cheap rims

[kirk4]

OK,heres a simple question.(heard that before?). Whats the best cheap rim to use for autocross. I dont want to use the fuchs for autocross tires. I need a set of rims with street tires for inspection purposes. I'm thinking steel rims,but if you guys could enlighten me it would be great. By the way I drove my 75 914 2.0 this weekend,the first time this year,thanxs Pelican for those exhaust studs and nuts.

[Joe Bob]

Rivieras are real cheap...not the correct offset (VW), but you can squeeze a 185 inside a stock wheel well, a 195/50 if you give it the baseball bat treatment....they are not the lightest.

Mahles and Fuchs that are straight and true....just not cosmetically nice can be had as cheap as 60-75 bucks each, 205/50s will fit. Rivieras and steel wheels, somewhere around 30 each.



[This message has been edited by mikez (edited 06-05-2000).]

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The "best"? Depends on what you are looking for. If you need stock size wheels in your class, then the Fuchs are it. They are the lightest and strongest of the factory wheels. Mahles would be the next choice, then Pedrinis. I don't know what the Rivieras weigh, but I'm reasonably certain they're more than the Mahles.

If you can run wider rims, then Panasports or Minilites or custom steelies would probably be the way to go. The Panasports and Minilites are lightweight, while the steelies would be cheap.

For autoX, you want the lightest, strongest wheel in the correct size and offset. For a lot of people, those are the four-bolt Fuchs. The weight and such are not as important for street wheels. I'd be tempted to use cheaper (Riviera, Pedrini) rims on the street and the Fuchs on the track.

--DD

[campbellcj]

Dr. DD -- I thought the gas burners were the lightest? Are the Fuchs really lighter? Cool.

[paulhagedorn]

I believe the "gas burners" were the five lug version of the ??Mahles?? sort of. they were similar in look, but the five lug porsche pattern.

Not sure though, don't quote me.

Paul

[John Rogers]

If you can find them Centerlines are the lightest by far, and come up tp 7 inches wide as do PanaSport. There are some Centerlines on the 914 club at dgi.net and you want the solid ones if possible to reduce that nasty un-spring weight.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The four-bolt Mahles are, I think, 17 lbs each. The four-bolt Fuchs are 13 lbs each. (The Pedrinis might be the 17-lb ones, in which case the Mahles are either 14 or 15 lbs.)

The cast magnesium "gas burner" wheels are also made by Mahle, but they are five-bolt only. No stock four-bolt 914 rims were magnesium. The gas burners are evidently the lightest stock five-bolt Porsche rims of all. But they're only available in 5.5J15, which limits the tires your car can run. That's why they're not as popular as they might be.

I had forgotten about the Centerlines. There are probably other aftermarket wheels that are also good options.

--DD

[campbellcj]

ahhh....I knew the Mahle gas burners were superlight but I didn't realize the 4 bolt ones were significantly different from the five bolters. Thanks DD.

[mike mueller]

The problem with the centerlines (besides IMHO, looking like a pizza pan w/rivets) is lack of cooling vents and I've seen a set break apart around the lug holes, not a good thing.
Oero-death (Jeff S) should have a set of steel stock rims for sale since he is converting to five-bolt.
------------------
Mike Mueller
Antioch, CA
1970 1.8 http://www.pelicanparts.com/MotorCity/mmueller/personal.html


[This message has been edited by mike mueller (edited 06-06-2000).]

[kirk4]

hey thanx for all the replies. sorry for the late reply but vacation snuck up om me . i guess your working too much when you forget about vacation. i got so juiced that my cars running that i let the question overplay my time for replies. thanx again.