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re-animator · 07-30-2019, 02:23 PM

its not just cast vs flow formed vs forged, but also wheel design. generally more material/bracing out near the barrel is going to mean a stronger wheel. RPF1s have a little more gap between spokes than most wheels because of the emphasis on lightness. RPF1s came from Formula 1 where the tires have massive sidewalls - wheel rigidity is still obviously very important from a performance standpoint at those speeds but the barrel integrity is not the primary goal. in addition, the offset and concavity is going to be important. Generally more aggressive offsets and greater concavity give up something in terms of wheel strength - maybe doesn't matter as much on forged wheels that are already stronger, but on a car like ours where you can choose between a moderate offset 18x8 vs an aggressive offset in the same size you are giving up something.

i haven't done too much research on this but these are the types of wheel designs i expect to be strongest just by virtue of design (assuming we are all talking wheels of a similar construction method). They are common in motorsport and some of them even come from rally designs: BBS CH-R, RS, Enkei RS05RR, NT03+m or NT03RR, RCT4, PF05, obviously Volk TE37 and CE28, OZ ultraleggera, Work MC0 and D9R, Weds tc105, etc.

If i was going to rank the wheels on ft86speedfactory on my own perceived strength and rigidity i would do something like this (someone feel free to correct me):

1. top tier forged wheels - TE37s, ZE40s, CE28s, Advan GT
2. racing focused flow-formed wheels - Enkei RR line, Work MC0, Advan RG and RZ
3. weds tc105s, work d9rs, SSR gtx01, nt03+m
4. heavier cast and flow formed wheels - Gramlights 57xtreme, 57dr/cr, work cr kai or t7r
5. lighter or non-racing focused flow formed wheels - RPF1s, enkei raijin or t6s, tsw nurburgring, 949 6ul,
6. office swivel chair wheels
7. xxr, cosmis, etc

If you are in the RPF1 type price range i think the strongest wheels you are going to get for the similar money are going to be either NT03+Ms (which have 12 spokes and the bracing ring near the perimeter and come in enkei's conservative offsets). the cast gramlights look strong too but they tend to run heavier and the offsets are more aggressive (mimicing a forged wheel). I have been riding on enkei raijins for years and have been very pleased with how strong they are - they are considerably heavier than RPF1s but have the same flow forming process and cost about the same - i've run autox and have also hit some potholes at speed that i thought would be game over but so far they are still perfectly straight.

07-30-2019, 02:23 PM	#26
re-animator Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2017 Drives: 2013 BRZ Location: San Diego Posts: 213 Thanks: 135 Thanked 83 Times in 45 Posts Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Tagged: 0 Thread(s)	its not just cast vs flow formed vs forged, but also wheel design. generally more material/bracing out near the barrel is going to mean a stronger wheel. RPF1s have a little more gap between spokes than most wheels because of the emphasis on lightness. RPF1s came from Formula 1 where the tires have massive sidewalls - wheel rigidity is still obviously very important from a performance standpoint at those speeds but the barrel integrity is not the primary goal. in addition, the offset and concavity is going to be important. Generally more aggressive offsets and greater concavity give up something in terms of wheel strength - maybe doesn't matter as much on forged wheels that are already stronger, but on a car like ours where you can choose between a moderate offset 18x8 vs an aggressive offset in the same size you are giving up something. i haven't done too much research on this but these are the types of wheel designs i expect to be strongest just by virtue of design (assuming we are all talking wheels of a similar construction method). They are common in motorsport and some of them even come from rally designs: BBS CH-R, RS, Enkei RS05RR, NT03+m or NT03RR, RCT4, PF05, obviously Volk TE37 and CE28, OZ ultraleggera, Work MC0 and D9R, Weds tc105, etc. If i was going to rank the wheels on ft86speedfactory on my own perceived strength and rigidity i would do something like this (someone feel free to correct me): 1. top tier forged wheels - TE37s, ZE40s, CE28s, Advan GT 2. racing focused flow-formed wheels - Enkei RR line, Work MC0, Advan RG and RZ 3. weds tc105s, work d9rs, SSR gtx01, nt03+m 4. heavier cast and flow formed wheels - Gramlights 57xtreme, 57dr/cr, work cr kai or t7r 5. lighter or non-racing focused flow formed wheels - RPF1s, enkei raijin or t6s, tsw nurburgring, 949 6ul, 6. office swivel chair wheels 7. xxr, cosmis, etc If you are in the RPF1 type price range i think the strongest wheels you are going to get for the similar money are going to be either NT03+Ms (which have 12 spokes and the bracing ring near the perimeter and come in enkei's conservative offsets). the cast gramlights look strong too but they tend to run heavier and the offsets are more aggressive (mimicing a forged wheel). I have been riding on enkei raijins for years and have been very pleased with how strong they are - they are considerably heavier than RPF1s but have the same flow forming process and cost about the same - i've run autox and have also hit some potholes at speed that i thought would be game over but so far they are still perfectly straight.