Completely new to buying tires and wheels.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Frishkorn

Good tires are much cheaper then good wheels and I'm on a budget. Guess mods will have to wait until the car is paid off. I just figured this was a classic case of Company A has a profit margin of 60% while Company B has one of 10%.

Don't want to install complete junk though. Won't save much money if the wheel breaks apart and sends the car flying into a wall.

Thanks for all your help guys.

I wish that were the case, but in the day and age of the internet, profit margins on common parts like Enkeis are tiny.

A good set of tires will cost almost the same as a set of Enkeis, and cost more than a set of Rotas.

In fact, your OEM tires will cost more than a set of Enkeis, and the price of 1 OEM rim can buy a full set of cheap knockoff wheels (XXR, Varstoen, etc).

[Jyn]

Originally Posted by CSG Mike

Great tires, cheap wheels.

You wouldn't get filipino/knockoff tires would you?

Actually, for hooning.....

[Frishkorn]

How about we try this. Top three brands everyone would recommend? Take Enkei for example. I notice on Tire Rack they have Enkei Performance, Enkei Racing, Enkei Tuning. Anything I should look for in particular other then forged wheels and not cast?

[DarkSunrise]

On the cheaper end of wheels (mostly gravity cast), I think Rotas are fine. I had them as winter wheels on my STI and didn't have any problems. There are also plenty of people who use them at the track and autocross, with no issue (albeit, with a slight weight penalty). If you've never done autocross or track, but are interested, these wheels will be fine.

In the midrange (mostly low pressure and flow-form cast), Enkei is a good brand. The most popular track wheel on this forum is probably the RPF-1. Good, lightweight (flow-form cast) wheel. Personally I've also had good experiences with TSW flow-form cast wheels (Nurburgring RF, Interlagos) at the track and autocross, but would avoid their other wheels. Another solid brand to consider is OZ Racing.

On the higher end (forged), I'd go with Volk and BBS.

Personally I think the best value lies in that midrange area (usually $200-350/wheel), as the cost to step up to forged wheels is huge, but you'll have to decide that for yourself.

Note: This isn't a complete list of wheels and there are plenty of other solid brands. Not meant to be exhaustive, just something to get you started.

[STV3]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

On the cheaper end of wheels (mostly gravity cast), I think Rotas are fine. I had them as winter wheels on my STI and didn't have any problems. There are also plenty of people who use them at the track and autocross, with no issue (albeit, with a slight weight penalty). If you've never done autocross or track, but are interested, these wheels will be fine.

In the midrange (mostly low pressure and flow-form cast), Enkei is a good brand. The most popular track wheel on this forum is probably the RPF-1. Good, lightweight (flow-form cast) wheel. Personally I've also had good experiences with TSW flow-form cast wheels (Nurburgring RF, Interlagos) at the track and autocross, but would avoid their other wheels. Another solid brand to consider is OZ Racing.

On the higher end (forged), I'd go with Volk and BBS.

Personally I think the best value lies in that midrange area (usually $200-350/wheel), as the cost to step up to forged wheels is huge, but you'll have to decide that for yourself.

Note: This isn't a complete list of wheels and there are plenty of other solid brands. Not meant to be exhaustive, just something to get you started.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I've actually spent quite some time on tirerack looking a mid range wheels options to hopefully find something lighter than the XXR's. Unfortunately I could not find a wheel I liked as much as the XXR 530

[DarkSunrise]

Also here is some easy reading material if you want to know more about the differences between gravity cast, low pressure cast, flow-form cast, and forged wheels.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=357430
http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/....jsp?techid=90

[Mooseknuckle44]

Originally Posted by diss7

would you go out and spend $800 on a suit

Ummmm. No.

[CSG Mike]

Originally Posted by Frishkorn

How about we try this. Top three brands everyone would recommend? Take Enkei for example. I notice on Tire Rack they have Enkei Performance, Enkei Racing, Enkei Tuning. Anything I should look for in particular other then forged wheels and not cast?

Entry Level: TR Motorposrt, Enkei Racing

Cast: AME, WedsSport

Forged: BBS, Rays, TWS

[Jason@DSG]

Originally Posted by diss7

Don't ruin your nice new sports car with cheap wheels.

Sure wheels are round, blah fucking blah.

Put it this way, would you go out and spend $800 on a suit and wear $20 shoes?
$20 shoes and $100 shoes do the same thing though right?

But its always about balance. If you can afford a new car, you can afford genuine parts.

Gospel!! Excellent comparison bud

[Jason@DSG]

Originally Posted by Frishkorn

How about we try this. Top three brands everyone would recommend? Take Enkei for example. I notice on Tire Rack they have Enkei Performance, Enkei Racing, Enkei Tuning. Anything I should look for in particular other then forged wheels and not cast?

Enkei, SSR, Gram Lights, Work and WedsSport are all great brands to look into. They all have wheels at about the same price point that are quite lightweight, very well built and definitely have REALLY nice style.

Good luck and happy Friday!

[STV3]

Since there seems to be a good deal of wheel knowledge on this thread, does anyone know of any other wheels that look like the XXR 530 and aren't ridiculously expensive like the BBS versions?



While I'm not worried about my wheel randomly cracking into pieces and sending me into a wall like some people are implying will happen with cheap wheels, I wouldn't mind having a lighter set of wheels.

[Jason@DSG]

Originally Posted by STV3

Since there seems to be a good deal of wheel knowledge on this thread, does anyone know of any other wheels that look like the XXR 530 and aren't ridiculously expensive like the BBS versions?



While I'm not worried about my wheel randomly cracking into pieces and sending me into a wall like some people are implying will happen with cheap wheels, I wouldn't mind having a lighter set of wheels.

Along the same lines:

http://www.ssr-wheels.com/wheels/gtv03.asp

[ngabdala]

Originally Posted by Jive Turkey

my $.02 for what it's worth.

dont do staggered, the car handles better square.

You just answered a question I was about to ask. Sweet