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Wheels, Wheels, Wheels


xcarguy

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They look good - enough detail but not too complicated a design. The black powder coat is a great look. Which size 13" 15" or 17"?

 

I have a set of custom BBS 13 inch wheels now shipping. They were the only ones I could find that gave enough inside clearance for the rear brakes and Passat hub on my CSR. They are not listed on the website but are a 3 pc alloy with a square 8 spoke design with a black inner sold as a Caterham race wheel. This will allow a lot of tire options including slicks that are currently impossible with a 15" set up difficult to get. Other goodies in the shipment include a cold air intake vent for the bonnet and tires - Avon ZZR

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They look good - enough detail but not too complicated a design. The black powder coat is a great look. Which size 13" 15" or 17"?

 

I have a set of custom BBS 13 inch wheels now shipping. They were the only ones I could find that gave enough inside clearance for the rear brakes and Passat hub on my CSR. They are not listed on the website but are a 3 pc alloy with a square 8 spoke design with a black inner sold as a Caterham race wheel. This will allow a lot of tire options including slicks that are currently impossible with a 15" set up difficult to get. Other goodies in the shipment include a cold air intake vent for the bonnet and tires - Avon ZZR

 

Croc,

 

Sorry, missed your post somehow.

 

After several weeks of communicating with Roger Kraus (Roger Kraus Racing) and Rich (Bogart), I (we; collectively) came up with a 16” wheel with a smaller center designed to: a) lighten the wheel; and b) to pull as much as possible of the rotating mass inward as close as possible to the center of the wheel. This quest for wheels/tires all came about as a result of my having added 50-plus HP to the rear wheels this winter. The initial drive, after dyno tuning, suggested that this change had given rise to the need of another . . . . More grip. While my car can be driven very easily with its progressive throttle linkage, it was pretty obvious that to utilize the additional power to its fullest potential out of a turn would require rethinking getting it to the ground.

 

Last year, I ran (both front and rear) Avon 10.7x21.5x15 A11 compound tires on low-dollar budget 15x10 aluminum wheels from Summit Racing, all with a 4.5” backspacing. While this combination worked relatively well when mixed with my novice driving skills (or lack thereof), I still felt like I was leaving something on the table; and this was before making the engine mods. After many conversations with Roger regarding sidewall height and deflection, grip, usable power coming out of corners, wheel width, slip angle, as well as some irregular tire wear I had experienced with my current setup, we came up, first, with slick sizes for the front and the rear; Avon (A11 compound) 10x23.5x16 and 11x23.5x16 respectively and then wheel widths to accommodate; 10” front and 12” rear.

 

With Roger’s brain picked and his wisdom tucked neatly in my back pocket, Rich at Bogart began working with me to come up with, what we both felt would be, a suitable wheel combo for the car. What we ended up with (final decision made yesterday evening) was a 16x10, 4.5” backspacing for the front and a 16x12 for the rear with a backspacing that will end up somewhere between 4 and 4.5 (min to max). Since the current steering geometry seemed to work very well with the 10” wheel with a 4.5” backspacing, we decided that that part of the equation shouldn’t be monkeyed around with.

 

So, having rambled on here, the proof will ultimately end up being in the pudding.

 

This sorta' goes along with the handling thread, but don't necessarily want to put this info there . . . . at least not right now as that thread is rolling along pretty well with suspension setup.

 

:svengo:

Edited by xcarguy
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  • 3 weeks later...

mkay. I ran 15x7 (front) w/ 205 RA1's and 16x7 w/ 225 RA1's on my Elise.

 

I fail to see the need to go bigger than that for a 14-1500 lb car.

 

So I think these'll do

http://weldracing.com/15-s71-5lug.html

 

15x7 all 4 corners on 225 RA1's Should be an ample street/track combo.

http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/proxes-ra1-DOT-competition-tires

 

 

what say ye?

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mkay. I ran 15x7 (front) w/ 205 RA1's and 16x7 w/ 225 RA1's on my Elise.

 

I fail to see the need to go bigger than that for a 14-1500 lb car.

 

what say ye?

 

Mansoon11,

 

See my post above regarding my conversation with Roger Krause and our collective decision to move to a different tire/wheel size. The conclusion to move to a different size tire was made based on several areas of consideration with two of those being available power and weight; wheel selection simply followed suit based on tire choice. I'm now putting 425 HP (500 at the crank) and 425 torque to the rear wheels; last year’s number were 370 and 360 respectively to the wheels. My car, with me in it (track ready with fuel and aero) weighs in at just under 1900 lbs. (around 1650 empty), not 1400-1500 lbs. :ack:

 

Roger Kraus Racing has years of experience with chassis setup, proper tire choice, etc. Simply put, when coming out of turns with the amount of power and torque my car now has, I'm not going to be able to utilize the full potential of the smaller slicks I was currently running; even the 370rwhp required a somewhat judicious use of the throttle when coming out of turns. The 16" tire was chosen because Avon had the closest size and compound (A11) for what Roger and I felt would best suit my car and its potential.

 

With the new tire/wheel combo, I’m hoping to decrease slip angle through the corner as well as to be able to apply power sooner, and a bit less conservatively, coming out of turns. But, actually getting the car on the track and putting all this to the test will reveal whether or not this was truly a step in the right direction with regard to getting ‘newly added’ available power to the ground. As for the driver . . . well :rofl: . . . that's a completely different matter.

 

:cheers:

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You are using z06 sized tires at 33 percent less weight and equivalent power.

 

I on the other hand will never have more than 250 bHP.

 

I'm not doubting anyone's credentials, I just have a hard time believing that I would need that much rubber. Considering the difference in torque, I could see going to 255's x4.

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You are using z06 sized tires at 33 percent less weight and equivalent power.

 

I on the other hand will never have more than 250 bHP.

 

I'm not doubting anyone's credentials, I just have a hard time believing that I would need that much rubber. Considering the difference in torque, I could see going to 255's x4.

 

 

Manshoon11,

 

Your comment about Z06-sized tires gave me an idea. For the sake of comparison, I pulled together a short table with regards to tire/wheel sizes for the following cars:

 

  • Base 2004 Corvette
     
  • 2004 Z06 Corvette
     
  • Base 2013 Corvette
     
  • 2013 Z06 Corvette
     
  • My Brunton Stalker V8 prior to engine mods, and
     
  • My Brunton Stalker V8 post engine mods

 

It's interesting to note that as HP/torque grew for the Corvettes, so did tire sizes. Without any intention of copying a manufacturer, I've essentially done the same thing.

 

Even though HP and torque have grown over the years for the various models of Corvettes, the weights are all within 100 lbs or each other. (All weights and engine performance ratings for the Corvettes were taken from http://autos.aol.com/cars-sitemap)

 

While my tread width has grown in the rear (from 10.6 to 11.3), it has actually shrank a bit up front (decreased from 10.6 to 10). Tire diameter for my car has grown from 21.85 to 23.5 which basically raises my ride height (for the track) .825".

 

In short, not a single tire manufacturer produces exactly what I'd like to have; I think we all run into this. So, it became a bit of a trade off in using what I, and the recommended counsel of others who are much more knowledgeable than I, believes will work. It's a combination of planing, compromise and implementation.

 

If you want, you could call Roger Kraus Racing and talk directly with Roger @ (510) 582-5031. I'm sure he would enjoy talking to another Stalker owner. He's very easy to talk to and could easily answer your questions.

 

As for saying that you will never have more than 250 bHP . . . never say never. :jester:

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sooo. I think this guy's setup is legit, no?

 

http://www.kennybrown.com/mark-scotts-super-stalker

 

IMHO, this would be an excellent setup for the car's weight and power, but I think the Toyo 888's would be a better tire choice for the Stalker. Didn't you run those on the Elise?

 

An added note: Mark Scott built this particular Stalker around the same time frame as mine (2007), so the article may be a bit dated. The article claims a 93" wheelbase for Mark's car. Mine is 92". Could you measure your wheelbase and reply? Thanks. :cheers:

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Ok wise guy.

 

I ran RA1's. my friend in his exige ran R888's.

 

 

RA1's have a cult following. You should try the kool aid.

 

LOL!!!!! Sorry, my friend! You get me busting a gut over here. :smilielol5:

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  • 2 weeks later...
Ok wise guy.

 

I ran RA1's. my friend in his exige ran R888's.

 

 

RA1's have a cult following. You should try the kool aid.

 

I must be a member of this cult. When I last raced my 02 Z28 in 09 I ran the then new RA1s. They were worth a second or better on a 1.8 mile road course over the already impressive Falkens I was running (I won the street tire championship with both).

 

Only thing is tire tech has been moving fast. I could not promise this is still on top of the game.

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