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Who makes the new wheels?

PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:39 pm
by Greg Holmberg
I'm looking for cheap 13x6 aluminum wheels for racing. Who makes the latest wheels for SRF? I know that they're 5.5" and 7" wide, but I figure the manufacturer would probably make a 6" too.

Re: Who makes the new wheels?

PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 6:50 pm
by breton
If you're looking for cheap, you've come to the wrong place! The wheels are custom-built for SCCA Enterprises (from some Asian country, I believe) since there isn't much demand for 13 inch wheels fitting a mid-80's Renault hub. They retail in the low to mid $300 range (last time I had to buy one!)

Re: Who makes the new wheels?

PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 7:55 pm
by Greg Holmberg
Yes, I've seen $320 for the front and $350 for the rear. But I think there is also markup by SCCA Enterprises and the CSR, so direct from the factory would be quite a but less, I think. I've seen similar wheels for $200, so I'd like to see what this factory can do.

Who knows the brand or manufacturer?

Re: Who makes the new wheels?

PostPosted: Mon Apr 22, 2019 10:55 pm
by Zealous
I believe they are made by VTO Wheels. From memory my last set had their branding on some of the packing material.
https://www.vtowheels.com/

Re: Who makes the new wheels?

PostPosted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 12:34 am
by Greg Holmberg
Yes, this looks like it, right? $154.

I don't see a 6" or a 7" though.

Does anyone know what the 5.5" and 7" weigh?

https://www.vtowheels.com/Formula-Ford-13-x-55-4-x-100mm-2mm_p_175.html

SCCA-FRONT-13X55.jpg
SCCA-FRONT-13X55.jpg (135.12 KiB) Viewed 17918 times

Re: Who makes the new wheels?

PostPosted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 2:35 pm
by breton
My guess is that there's custom work involved (based on the poor fitment of the latest version of these wheels to the hub center - not the greatest...) which reflects the price (plus the usual Enterprises markup.)

Are you looking for fitting an SRF, or are you looking for a different race car? Curious about the 6" width requirement as we're fitting 185's on the 5.5 and 205's on the 7" wheel. These are heavier than the older Weld wheels (about 2.5 lbs per wheel if I recall correctly).

Re: Who makes the new wheels?

PostPosted: Tue Apr 23, 2019 2:37 pm
by Bob Devol
While it's nice to find another source for our wheels, you should know this: the official spec wheel has "SCCA" molded into the bead area twice on the outside facing. So, you're running the risk of an eagle-eyed tech inspector DQ-ing your wheels, your car, or both.

Actually you'd be better off poking around to see if anyone is selling a set of the original six-spoke Pack wheels (Australian manufacture before, say, 2016 or so).

Re: Who makes the new wheels?

PostPosted: Mon May 20, 2019 2:15 pm
by TrackBrat
I am really curious what the true markup amount is for our wheels. Yes I know they are most likely custom but I feel like there has to be a point where that has to have been paid off / reduced due to amount made.

The wheels on VTO are in the $150-to 160 range...even including ones that look like the old shelby wheels. That is a very different price from the mid 300 it sounds like the "Spec" wheels are. That seems to be a giant markup. As all of us are members of the racing family I'm sure you have had the talk of costs always comes up.

I know racing is not cheap...no hobby or passion ever is, but racing costs rising is always a big issue. Yes our cars are rather cheap to drive compared to others, but honestly I would be curious to see a comparison of what it was when we had giant car fields. Yes the Gen 3 update isn't cheap, any update of a class never is.

Yes I am currently unemployed and was working at a crap paying job before, but I am in that age bracket of people we want to target to get into the sport/class and even those well off its tricky just due to costs of life. I don't even want to get started about gearbox longevity in a 3 vs 2, but stuff like that is something to think about. 200 bucks added to the price of what the wheel could be I believe is way excessive. What could that 200 x 4 be used on your car? Fixed parts, maybe additional race weekends? Just some thoughts.