bumping up a class - what wheels now?

[nostatic]

For a number of reasons I've decided to move from II to IP class. While I was within the spirit of the rules in II, the last two mods (lightened flywheel and monoballs up front) are production-class mods, and if I move up I can drop some weight, do the t-bars, etc. So be it.

This means I can go with wider wheels. Right now I'm running RA-1s on 16x7/8 Fuchs. I figure my options are:

sell the 16x8s and buy 16x9s, running the same tires (just better feel/patch)

sell both and go 17x8/9 (Fikse? Kinesis?). In a perfect world I'd buy from Wheel Enhancement since they sponsor the POC series.

[Jeff Alton]

How about a set of Kodiaks? About 2/3 the price of the kinesis......


Cheers

[nostatic]

that sounds like some Canadian wheel. Are they round? Do they talk with an accent? Will my car begin to enjoy hockey and curling?

[Jeff Alton]

Geez, I would feel better if there was a smiley in your post some where!
Hmmmm, don't know if the teams running them on their Daytona Prototypes reported any strange winter sport related troubles.......

Cheers

[dweymer]

http://www.kodiakracingwheels.com/wheel-prices.php

536ish for 17x8's, each

What about diamond racing
http://diamondracingwheels.com/RoadRaceSeries.htm

125 for a 16x10!! 23lbs

[Jeff Alton]

Kodiaks can be had for a fair bit less than that.........

Cheers

[nostatic]

for the record I like curling

better?

[cstreit]

Jerry at euroeastparts sells Kodiaks now I think, prices are pretty damn sexy... I'll be sporting a set on the racecar next year...

[bigrubberjeep]

Originally posted by nostatic
For a number of reasons I've decided to move from II to IP class. While I was within the spirit of the rules in II, the last two mods (lightened flywheel and monoballs up front) are production-class mods, and if I move up I can drop some weight, do the t-bars, etc. So be it.

This means I can go with wider wheels. Right now I'm running RA-1s on 16x7/8 Fuchs. I figure my options are:

sell the 16x8s and buy 16x9s, running the same tires (just better feel/patch)

sell both and go 17x8/9 (Fikse? Kinesis?). In a perfect world I'd buy from Wheel Enhancement since they sponsor the POC series.

How about sell the 7's and move the 8's up front and get a set of ('s for the rear? Just a thought

[ted]

You might first decide what tires you want to run and then choose rim sizes to fit.
What tires and sizes are you considering?

Is this close?
For your car (like Hoosier) I think Kumho should make a 710 245/40/17 to go with the 710 275/40/17s.
A Toyo RA-1 235/40/17 and 275/40/17 is good too, double good since you drive to the track.
But they will cost you a second or two a lap at Big Willow.
If you run 16s you can find a 710 front and rear tire, other than Hoosier 17s that might be your best timed lap tires.

[nostatic]

I'm determined to stay with RA-1s since I've had very good luck with tire wear, drive to the track, and have a limited budget. I have plenty of points to play with and still stay in IP, so I could go to the 235/275 setup on 17s. Seems that would be quicker than 225/245 is 16.

[IROC]

Originally posted by nostatic
I'm determined to stay with RA-1s since I've had very good luck with tire wear, drive to the track, and have a limited budget. I have plenty of points to play with and still stay in IP, so I could go to the 235/275 setup on 17s. Seems that would be quicker than 225/245 is 16.

"When in doubt - max it out!". I think that ultimately you would be happy with the 8 & 9x17 and 235/275 combo. The *only* disadvantage to the 275/40-17s in the rear of my car was that my old stock 2.7 had a harder time with their larger diameter (wouldn't pull as hard coming out of turns especially). Overall my lap times dropped appreciably, though, so it was the right thing to do. The grip that is provided by these things is great.

If you can go this wide w/these tires and not run afoul of the rules, I say do it. You'll end up doing it anyway eventually and this way you'll save the money spent on the intermediate steps. :>)

Mike

[ted]

I ran the RA-1s on this car with 17x8s and 10s.
Tires looked perfect on the rim, a 9 rear should be fine too.
You'll need all the basic TRE tricks for clearances, oil lines, shaved spring plate bolts and fender rolling.

They are a tight fit with a lower ride hiegth, fun tires.
Bring a baseball bat to the track.

At the time the car had close ratio 3/4/5 gears.
That made freeway driving a bit buzzy.

My rims were Mirage 3 piece fuchs for around 2k.
http://www.mirageintl.com/
For about the same amount the CCW classic race rim is a good deal too.
http://www.ccwheel.com/files/wheelprofiles.php


Last year sold my rims and RA-1s for $1800.
But they got TTOD in PCA AM class last month on Risvold's car.

[Cory M]

We run 245 and 275 Hoosiers on our 1988 Carrera using 8" fronts and 9.5" rears, you will have to roll or trim the fender lips. We run Kinesis and Forgeline wheels. If you're on a budget CCW (complete custom wheels) are a pretty good value, as are the Kodiaks mentioned above. I heard that Forgeline is discontinuing their "affordable" line of RS 2 piece wheels and are selling their stock of them at reduced prices, we have 3 sets of these wheels and they are really nice.

[Bill Verburg]

I agree w/ Ted's advice, choose the tire then the wheel.

Here's an interesting twist, because of the limited RA1 sizes
Front 17s
235/45 x17 on 8x17

Rear 18s
275/35 x18 on 9.5x18

this rear is a tad shorter than the 275/40 x17 and has shorter stiffer sidewalls, very nice for track work

[Vipergrün]

How about whipping up some Lindseys? Stay with Fuchs, go to 17", go to 8X9.5's.

[dd74]

Todd - last year I called Fikse, and they were running a deal on their lightweight 17x8 and 9s with tires (Yoko ES 100s) for $2400. I don't know if it's still going on, but hey, what the hey, you never know - they might have a set sitting around.

[Cory M]

Unless you're really trying to keep the car looking vintage I'd go with some proper race wheels over the Lindsey and Mirage 3 piece Fuchs. They are nice looking wheels but I would trust a new forged wheel over a modified 20 year old center with an unknown past. The 3 piece fuchs may never break on you but that isn't something you want to find out about at the track, especially considering the age of the centers and the pasts posts here with pictures of cracked Fuchs. I'm not saying I would be afraid to use the 3 piece Fuchs, as I know there are several people here who track them regularly. Just that considering they are the same cost as a new set of true race wheels, I would choose the new wheels.