Thinking about these wheels...

[Darrin]

It's TOUGH to get a wheel in the size that will fit and am going to have to end up going with a custom forging I think. The problem with that though is cost...those suckers are expensive. Did find these at a reasonable price (relatively speaking) but they are available in a max of -30 offset which calculates to a 4.8" backspacing. That will fit based on my calculations but I think most run closer to a 4 in the rear. I may end up going with a thin spacer to get the right look.

Anyway, thinking 18x11 in the rear with a -30 offset and 18x9 (need to measure for offset) in the front with these. I doubt if you purists will like the look (I'm going for a more modern appearance) but like to hear some feedback on both the size and look of these.

 

[Mike Drew]

I doubt if you purists will like the look (I'm going for a more modern appearance) but like to hear some feedback on both the size and look of these.

Here's some feedback for ya! :laugh:

 

[Darrin]

So you are saying these wheels look hot. Thanks Mike! Here I was expecting the old school crowd to frown on the new style too. LOL

 

[Jack]

It's your toy Darrin, so whatever floats your boat. I like them.

 

[Darrin]

It's your toy Darrin, so whatever floats your boat. I like them.

Thanks Jack. I agree. Was hoping for some size feedback primarily. By my calculations, the rear could hold one heck of a big wheel and want to make sure I get the offset/backspacing right so it won't look too skinny. My plan is to go with 285/40/18 in the rear which will give me exactly a 27" tall tire (not quite as tall as the original GT40 in race trim, but taller than many seem to run). The section width is showing as 11.2 which should fill up the space OK if the offset is set right keeping the outer edge out fairly far.

Here is a GREAT site for tinkering with offsets and such BTW: Custom rims, wheel tire packages for your ride - RIMSnTIRES.com

 

[Bill Musarra]

Darrin,
Why don't you check with BRM and see what the backspacing is for their wheels of your size. Then you will know what you should order. I would bet thy have your size in stock. Even if they don't unless you have the extra wide rear fenders their smaller wheels will give you the numbers you should need for the ones you like.

Bill

 

[Darrin]

Darrin,
Why don't you check with BRM and see what the backspacing is for their wheels of your size. Then you will know what you should order. I would bet thy have your size in stock. Even if they don't unless you have the extra wide rear fenders their smaller wheels will give you the numbers you should need for the ones you like.

Bill

Thanks Bill. I googled BRM but couldn't find any company info...just some old VW Beetle wheels. Maybe look at the Vintage replicas though as searching this site seems to link those two together.

 

[Howard Jones]

Talk to Phil at PS Engineering wheels. He can tell you anything you need to know about wheels and GT40s. I have a set of 17 inch BRM wheels on my GT40. They were the first set he made in 17 inch. (Ya, I don't see pictures on his webpage of them but just ask about them anyway, tell him Howard Jones said hello.)

Call him. Be patient, he works a lot out in the shop and can't get to the phone, cal back frequently.


PS Vintage Wheels Home Page

 

[Julian]

Call Bob Lacey at Vintage Wheels too, I recently had a custom set of BRM style wheels made up for my ERA in 12" rears and 10" front widths.

Julian

 

[Darrin]

Looks like the Vintage wheels stop at 17" for the GT40. The backspacing for them is given on the site though and that looks to be in line with what I thought. They run a 4" backspace on the rears for 10" wide wheels. Mine are showing up as 4.8 for an 11". I may need a very thin spacer but by my calculations probably not needed unless for aesthetics. The fronts they have are all 8" with a 4.25" backspace. Like to get mine as a 9" wide and 4.75" backspace.

 

[Cliff Beer]

Bob at Vintage is very helpful. He can probably help you get the right offset front/rear you want, maybe even do the work in house there himself. His 17inch wheels are very nice, and very reasonably priced.

 

[Julian]

Looks like the Vintage wheels stop at 17" for the GT40. The backspacing for them is given on the site though and that looks to be in line with what I thought. They run a 4" backspace on the rears for 10" wide wheels. Mine are showing up as 4.8 for an 11". I may need a very thin spacer but by my calculations probably not needed unless for aesthetics. The fronts they have are all 8" with a 4.25" backspace. Like to get mine as a 9" wide and 4.75" backspace.

If you have Bob add the 1" on the inside then add a 1/2" on the center hub you'll be where you want to be. This is basically what he did for me to get the width and meet ERA backspacing recomemndations.

Julian

 

[Darrin]

If you have Bob add the 1" on the inside then add a 1/2" on the center hub you'll be where you want to be. This is basically what he did for me to get the width and meet ERA backspacing recomemndations.

Julian

Thanks Julian.

I just placed an order for the ones I mentioned. They are lightweight modular design and will take a while to make (5 to 6 weeks they said).

The sizes I got were based off of the ERA recommendations as well as taking actual measurements from my car and having the wheel people independently come up with nearly identical recommendations.

For others going down this route running 18" wheels (I just couldn't find high performance tires in 17" or smaller that are still being produced by more than one vendor) here are the sizes I went with:

Front: 18x9.5 with -2mm offset 5x114.3 bolt pattern
Rear: 18x11 with -30mm offset 5.114.3 bolt pattern

I would have went with the ERA rear width of 12 but there were almost no 18" tires that are wide enough for a 12" rim these days. Going with the 11 I can run 285 width which is what I wanted as a minimum and probably go either 235 or 245 up front if I can fit them.

 

[Mike]

Loses it's nostalgic property but not everyone wants nostalgic either. I say do what you want and the worst that can happen is your make another change if the first doesn't work out.

 

[Julian]

Thanks Julian.

I just placed an order for the ones I mentioned. They are lightweight modular design and will take a while to make (5 to 6 weeks they said).

The sizes I got were based off of the ERA recommendations as well as taking actual measurements from my car and having the wheel people independently come up with nearly identical recommendations.

For others going down this route running 18" wheels (I just couldn't find high performance tires in 17" or smaller that are still being produced by more than one vendor) here are the sizes I went with:

Front: 18x9.5 with -2mm offset 5x114.3 bolt pattern
Rear: 18x11 with -30mm offset 5.114.3 bolt pattern

I would have went with the ERA rear width of 12 but there were almost no 18" tires that are wide enough for a 12" rim these days. Going with the 11 I can run 285 width which is what I wanted as a minimum and probably go either 235 or 245 up front if I can fit them.

Where are you looking for tires? I run 13" wide rear wheels on my Pantera's and Ultima, both 17's and 18's are readily available.

 

[Darrin]

I looked at TireRack then checked the recommended rim size of various tires available for 18" rims. They have one Toyo for racing in a 305, another Toyo and a Khumo in a 315 also both for racing only...and that's it that will handle a 12" wide rim unless I jump all the way up to a 335, but that only comes in a 30 series so the thing will only be 25.9" tall.

 

[Phil]

Darrin:
Keep in mind that whatever wheel you go for, if its a pin drive, will need an adapter that will add about 3/8" to your track dimension...something to check on when ordering.
Just my 2c
Phil

 

[Darrin]

Darrin:
Keep in mind that whatever wheel you go for, if its a pin drive, will need an adapter that will add about 3/8" to your track dimension...something to check on when ordering.
Just my 2c
Phil

Thanks Phil. Not going pin drive though.

 

[Darrin]

FWIW, I just found out the parent company is iForged (won several SEMA awards the past few years). Also didn't mention that these are lightweight modular wheels (not one piece).

Given all this, the price is very good (although I had to haggle to get it down). If anyone else wants to deviate from the traditional look, I'd suggest giving these a thought as I've spent a lot of time looking around and it's pretty hard to get custom forgings (modular no less) like this in this price point.

 

[David]

Look good, somewhat similar to the Ford GT wheels.

Personally I think I'm going BRM style but I did go through a phase of considering a more modern style and was thinking about XXR 530/525 (530 rear, 525 front) which look very similar.
530

525

Decided not as while they were substantially cheaper I they still didn't come in the right offsets and I can't stand the multi-hole fitments.

In the end I went back to planning BRM's as while aftermarket alloys were cheaper they're rare if even available in the right sizes (you'd find a perfect design ~8in front but no matching ~10in rear) and by the time you go up to ~10in rears they're mostly the same price as 'custom' anyway. Or they were available but in a 20in which would both look silly and end up costing more in tyres than the wheels!