Yesterday Speedhunters blogged about a sick looking Golf, which we chatted about at the office all day.  There were arguments for and against the stretched tire look. My vote is for it!  If I could pull it off on my smart I would be rockin’ an uber-stretched wheel, but in the meantime I’m just a wall-flower to the whole stretched movement.

Anyways, after talking about it so much yesterday I decided that I needed to know more about how it’s done. So after a little bit of magic with the google I found out that this stretched tire thing isn’t safe at all. The main idea is to stretch a tire three to six inches beyond the width of wheel it was designed for. Beyond that, I don’t think there is much to it.  Now, check out how it’s done by these apparent noobs in a video after the jump. Do not try this at home!

Continue reading "Stretching Tires 101" »

Dymag isn’t going to be offering the 100% carbon fiber wheels that Rob blogged recently. But at the SEMA show, the company apparently struck a deal with manufacturer HRE to produce these hybrid wheels, with carbon hoops, aluminum centers, and titanium hardware. The rims will likely retail for between $2500 and $4000 each, meaning that a full set of them will cost between ten and sixteen times more than what I’d generally pay for an entire running car. More at BornRich.

I’ve seen carbon fiber wheels with magnesium centers like these Dymags, but nothing all carbon. Well, turns out "an international group of PhDs, physicists, and engineers, using the latest carbon fiber nanotube (CTN) aerospace nanotechnology" are working together in a secret underground laboratory to create the world’s first one-piece, 100% carbon fiber wheels. Only, they’re not sure which car to build them for first, and they haven’t decided on price. But we will definitely let you know when we learn more. In the meantime, if you own a high end sports car, they want your opinion. I think it would make sense to start out with the Z06, but then I drive an old Mopar with 15" steel wheels, so what do I know…

Continue reading "World’s First One-Piece, 100% Carbon Fiber Wheels" »

I made the bad decision to run my rare Rial ViperDs on my wagon this winter. I suited up with snow tires and made the best of a bad situation–there are fewer than 100 sets of these wheels in the US and they are no longer made. I love these wheels–I’m very partial to the tuning fork design, and seven is my magic number for spokes. In the past, I’d run the old 15" stockers with Semperit snows to get through the salty season, but a big-brake upgrade last summer meant the 15s were off the option list this time around. After about three weeks of ignoring the reality of the situation, I sat down this weekend and cleaned my wheels. Yes, the wheel in the pic is "clean." You can see where a bend took the clearcoat off the polished lip (had that rolled out right away), and the coating took a major beating. There’s even a chink out of one of my spokes–I have no idea how much that will cost to get fixed. I am facing down an entire remanufacture of these wheels this year–I’ll send them out to a local shop that does everything the manufacturer does down to the anti-corrosion bath. At $100 a pop, it’s not cheap, but I do like these wheels. Now my question for our readers is: do I keep them silver or color match them to my Indigo Blue car? I’m leaning toward the Indigo right now, but I can be swayed back to silver.

It should be noted that the concave spoke curve that I particularly love about some aftermarket wheels (GT-R Fitment TE/CE Volks, Various Advans, etc.) has been getting a lot of love by OEMs in recent years. Ever notice the side profile of the BMW M5’s factory wheels? On this M1 concept they don’t play around–the concave spoke design is at an extreme. I think it’s a good look (even on an strangely designed wheel like this which I don’t know if I love or hate). Concave spokes are like having a deep lip without actually having a deep lip. Continue reading…

Concave shaped spokes showcase the width of the rim and its low offset in a classy and integrated way that 3pc wheels with deep lips just cant offer. I’ve always been a fan and continue to be (even on 14? rims like these Top Secret limited TE37s for the AE86).

Great angle of an otherwise ugly concept car.

If you happen to have a spare $10-12k sitting in the bank for a rainy day and you’re shopping around for some new shoes for your ride, then make sure you add a set of these new Strut wheels to your shopping list. Strut is probably best known for their "car jewelry"–a collection of top quality polished grilles for all luxury makes–so their venture into high-end wheels is a pretty natural progression.

Strut’s new Icon 10 and Icon 10D are forged aluminum, available in 2- or 3-piece designs and can be had in your choice of 20-, 22-, or 24-inches. To get the right look for your ride, the wheels come in chrome or satin finish. For an additional cost, Strut can even custom color-match wheels to any color.

Full press release and an additional photo available after the jump.

Continue reading "New Icon Wheels from Strut" »

I was speaking to some friends of mine the other day about a wheel choice for the new car that I’m building. Some of them asked about the level of "bling" I was going to go with. They asked if I was going to go with a 19" or 20" inch wheel. Would it be chrome, polished or powder coated, and what wheel manufacturer was I going to use? This got me thinking. As some of you know, I run some polished aluminum wheels on my ‘68 Charger, so when the question came up if I was going to do it again I immediately said no. My reasoning for this is that I feel as though the whole "bling thing" is coming to a close, at least for me anyway. Now we all know that there are hundreds of aftermarket wheel companies out there, offering everything from billet wheels to spinners to wheels that’ll show text that you type in from your computer.

This is all fine and dandy and has been going for quite some time, but I am wondering if the "bling" portion of the wheel industry is starting to die down. I mean, do we really need wheels that light up, spin when they’re stopped and allow you to give out your phone number to the car next to you? It seems that nowadays aftermarket wheels are more often being constructed for purpose-built machines, and not so much for pure aesthetics. Am I wrong here?

Continue reading "Is Bling Dead, Dying or Strong as Ever?" »

Check out these awesome Enkei Apache wheels on JP’s 1976 Mitsubishi Galant! And if you’re into old school JDM wheels, you should definitely check out this thread over at japanesenostalgiccar.com.

The end of January is almost here, and that means you have about two months to start prepping for the show season. Are you ready? Well, if you’re looking for a way to differentiate your ride from all others, giving your car some new shoes is a perfect way to set it off. Wheels can take an otherwise stock-looking car to new levels, and if you really want to separate the meat from the gristle, finding a unique, new, or rare brand of wheels is key.

With that said, let me introduce you to the new bad boy on the block� Russtec forged wheels. These babies are forged from solid 6061-T6 aluminum alloy using a 10,000 pound press, and all that pressure creates an extremely lightweight, super-strong and hella-sexy looking wheel. And since they’re hand-finished in Italy and the US, you know they’re going to look as good as they perform. Russtec has six two-piece wheels available for your rolling pleasure, and they’re available in four different finishes: polished, brushed, black chrome or carbon fiber.

We’ve got pics of the entire line and the press release after the jump. Check it out!

Continue reading "New Kid on the Block: Russtec Wheels" »

Frankly, I’m amazed that pit-crew guys don’t get hurt more often than they do.  Sometimes it seems like a car’s wheels are already spinning before it’s even off the jack, and I don’t understand why tire-changers aren’t constantly losing appendages. NASCAR has tweaked the rules a bit in an effort to avert the seemingly inevitable carnage as pit-road competition grows fiercer. One of these adjustments states that right-hand (track-side) wheels can no longer be rolled, hucked, or hurled into the pit box–they have to be hand-rolled into the service area by the changer. This comes after some notable chaos caused by runaway wheels last season, including the No. 55 gas man being viciously nailed by in the head by one that went airborne at Dover International Speedway. Good call on NASCAR’s part, because if an escaped wheel can cause this much pain to a civilian who’s just standing and minding his own business, you know it’s got to be a lot worse in the chaotic scramble of pit road.

Jeff just picked up news wheels for the Retro Rides Camaro he’s building. They look pretty sweet! From his ride page:

I finally got around to picking up the custom wheels for the car and can’t wait to get some tires and mounted on the car! They are 18" x 8" and 18" x 9" polished outers with a brushed center for a unique look to them. Tire wise, going to go with 265/35-18 up front and 285/40-18 out back (or perhaps 295/35…still deciding). They look cool sitting on the garage floor for the moment at least!

This is so saccharine I can’t even bring myself to file it under "cute product alert." These cuddly Ronal rims aren’t available anymore, much to the angst of various grown-up babies: would you believe that there were recently some guys on a certain well-known automotive forum who were seriously looking for a set of these for their rides?  Maybe we should hook them up with a set of those lavender-scented tires to wrap them in.

The temperature is dropping, but I’m prepared. The gluttony of Thanksgiving left me with a nice layer of insulation for the winter:

• A fuel cell car for only $80! That’s too good to be true! Oh, that makes sense now: Autoblog Green
• A bill to increase fuel efficiency standards stalled in the Senate. Fortunately, I’ve still got a few years to get in bike-riding shape before all the oil runs out: DetNews
• This article is pretty dry, but it includes a fun fact near the end—Mexico is the biggest market for armored cars in the world: Market Watch
• There are more cars in India than ever and they are going faster than ever. Unfortunately, this means that more of these cars are running into people at high speeds: Wheels

I’m preparing for Thanksgiving by practicing my post-dinner nap at work. When I am conscious, here’s what I’m reading:

• While other car makers are working on building electric cars, Chrysler is drawing them. Sounds like somebody has some catchup work ahead of them: DetNews
• Apparently, GM and Toyota were letting cars roll off the line in California with faulty seat belts and brakes. I consider those parts of the car pretty important: Leftlane News
• Looking for a bimmer that’s inexpensive because it needs some cosmetic work? Jalopnik found your next car on craigslist: Jalopnik
• The F1 season is over and now we can follow some brilliant off season bickering between teams. NASCAR, I hope you’re taking notes: Top Gear
• Are Parisians nervous when they see a German amphibious vehicle on the Seine? This article doesn’t say, but I bet they are: Wheels

By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

The DUB guys told me that 30 is the magic number this year. Check out these 30s on a Chevy truck in the DUB area out front.