Help me decide on style, black or silver rims

[StefanLee]

Hi guys.

I am on the lookout for a new set of rims for my GT, to replace the not so classic looking 15" that are on it right now.

I have dabbled a little in photoshop, just to give you an idea of what I am looking for.

Ideally, I would want a set of american racing torq thrust rims, but I don´t have time this winter to change the hubs, brakes and whatnot I need to do to fit them. That will most likely happen next winter.

So, I want rims with a clear racing look, and I have found these as an example. ASA GT racing rims, in 17x7". I´ll have to use spacers for them since ET is 38, but that´s really no problem.

Tell me what you think.

Stefan

[StefanLee]

This is also a style I find very appealing.

The car is another swedish GT, a very nice car (by Lofa) with a 2,0l turbocharged Opel Calibra engine (350-400hp) and porsche brakes. A little wider rims, BBS 17x8,5 in front and 17x9,5 in the rear.

Stefan

[MICAH1]

Stefan,
I would go with the black. The color would bring out the bold stripe and the interior of your GT.

[StefanLee]

Yeah, I am leaning towards the black ones. More of a classic look as well.

Stefan

[opelnut10]

What ever style you decide to use, please dont go bigger that a 15" rim size on a GT. The short sidewall tire that accompany the bigger wheel will reduce the already "sporty" ride to riding like a "dump truck" and you will need a kidney belt to keep your kidneys and bladder in place Why do you think the Germans will only allow one inch in height and 1/2 inch in width on wheels to get it inspected, they foreseen the "bling" look coming years ago (IMHO)

[StefanLee]

The size isn´t all that important to me, I want wheels that are the best fit for the car, both visually and when driving.

I first thought 16" would be ideal, but then I saw the 17" on the plum GT I posted above and they fit nicely. 15" just looks a liiiiiiittle too small.

I do agree though that many 17" wheels look pretty silly on a GT, the classic sportscar look is somewhat lost with too large rims.

I´ll try to find a set of wheels to try on, just to see the dimensions and the driveability, maybe from a local tyre dealer or something. They usually have loads of wheels in 4x100 laying around.

I did find a set of magnesium BBS racing wheels today on a big for sale site here in Sweden today. They are gorgeous, but a little too expensive...

Stefan

[heimue]

Originally Posted by opelnut10 Why do you think the Germans will only allow one inch in height and 1/2 inch in width on wheels to get it inspected

There is no allowance in sizes for getting it inspected by the German TÜV. If the exact size, manufacturer and model of your wheels, and the exact tire size is not registered in your papers, you fail the inspection. If you have an accident while "wrong" wheels and/or tires are mounted, your insurance will refuse to pay.

BTW - black centers with chrome rims is the way to go!

Dieter

[baz]

slightly off topic but theres a guy in kent(south east england next to france ) that has a motorcycle shop and when the german bikers come off the ferry on there way to the "isle of man TT races " he does a great trade in tyres , he fits better tyres to there bikes but stores there TUV rated ones for them and a week later he refits them on there way back so they can go back home with the right ones on

you can pick up some real good deals on e-bay for part used tyres the week after the TT

[StefanLee]

More OT:

Hmmm quite stiff rules in Germany!

It´s no big problem in Sweden, the main thing is the wheel and tire side has to be inside the wheel arch, ie no "lowrider" wheels. Also, if we change to new wheels the circumference can´t differ by more than 5%.

Stefan

[GTJIM]

More than the size of the wheels the actual weight has the most influence on a GT because it is a light car and any more alloy & rubber bouncing up and down on the corners ruins the ride and the handling.
In one study the STOCK 165-80 X 13 wheels and tyres were seen to give the best ride ......
Aftermarket wheels and tyres need to be within 2kg or so of the weight of stock ones to keep your GT happy so nice light-weight wheels such as the BBS ones are an advantage as you can then fit more (wider!) rubber on them.

JM2cW

[StefanLee]

OK, so I´ve been mulling over this for a bit.

I´ve taken measurments of my car to see what fits and what does not.

I have also photoshopped a bunch of pictures of my car with various wheels, to ease my decisionmaking (not that it makes it any easier! )

First of all, I have grown to like the Sportmax 002´s a LOT! The fact that they are basically free compared to other rims make it a very tempting soultion to the problem. I did pics with both the bright and black 002´s.

The downside with them is that I would rather have an offset of say 15 instead of zero, as they are the 8" rims leave quite a bit of air on the inside but are quite tight towards the outside. I COULD leave them to a wheel machinist and have him lathe off 10 or 15mm on the mount face, if that is possible. How much material is there to machine off?

OR I can go with Smoor Roadster wheels! Being split wheels the offset can be adjusted to any need (the chromed one is fixed a OT 25 though). I am looking at both the polished and the chromed one. Price is about 850 dollars equiv. for a set of four. The chromed ones are more expensive, about 1200. Very nice wheels!

Image wheels do nice billet wheels, but they are off the scale price wise so they are pretty much a non-option. I can dish out for a set, but I feel the cash difference can be used better (towards a new 16V Calibra engine!) I did a picture with their Billet 1 wheel in approx. 16" (or 16,5...) size nonetheless.

Stefan

[SpringGT]

Stephan, I think that the black-centered wheels look best on your car, as they really accent your black stripes and yellow paint. The shiny ones just seem to be a little too much "bling" on this car. Also, the black centers do not show brake dust as readily as the others.
Porshe used black centers with polished rims for many years and they just look good on the 70"s & 80's era cars. IMHO
Bob

[StefanLee]

What about the Revolution Wheels, Classic line?

I just found an article on a german GT with the five spoke ones on in black, looked nice.

I checked out Revolutions website (Alloy Wheels - Revolution Wheels, since 1967) but they have no email an no listed price or retailers. I can´t call them now, maybe tomorrow. Until then, does anyone know how much they are for a set of 15x8 et 10? I like the fact that backspace can be ordered between 92,25 to 130mm (or so I understand)

Stefan

[soybean]

They do have some nice 4 spoke classic wheels in 13''. I wonder what the shipping would be from overseas? If you do get in touch with them, would you mind asking? Thanks, Jarrell

[RallyBob]

Originally Posted by soybean They do have some nice 4 spoke classic wheels in 13''. I wonder what the shipping would be from overseas? If you do get in touch with them, would you mind asking? Thanks, Jarrell

The exchange rate is not so favorable right now to import from the UK. But there is a US distributor for Revolution wheels. Prices have risen dramatically over the past ten years, I remember buying some 13 x 7 Revoution 4-spokes for $135 back in 1987 from the original US importer in PA. That guy got out of the wheel business, and then Tom Tatalovich Racing took over, and now there's the new importer I linked to above.

Bob

[StefanLee]

Hmmm, this is weird.

I posted a reply a couple of hours ago but it seems to have vanished during the server swap...

I called Revolution wheels in England today, and the nice guy on the other end told me they are in the process of making new molds and will have rims ready for delivery come january.

We spoke a bit about offsets and backspace and he said they can make rims backspace ranging between 105-136mm backspace for an 8" rim. Ie. offset -7-24, or thereabouts. I didn´t discuss it at length with him.

When I asked about the price, he directed me to the swedish authorized distributor, and the same for the american market. He didn´t know about VAT and other taxes for different markets so...

I am going to call the swedish distributor tomorrow, to inquire about cost, possible offsets etc.

If you could choose offset for rims, what would you choose? 8" rims in front and 8" or 9" rear. I would think 15mm offset front and 10mm rear would be fine.

Stefan

[StefanLee]

I´ve been giving this issue some thought lately, and I think I´m going for the SportMax Racing 002 rims with black centers. They suit the car fine and look good. I can also use the brand spanking new 205 15" tires that are on my present rims. I just have to let a tire shop mnount them on the Sportmax´s and balance.

Basically a much cheaper option than replacing them with new rims and tires.

I am looking for a european distributor for Sportmax, but haven´t found one. Sportmax themselves don´t have an email adress.

Anybody know? Sure I can get them off ebay, but it is easier with a local (within europe) retailer.

Stefan

[West Coast GT]

By the way, Stefan Lee, that's a good looking GT you have.

[StefanLee]

Thanks, West Coast GT, and when I have this wheel issue resolved it will look a LOT better!

Stefan

[StefanLee]

So, I think I´ll write in this thread instead of the "affordable wheel options" thread.

I have ordered a set of black Sportmax 501 rims, 16" and 8" wide, ET15 from Bbist.com.

There has been a delay from the manufacturer to Bbist, so my rims won´t be shipped until the end of february...

No problem really, winter won´t be over until mid march so it doesn´t matter. Would have liked to have pictures of the car before that though.

I´m going to order some rubber from Germany, I´m going for Toyo Proxes T1R tires in 225/45R16 in the rear and 205/45R16 in the front. Those dimensions were a little hard to come by locally.

This is a stock photo from Bbist.com

Stefan



Stefan

[StefanLee]

My rims are now SHIPPED!

Bbist shipped them firday, and with air freight I should have them in 4-10 days (I´m hoping to have them in 10, knowing how fast USPS usually is....)

So, now I´m going to order the tires.

Will update later...

Stefan

[StefanLee]

I just ordered my tires online, a set of Toyo Proxes T1-R like I´d planned for. I should have them in a week, about same as the wheels so I hope to have them mounted on the car in a week and a half.

Pics are coming!

Stefan

[StefanLee]

A feast for the eyes...

[StefanLee]

Well, seems like I´m the only one still writing in this thread... Not many people finding their way to this subforum deeeeeep down in opelgt.com....

Got the tires today. Pics of the car on wheels are due soon...

[jvandyke]

I'm reading. Only 4 days to get the wheels eh?
I like your choice. I'm toying with rims too as I really want something with less backspace to fill my flares better. I wonder if I could get some aluminum slot mags that would fit okay, I've always liked that look. I'd maybe even trade someone who wanted the look of mine, (which I like, just not the fit). Check my gallery.
This is now bordering on a thread hyjack. Sorry.
Yes, pics of them on car ASAP.