]

Ruf Classics are good wheels (made by Speedline) but they are seriously heavy. ~28 lbs is my recollection. Similar sized 17 in. three piece racing wheels like Fikse, Kinesis are less than 20 lbs each. +8 lbs per corner of unsprung weight is a huge amount.

[island911]

Originally Posted by BRAIDusa

Yes, I believe there are welds involved. But these are not "compromised imitations" of course. Just ask Carlos Sainz.

hmmm. welds.

I have no doubt that welded aluminum wheels can give some serviceability --some tough miles-- but how many compared to a one-piece forged Fuchs....

IOW, yeah, there will be compromises. Welding aluminum means creating a 'heat affected zone' along the weld. That area will be softer than the parent (forged/spun) material.

...and Aluminum has no stress endurance limit to design to, so, you will likely have fewer cycles (miles) with a welded solution. (assuming the same loading.)

OTOH, if they give say 60%+ life cycle but cost 50%(-) of the fully forged, then it's a win.

[BRAIDusa]

Originally Posted by island911

hmmm. welds.

I have no doubt that welded aluminum wheels can give some serviceability --some tough miles-- but how many compared to a one-piece forged Fuchs....

IOW, yeah, there will be compromises. Welding aluminum means creating a 'heat affected zone' along the weld. That area will be softer than the parent (forged/spun) material.

...and Aluminum has no stress endurance limit to design to, so, you will likely have fewer cycles (miles) with a welded solution. (assuming the same loading.)

OTOH, if they give say 60%+ life cycle but cost 50%(-) of the fully forged, then it's a win.

Someone told me yesterday that the Fuchs are a welded construction too. I'm a little sceptical however.

[island911]

The construction of Fuchs wheels has been well documented. -no welds

[BRAIDusa]

Originally Posted by island911

The construction of Fuchs wheels has been well documented. -no welds

That's what I thought.

[KTL]

Lindsey Racing, CarsRUs (Gary Stratton = "sonjay" here on Pelican) and Trudesign have been making welded Fuchs for a very long time. They have held up to the abuse of track driving/racing quite well. Quite a few Pelicans have these wheels and i'm not sure we've seen a problem yet.

I'm not saying island is wrong about the welding. I'm just saying in practice the wheels are holding up pretty good. Braid's rally wheels indicate that too.

[BRAIDusa]

Originally Posted by KTL

Lindsey Racing, CarsRUs (Gary Stratton = "sonjay" here on Pelican) and Trudesign have been making welded Fuchs for a very long time. They have held up to the abuse of track driving/racing quite well. Quite a few Pelicans have these wheels and i'm not sure we've seen a problem yet.

I'm not saying island is wrong about the welding. I'm just saying in practice the wheels are holding up pretty good. Braid's rally wheels indicate that too.

Oh, the rally wheels hold up allright:



He still uses the wheels. Can't say how much of the car is still in circulation.

[Plavan]

Here is a picture that could help with offsets/ width ideas.

[sc_rufctr]

Wow... Looks great Al

Originally Posted by quozl

These are the Braid BZ 15 on my car that I had refinished in RSR style by Classic Road and Track in Melbourne.

I'm very very happy with the wheels and refinishing but it would have been a lot easier to just buy them from Braid in this exact RSR finish :-)









Cheers Al

[KTL]

Cool picture Chad. What is the zero end of the tape measuring from? Hub mounting surface I assume?

Thanks,
Kevin

[Plavan]

Originally Posted by KTL

Cool picture Chad. What is the zero end of the tape measuring from? Hub mounting surface I assume?

Thanks,
Kevin

Flat part of the inside chassis.

[uptheorg]

I'm a customer for 9x11x17 in RSR finish!

[BRAIDusa]

Originally Posted by uptheorg

I'm a customer for 9x11x17 in RSR finish!

That's great Uptheorg.

BRAID want me to estimate initial sales. I think they are going to insist I purchase all of the first run.

Who else is interested and at what specs? I know it all depends on price etc but they should be consistent with our 16" offering plus an inch in dollars

[BRAIDusa]

Originally Posted by Plavan

Here is a picture that could help with offsets/ width ideas.

This picture is geat Chad. What I'd really like to see though is a table showing all the various 911 (or others) fender permutations with the widest tire and required offset. I bet it's out there somewhere.

[Plavan]

I cant take credit for it, I got it from Dave at TRE. It helped me figure out my wheels/tires from my race car.