street strip wheels
08-14-2008, 09:51 PM
#1
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street strip wheels I have a dilema, my car will be 3/4 strip and 1/4 street. Ill run welds for racing but cant run them on the street due to cracking and reduced handleing and brakeing. So i need a rim to run on the street with a 315 drag radial.
OR...
Find a rim that can handle both tasks any ideas?
OR...
Find a rim that can handle both tasks any ideas?
08-14-2008, 10:13 PM
#2
Use a smaller sidewall street wheel for the street.
It doesn't matter even if you used a 15" wheel that is designed for street use....Handling sucks when you try to use a small skinny wheel or for that matter any type of 15" wheel since the sidewalls are so large.
In addition a "street" 15 wheel is too heavy...you're much better off with the prostar that you're running right now. I"m not sure what trend I've been seeing lately. The reason why anyone should even want a 15" wheel is to reduce weight as much as possible for race benefits. A 15" wheel does nothing but lower any type of handling or normal everyday driving. You may as well choose the lightest setup your can handle (cash wise). The only other reason to run a heavy 15" wheel I suppose is to "look" like a race car.
When you want to go out cruising on the street for a race, put the race wheels on.
It doesn't matter even if you used a 15" wheel that is designed for street use....Handling sucks when you try to use a small skinny wheel or for that matter any type of 15" wheel since the sidewalls are so large.
In addition a "street" 15 wheel is too heavy...you're much better off with the prostar that you're running right now. I"m not sure what trend I've been seeing lately. The reason why anyone should even want a 15" wheel is to reduce weight as much as possible for race benefits. A 15" wheel does nothing but lower any type of handling or normal everyday driving. You may as well choose the lightest setup your can handle (cash wise). The only other reason to run a heavy 15" wheel I suppose is to "look" like a race car.
When you want to go out cruising on the street for a race, put the race wheels on.
08-15-2008, 05:21 PM
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Iv been told that the prostrs will crack on the street. thanks for the advise on the large sidewall tire. Iv been having trouble finding a street tire that is 28 in tall in a 17 inch package.
08-15-2008, 05:51 PM
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Were do the prostars crack? Would draglites be any better? It's hard to have the best of both worlds with street/racing wheels. Since your car is more for racing I would just keep the prostars and buy a set of decent wheels for the street. They don't have to be amazing or anything since you will be using the prostars most of the time. You can find plenty of nice looking wheels for decent money that will work better for the street.
08-15-2008, 06:25 PM
#6
08-16-2008, 12:01 AM
#7
Drag wheels can crack when used for not what they are intended for. You can use a wheel like dragwheelz suggest though are very heavy and not by any standard to be considered a "drag" wheel. They are street wheels...only a few lbs lighter than a stock wheel. Not to diminish the way they look, they appear to look very nice...I never liked the centercap design, hopefully they’ve improved the typical bolted centercaps. The bolts typically used on those style caps typically rust and sheer in the wheel (as seen on other manufactures using the same style center/centercap design).
You WILL loose performance if you switch to a heavier billet specialty wheel. There's nothing wrong with the wheel you have now. Their wheel is about 4lbs heavier then your wheel which converting to a static load would be like putting ~30lbs back on your car. Braking distances will increase as well as 60ft times. As you know right now, normal driving is drastically changed to the worse with your 15's...use them when you want to go out drag race others.
A drag wheel is designed to remove as much mass which benefits stopping distances, 60 ft times etc. Street wheels (though difficult to compare as we're looking a drag wheel and street wheel are quite a bit difference in weight (not to mention distribution of weight). Our Bogart wheel for example weighs ~10lbs, Billet Spec. is probably close to 17lbs. (original design was quoted 16.2...with the added mass in the center section I'll assume they are probably closer to 17, dragwheelz should be able to confirm this). Your wheel is in between our's and theirs.
Personally, if lightweight and performance is most important and funds are low, I'd stick with a prostar design. This way you'll reap quite a bit of benefits of a drag wheel. If fitment and performance and weight benefits are most important, then our Bogart wheel would be best choice.
If you want to look like a racer without the benefits of a having lightweight wheels, then centerline would be the next choice (some of them are bolt on as well). Billet Specialties wheels would be the heaviest of choices. Our 17x11 road race wheels fwiw can be built lighter than their 15x10 street wheels.
As discussed earlier, the trend of using heavy wheels being 15's really doesn't make sense for racing performance. (Why 15's are used in the first place). In comparison to 17's, they handle terrible and lowering street driving considerably. Adding skinnies makes it even worse. Forget turning and stopping. The apparent trend of using heavy 15's to me is like a Honda with a big spoiler/wing or coffee can exhaust. We did a street strip wheel similar to Billets years ago (a few Camaro's are listed in our gallery). We have not focused on them as they tend to be quite a bit heavier than our normal designs.
I do not want anyone to feel I am picking or arguing that other wheels are not as good as our Bogart wheels. Each wheel has its place and each fits each person’s goals. As long as they are happy with the choices they made, that is all that is important. I am here stating differences and benefits between different wheels so each person can make a choice which meets their goals best. My feeling is if you are looking to run a drag wheel 15” setup, choose a setup that is lightweight for performance benefits.
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08-16-2008, 10:40 AM
#9
Thanks Tommy, actually our rears are only ~100.00-150.00 more a wheel then a Billet Spec. wheel. I have no idea in cost difference of their fronts compared to ours as they do not have anything that fits for it at this time. Their current fronts use 1.625” backspace on their 4’s which you still have to add a spacer and grind… they effectively stick out quite a bit more than prostars which stick out more than ours.
While not choosing a lightweight wheel as ours…you'd have to purchase a k-member effectively to make up the difference in weight your saving….in the end you’ll spend more money and more time when purchasing a heavy street wheel. These are things that many people do not pay attention to when they "think" they are saving money.
Once again, not to diminish other company’s products, you need to purchase what makes you feel best meeting any goals you desire.
While not choosing a lightweight wheel as ours…you'd have to purchase a k-member effectively to make up the difference in weight your saving….in the end you’ll spend more money and more time when purchasing a heavy street wheel. These are things that many people do not pay attention to when they "think" they are saving money.
Once again, not to diminish other company’s products, you need to purchase what makes you feel best meeting any goals you desire.
08-16-2008, 11:23 AM
#10
Steve, Please Stop with your bashing of product.
Our wheels Are lighter then stock, And when measured against Your wheels Mounted up on a Scale, they were a few lbs heavier, Did i also mention SFI approved, Yes they went through SFI testing. And if your a drag Car, there are alot of other Light weight things to worry about. If you are Looking for a Street Strip wheel, Then we are the product for you as The Street lite was designed for that purpose, race at the track on Saturday, and drive to work on Monday.
When you look at the weight savings all around of the street lite package over stock there is a Substantial gain all around, the fronts are 10 lbs each. the rears last one i weighed was 15.6 lbs. yes they are a Little heavier, But that is for safety and for the Security of street driving. Also safty at the track knowing These have passed some SFI tests. if we really wanted, we could have the Hoop thinned out, and run a Super duper Lightweight center, and Weld a Spacer to our wheels, Not have them SFI approved, And have an Unsafe wheel for Drag use only. And even then is it not 100% safe from Splitting at the track, or on the return road.
But we wont, Cause that is not what we are after.
I will strongly disagree about your skinnes and driving on the street,You make it seem Like do it and you are going to die. Yes it is not the Best option, But you are making it out to be the Worst possible thing in the world to do, It is far from that. I have driven with skinnies for years on my cars, and never had an issue with the cause i knew i had skinnies on, Made it a more conscious driver, along with a Nice soft ride like a Cadillac with my Stiff Suspension.
And before you compare our product to Someone else's about cap designs, please learn about Metal. As Stainless steel or aluminum will not rust.
Our wheels Are lighter then stock, And when measured against Your wheels Mounted up on a Scale, they were a few lbs heavier, Did i also mention SFI approved, Yes they went through SFI testing. And if your a drag Car, there are alot of other Light weight things to worry about. If you are Looking for a Street Strip wheel, Then we are the product for you as The Street lite was designed for that purpose, race at the track on Saturday, and drive to work on Monday.
When you look at the weight savings all around of the street lite package over stock there is a Substantial gain all around, the fronts are 10 lbs each. the rears last one i weighed was 15.6 lbs. yes they are a Little heavier, But that is for safety and for the Security of street driving. Also safty at the track knowing These have passed some SFI tests. if we really wanted, we could have the Hoop thinned out, and run a Super duper Lightweight center, and Weld a Spacer to our wheels, Not have them SFI approved, And have an Unsafe wheel for Drag use only. And even then is it not 100% safe from Splitting at the track, or on the return road.
But we wont, Cause that is not what we are after.
I will strongly disagree about your skinnes and driving on the street,You make it seem Like do it and you are going to die. Yes it is not the Best option, But you are making it out to be the Worst possible thing in the world to do, It is far from that. I have driven with skinnies for years on my cars, and never had an issue with the cause i knew i had skinnies on, Made it a more conscious driver, along with a Nice soft ride like a Cadillac with my Stiff Suspension.
And before you compare our product to Someone else's about cap designs, please learn about Metal. As Stainless steel or aluminum will not rust.
08-16-2008, 12:28 PM
#11
Dragwheelz, I'm not bashing your products. I'm making comparisons to a variety of wheels. The wheels you sell are one that I made a comparison to. They are very nice looking street wheels.
Skinny front wheels nor 15" wheels in general work well for the street in comparison to any smaller sidewall tire. How you can come to the conclusion or state to others that small skinny wheels being 15” in diameter and rear 15” wheels can feel safe or perform as well as any larger diameter wheel with larger footprints and smaller sidewalls. Using 15” wheels as an everyday driver generally takes any normal street spirited fun out of everyday driving.
Regarding weight comparisons, I quoted numbers per Billets website, the original is 16.2 which if adding material on the center for additional clearance was performed, it would not be lighter. If only a slight change in hoop profile was performed, weight wouldn't change substantially either. I'm not going to argue with your finding, if you measured it to be as heavy as you stated, it still is heavy. Maybe not for a street wheel, but in comparison to any drag wheel…it is. The wheels you sell are designed and promoted as a "street" wheel...so I think you're fighting a losing battle when comparing it to a light drag wheel. Not only is sheer weight important but where the weight is located on the wheel.
Please don't attempt to educate me regarding material structure and design. Stainless can rust depending on its metallurgy …Chemical reactions occur between dissimilar materials as well.
My comments are not to be construed to being our wheel is better than any other. We offer something that others do not. I am validating my comments as to why there are differences. I’m sorry that you do not like the fact that your wheel in comparison to our or other drag wheels, come in last regarding racing benefits. The results shouldn’t be shocking though, the wheels you sell are not drag wheels.
I’m not sure what reassurance SFI approval is to the end user. It’s a false sense of security to the masses. SFI approval doesn’t have any validity regarding street performance or assurance that the wheels you sell are stronger then a non-SFI wheel or even other SFI approved wheels. Giving you a direct example, SFI testing stickers are available on many high-end drag wheels such as weld alumastars. So what you’re stating is that the weld alumstar would be just as durable as the billet specialties street wheels?
SFI testing has been performed on our wheels as well as over 25 years of design behind our Bogart products. I think we can both agree that we will both be on the boards for offering products for our customers. They all provide solutions for the end user. When making a comparison to any drag wheel, a street wheel such as billet specialty offers is not going fair as well as a drag wheel.
Skinny front wheels nor 15" wheels in general work well for the street in comparison to any smaller sidewall tire. How you can come to the conclusion or state to others that small skinny wheels being 15” in diameter and rear 15” wheels can feel safe or perform as well as any larger diameter wheel with larger footprints and smaller sidewalls. Using 15” wheels as an everyday driver generally takes any normal street spirited fun out of everyday driving.
Regarding weight comparisons, I quoted numbers per Billets website, the original is 16.2 which if adding material on the center for additional clearance was performed, it would not be lighter. If only a slight change in hoop profile was performed, weight wouldn't change substantially either. I'm not going to argue with your finding, if you measured it to be as heavy as you stated, it still is heavy. Maybe not for a street wheel, but in comparison to any drag wheel…it is. The wheels you sell are designed and promoted as a "street" wheel...so I think you're fighting a losing battle when comparing it to a light drag wheel. Not only is sheer weight important but where the weight is located on the wheel.
Please don't attempt to educate me regarding material structure and design. Stainless can rust depending on its metallurgy …Chemical reactions occur between dissimilar materials as well.
My comments are not to be construed to being our wheel is better than any other. We offer something that others do not. I am validating my comments as to why there are differences. I’m sorry that you do not like the fact that your wheel in comparison to our or other drag wheels, come in last regarding racing benefits. The results shouldn’t be shocking though, the wheels you sell are not drag wheels.
I’m not sure what reassurance SFI approval is to the end user. It’s a false sense of security to the masses. SFI approval doesn’t have any validity regarding street performance or assurance that the wheels you sell are stronger then a non-SFI wheel or even other SFI approved wheels. Giving you a direct example, SFI testing stickers are available on many high-end drag wheels such as weld alumastars. So what you’re stating is that the weld alumstar would be just as durable as the billet specialties street wheels?
SFI testing has been performed on our wheels as well as over 25 years of design behind our Bogart products. I think we can both agree that we will both be on the boards for offering products for our customers. They all provide solutions for the end user. When making a comparison to any drag wheel, a street wheel such as billet specialty offers is not going fair as well as a drag wheel.
08-16-2008, 01:44 PM
#12
Why do flywheels, bellhousings, and balancers have SFI approvals on them? I thought you had to have certain components SFI approved as far as those exposed rotating engine parts and bellhousing/scattershield for safety requirements. There is something to SFI approval, not saying that it alone qualifies one wheel to be better than another.
08-16-2008, 02:12 PM
#13
Redline, SFI is a rating and I do not negate its qualifications and quantification.
Since dragwheelz brought up SFI ratings in this as well as other posts I’ve seen, I disagree as to the content as dragwheelz has implied as being an approval for street use. SFI has NOTHING to do with street usage or rating! Hence why in my response I quantified it with weld alumastar SFI rated wheels so that the laymen wheel user can try to understand what I am discussing.
SFI rating is not enacted as a street durability or street usage qualification period. It does not give the user any type of implied or warranted statement that a wheel is to be used for street usage!!
Unfortunately, the laymen or general population will push a product stating a “feature” yet not really understanding and misusing its benefits. This can be used as a misleading statement willingly or unwillingly to push a customer to believe a product may be better then another to gain sales.
Once again, not to get off track to the original poster. Keep your prostars, they are a good economy style wheel with many beneifits being a drag wheel better (for racing advantages) and lighter then any street wheel out there. Use them for racing purposes. Use your street wheels for every day usage.
If you decide to purchase a dual duty wheel from what you have now...you will decrease performance in EVERY area. Consider this. Right now you use a summer radial racing tire. Think of getting an all season radial tire. They are not really that good in the summer and not really that good in the winter. Just all around "ok" in comparison to a summer or winter specific tire.
To reiterate, this is not bashing billet specialty wheels one bit, factually, their wheels are a heavier and not designated as a specific drag wheel. Using those, summit/jegs star wheels or other street oriented 15" wheel will decrease performance in comparison to what you use.
Since dragwheelz brought up SFI ratings in this as well as other posts I’ve seen, I disagree as to the content as dragwheelz has implied as being an approval for street use. SFI has NOTHING to do with street usage or rating! Hence why in my response I quantified it with weld alumastar SFI rated wheels so that the laymen wheel user can try to understand what I am discussing.
SFI rating is not enacted as a street durability or street usage qualification period. It does not give the user any type of implied or warranted statement that a wheel is to be used for street usage!!
Unfortunately, the laymen or general population will push a product stating a “feature” yet not really understanding and misusing its benefits. This can be used as a misleading statement willingly or unwillingly to push a customer to believe a product may be better then another to gain sales.
Once again, not to get off track to the original poster. Keep your prostars, they are a good economy style wheel with many beneifits being a drag wheel better (for racing advantages) and lighter then any street wheel out there. Use them for racing purposes. Use your street wheels for every day usage.
If you decide to purchase a dual duty wheel from what you have now...you will decrease performance in EVERY area. Consider this. Right now you use a summer radial racing tire. Think of getting an all season radial tire. They are not really that good in the summer and not really that good in the winter. Just all around "ok" in comparison to a summer or winter specific tire.
To reiterate, this is not bashing billet specialty wheels one bit, factually, their wheels are a heavier and not designated as a specific drag wheel. Using those, summit/jegs star wheels or other street oriented 15" wheel will decrease performance in comparison to what you use.
Last edited by SJM Manufacturing Inc; 08-16-2008 at 03:06 PM.
