RacePro Engineering

Selling your race wheels?

Or, just trying to sell your OEM wheels to racers?

Here are a few, simple suggestions:

** While it might be sufficient in selling wheels to be used on the street, most racers will not be satisified with “These will fit on your car.” Depending upon their experience and level of competition, racers will NEED a lot more specifics. So . . . . .

** Know exactly what you have to sell. This would include wheel manufacturer, model, nominal diameter, nominal width, offset or backspace, bolt pattern, and weight without tire. Getting this information might require a little extra effort, but it will always help to know the answer before you are asked - and you WILL be asked.

** Be brutally honest about the condition of your wheels. Little hairline cracks or small lip bends that are common on street wheels can fail CATASTROPHICALLY on the track. Nobody wants that !! A thorough cleaning and visual inspection will allow you to discuss any problems.

** If you have used these wheels on the track yourself, post up any hints about fittment.- spacers required, big brake clearance, A-Arm clearance, fit perfectly on __________.

I am not suggesting one needs to know metallurgy, or magnaflux their wheels before selling, or discuss the difference between cast aluminum and forged. But in offering race wheels, your customer is knowledgeable, and is purchasing PERFORMANCE and safety, not just a set of shiny wheels. The more accurate and complete info you can provide, the easier it is for him to buy, and the happier the outcome of the sale!

Just some recommendations.
Ed LoPresti

crease-guard

Great information.

For those of us buying wheels, I've been wondering a few things as well.

I am recently into the HPDE/Road course thing. My track car currently has a set of forgelines on it that need some repair. I don't have a second set of wheels and would like to know a few things.

I've seen some forum vendors offer wheels that are "rotary" forged and are about 1/4 the price of forgelines. Are these types of manufacturing processes (rotary forging) sufficient enough to use on the track?

I've read a few opinions that wheels should be considered a consumable. At 250/wheel as opposed to 1000/wheel, I can buy 4 sets...use them and toss them when I'm done. Seems like it might be more cost effective. However, I don't want to sacrifice saftey. I fully realize you get what you pay for but if the rotary forged wheels will do the job safely but may not have as much life span, I'm willing to keep logs of time on the rim and toss it when I'm done.

Suggestions please.

RacePro Engineering

I am very keen to hear what others think about the consumable track wheel. I must admit, it is a new idea to us.

In the most basic sessions of our Prep Your Porsche for the Track clinics, we offer the following criteria for evaluation of track wheels:

[1] Strength against breaking
[2] Weight (with #1 satisfied, the lighter the better)
[3] Torsional rigidity against flexing
[4] Brake ventilation
[5] Aero turbulance

These are listed in what we consider the order of importance. Obviously, it will be only the more experienced driver, at higher levels of competition, who cares about the last two or three.

And a quick aside regarding STRUCTURAL repairs to race wheels. While many have had success with the best shops, if the wheels in question are single-piece, we would not chance it.

Ed

crease-guard

I like the information. I would probably swap 2 and 3 for my personal situation. I'm not really racing, just going out and having fun...although it's nice to be able to keep up with the big boys...but that's more seat time and practice than wheels.

The forgelines I have are 3 piece, so they are able to be repaired.

The rotary forged wheels I've seen are one piece. My take on that is if you bend the wheel, it's done. Toss it out and put a new one in it's place.

What's the skinny on the rotary forging process. Does it have sufficient marks in items 1 and 3 to make it a safe option to run?

Jay

RacePro Engineering

Double post.

RacePro Engineering

Jay, I honestly no not know.

Are any of the tried-and-true race wheel manufacturers using this process? (BBS, Fikse, Kodiak, Jongbloed, OZ, CCW) If so, their engineering departments will be able to answer questions like that.

I am hoping that someone here who has familiarity with the process, or who has tried wheels manufactured that way on the race track, will chime in . . . . .

jon6.0

Tirerack has a pretty good article on the different types of manufacture processes.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/...urrentpage=110

larryfs

I have 4) AMOLD GM wheels from a 96 CE, loaded with brake dust. They are track worthy wheels, as that is what I used them for.
$350 for (4).

RacePro Engineering

Larry,

I am not real certain what your post means - maybe just having a little fun?

Or, is this the "poster child" of incomplete information? The "example" that intentionally disregards the vast majority of my suggestions? The post that says, "This is exactly what Ed LoPresti would NOT like to see from those who are selling their race wheels"?

Help us out here.
Ed

RacePro Engineering

Jon,

That is an interesting short read, but I did not see any mention of the rotary forging process. The mention of High Light Technology (HLT) was news to me, as well.

Thanks,
Ed

larryfs

3 things:

You brought a C4, correct?
If so, looking for C4 wheels, I assume ?
If so, most C4 owners know what A-mold wheels are, and there is no further explanation necessary.

So my point is, once you know what something is, there is no need to provide the metal fatiuge specs of the wheel.

RacePro Engineering

Larry,

I agree with you completely, that once one KNOWS what "something" is, there is no need for further elaboration, but it is getting to that first point of understanding EXACTLY what someone else is offering that is the objective here.

I know you have a lot of wheel activity posts lately. Using your examples of the C4 wheels, did not the Grand Sport come "stock" with three different widths of wheels? And isn't it true that folks here continually confuse the 11" rear GS with the 11" ZR-1, which has a different offset? And further, don't you find that many (MANY) Forum members write "A-Mold" as sort of a generic term, when they are actually selling A-Mold replicas, or look-alikes, that are heavier, and may have different backspacing? While certain other specs may be relatively easy to locate, weight is not, but to a racer that is important. Although not C4, here is one of your current posts where you are asking for similar clarification:

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c6-p...heels-f-s.html

I am not against the buyer doing his homework, but incomplete or vague posts do not tell us much.

Once we have established exactly WHAT is for sale, there is the issue of CONDITION. "It looks round, and the tire guy says he can probably make it balance," might be fine for casual use on the street, but not here. If your Collector Edition wheels are "loaded with brake dust", we would ask you to use some brake cleaner and a rag, and look carefully for hairline cracks. We might ask you to lay them rim-side-down on a completely flat surface to look for any lip bends or warps. That would help US decide if they are truly "track worthy".

In our case, we do have a C4, but that is beside the point. I am hoping this thread helps those who are attempting to sell WHEELS to autocrossers, track-day participants, and racers; helps them gather ALL the pertinent information ahead of time, so their buyer can make an informed decision.

And remember - it is just a suggestion.
Ed

[After-thought]: Here is an example of a very complete post selling race wheels:
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-p...post1578979530

Very few questions left unanswered. Bravo!