Those look like stock car wheels. I think they are steelies too.

Arent those heavy?

Yes.

But you have to factor in:

Money
Performance
availability
reliability
looks

Will a light weight 15x7 wheel with a 225 tire outrun a heavy 16x10 and 275 tire? I dont' know...

Isn't that what racing is? Trying stuff out?

a 16x8 steel wheel is about 19 lbs. In comparison a 16x7 s5tii wheel is 16 lbs. A 17x7 5zigen wheel is 24 lbs. A ford racing SVT cobra 17x9 wheel is 25 lbs.

Yes they are heavy. I'm guessing something north of 30 lbs for the wheel.
They are off road truck wheels, made by Pro Comp. They were cheap. I just wanted to be able to mock up my suspension changes and see how much of the body needs to be trimmed. I might race on these a few times, but just to make sure everything works. Once the car gets a little more dialed in, I'll drop some money on the real racing rims. It gets a little expensive to drop $2K on a set of Kodiaks only to find that you've miscalculated something and they won't work.
... which brings up my next point...
Ed, they do not clear the front 4pot calipers right now. I'll have to make a spacer. The brakes are off the car right now (safe from the weather in my garage), so that's how I was able to bolt the wheels on.
I'll be taking it to a body shop soon to make sure the frame is straight and to get a few pieces of sheet metal replaced.

A spacer on those wheels could be dangerous to actually use. Aren't the holes meant for 5/8 inch studs and 1 inch lug nuts? And the center hole is surely not hubcentric.

But mockups for size is no ploblem.

ed

Offroading 30 lb wheels might adversely effect your performance.. rotating weight in the driveline is worse than weight in the chassis. Angular momentum ;) Prolly not the best option for autocross... but it is a good idea to try low and wiiide.

But hey, if its cheap and you have some power, go for it! I just gotta ask.. what kind of engine are you running with wheels that damn big?

They seem to fit the stock studs and lug nuts just fine.
No the wheels are not hubcenteric, so I would make the spacer accordingly. Actually, given the shape of the wheel's mounting flange, a properly designed spacer would make them safer since it would spread the load out over the face more evenly.

Ya think? ;) Trust me, I am well aware of the downsides of these wheels.
rotary... probably some level of bridge port.

The wheels I tried were IMCA wheels (sanctioning body , not brand). They were built for 5/8 inch studs. They will fit Rx7 studs just fine but the lug nuts will sit deeper in the holes. The danger is if the lug nuts bottom on the disk brake instead of clamping the wheel. (there is a warning to use only 1 inch lugnuts with 45 degree seats)


BTW - IMCA steel wheels are available as low as 15 pounds in 15x8 size. Not too terribly heavy.

ed

Good to know. I'll make a point of checking that the lugs aren't bottoming out. There wasn't any warning on the wheel or the box about using 1" lugnuts.

That warning was on Bart wheels. I don't know if other brands share the same warning. You can see alot of examples by googling "IMCA wheels".

I didn't see any 16 inch wheels in that search, I think IMCA only spec's 15 inch wheels.

IMCA is only really thinking about circle track fords and chevys. I doubt you could buy a 1 inch lug nut with a 12MM thread.

IMCA = "International Motor Contest Association, based in Vinton, Iowa. Classes include modifieds, late models, sprint cars, stock cars and hobby stocks."


ed

i got my 1" lug 12mm thread lug nuts from diamondracingwheels.com. 45* taper. lugnuts are available in steel or aluminum.