Wheel dilema... what to get?
#1
Wheel dilema... what to get?
does anybody here know what is the "best bang for the buck" when it comes to aftermarket wheels? i dont want to get something cheap since you get what you pay for and sometimes most expensive does not equal the best. so i narrowed my choices down to:
- BBS
- FIKSE
- Champion
- O.Z.
can any of you comment on which of these are best quality wheels with concrete data as to avoid a flame war? for example, i would say i would prefer BBS because BMW have used them as OEM wheels. also it looks like fikse knows what they are doing judging from their very informative and technical website.
would love to hear any suggestions. any major brands i have missed? i am seriously considering BBS RS-GT with diamond black finish in 18" (and O.Z. Superleggera III look nice too)
thanks...
- BBS
- FIKSE
- Champion
- O.Z.
can any of you comment on which of these are best quality wheels with concrete data as to avoid a flame war? for example, i would say i would prefer BBS because BMW have used them as OEM wheels. also it looks like fikse knows what they are doing judging from their very informative and technical website.
would love to hear any suggestions. any major brands i have missed? i am seriously considering BBS RS-GT with diamond black finish in 18" (and O.Z. Superleggera III look nice too)
thanks...
#3
Originally Posted by newport996
I would go 19" Champions....very light, great looking wheel...but to be honest, you cant go wrong with those on your list...i would also look into Kinesis...
not sure i want to go with 19" -- i have considered it, but was told by a few people it offsets the suspension geometry and 996 are simply not designed for 19" wheels while 997 are. yes, it will make the car look better, no question about it (yours looks simply awesome), but i am not sure how it will affect the ride and handling.
#4
My ride is actually better, handling is better, i have no down sides....theer are sooooo many 996's on 19's and I have never heard ONE bad thing about them....I asked the service manager at the dealer about some 18's and he said, "18's? dont even think about it, go 19's"....I asked about the things I heard about 19's and suspensions, he said that he has never had any problems with 19's on 996's....If I were going to track it alot, i would stick with 18's....but for street driving, i'd go 19's....and go with PSS9's if you can....
#5
Wheels are just like a watch
Its all personal taste..
What do you prefer??????????
You can also look here for cars with different wheels on them.
http://www.gmgracing.com/projects.shtml
Its all personal taste..
What do you prefer??????????
You can also look here for cars with different wheels on them.
http://www.gmgracing.com/projects.shtml
Last edited by Fabryce@GMGRacing; 02-19-2007 at 01:50 AM.
#6
Originally Posted by newport996
My ride is actually better, handling is better, i have no down sides....theer are sooooo many 996's on 19's and I have never heard ONE bad thing about them....I asked the service manager at the dealer about some 18's and he said, "18's? dont even think about it, go 19's"....I asked about the things I heard about 19's and suspensions, he said that he has never had any problems with 19's on 996's....If I were going to track it alot, i would stick with 18's....but for street driving, i'd go 19's....and go with PSS9's if you can....
why do you think 18s are better for the track? if its better for the track, wouldn't it be better for street driving? : )
the only advantage i see for going with 19s is that when it comes time to get a 997, i can re-use the wheels without a problem (as long offsets work out)
btw, i put in ROW M030 a couple of thousand miles ago (need to update my sig). i like it. it didnt lower my car as much as i wanted, but did improve the ride. i am probably going to get GT3 sway bars next. i am thinking in retrospect i should have gone directly to PSS9, but since i already have ROW M030 i am going to keep it -- will definately get PSS9 on my next porsche.
#7
Originally Posted by Fabryce@GMGRacing
You can also look here for cars with different wheels on them.
http://www.gmgracing.com/projects.shtml
http://www.gmgracing.com/projects.shtml
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#8
Originally Posted by newport996
19" 997 Sport Design Custom Painted Black
#9
the way I see it is these cars (996) were designed for 25" diameter tires. If you can get this diameter or close to it you wont affect PSM, ABD etc... regardless of it being 18" or 19". To maintain the 25" you have to decrease the side walls for the 19", hence offseting performance. So, Im with the 18" guys, as I lean towards more for performance than looks. As far as looks is concern, if it is dropped and with the right 18", it looks pretty classy rather than a roller. As far as wich wheels... you have to base it on the color of you car. What design goes with it, gt3, mesh, 5 spoke, multi spoke, or oem look etc. Maybe you should post a pic of your ride and maybe youll get better feed back.
Last edited by Redridge; 02-19-2007 at 03:21 AM.
#10
Originally Posted by Redridge
the way I see it is these cars (996) were designed for 25" diameter tires. If you can get this diameter or close to it you wont affect PSM, ABD etc... regardless of it being 18" or 19". To maintain the 25" you have to decrease the side walls for the 19", hence offseting performance. So, Im with the 18" guys, as I lean towards more for performance than looks. As far as looks is concern, if it is dropped and with the right 18", it looks pretty classy rather than a roller. As far as wich wheels... you have to base it on the color of you car. What design goes with it, gt3, mesh, 5 spoke, multi spoke, or oem look etc. Maybe you should post a pic of your ride and maybe youll get better feed back.
i am not in as much of a need of picking the wheel style as actually picking out good wheel maker. somebody with TUV rating, company history, etc...
as for a pic... just a silver '03 cab without any mods yet (except for the ones in sig). its a slow project
#11
Less flex doesn't mean better performance. Less flex in roll bars doesnt mean better since it can become twicthy nor a roll bar that has to much flex will make you want to hang on around corners. Its balance on how much feedback you want from you car to make it more predictable in certain driving conditions.
in general the more rubber the better, its just a more feel to the road. To much rubber is not good either but a balance of height and width determines performance. The 996 started with 17" and 18" optional. However, since you can go wider with the 18", people liked the grip and looks of it. The 17" tires drove better but didnt have the advantages of the 18" grip so the 18" just became part of the trend.
I think the logic is 17" and 19" is at the full swing of the pendulum as far a feel and looks is concern, 18" is the best of the two characteristics.
in general the more rubber the better, its just a more feel to the road. To much rubber is not good either but a balance of height and width determines performance. The 996 started with 17" and 18" optional. However, since you can go wider with the 18", people liked the grip and looks of it. The 17" tires drove better but didnt have the advantages of the 18" grip so the 18" just became part of the trend.
I think the logic is 17" and 19" is at the full swing of the pendulum as far a feel and looks is concern, 18" is the best of the two characteristics.
#12
Originally Posted by jkb
why do you think 18s are better for the track? if its better for the track, wouldn't it be better for street driving? : )
#14
Originally Posted by Brucem
I say Fikse.. great wheel..
thanks..
#15
a TON of race teams use Fikse wheels... very very long track record to back that up! very durable and everything Fikse does is done IN HOUSE.. alot of other companies use other vendors to have thier wheels made. They can control thier quality to thier standards! Pricing of the wheels is about $1000 or so per wheel. They are made to order, so depending on the offset desired or wheel lip wanted they can do it how you want it! I don't know if they are best bang for the buck, but I know you don't hear about people complaining that the wheels bent, or leaking air, or clear coat coming off. They do not do Chrome wheels, but polished
So in terms of one of the lightest strongest wheels... not many compare.. check out alot of the ALMS teams, the prototypes (75% of them) were running Fikse
Hope that helps
So in terms of one of the lightest strongest wheels... not many compare.. check out alot of the ALMS teams, the prototypes (75% of them) were running Fikse
Hope that helps