Bought a new wheel for my car. Yup, one.

Mercutio

SCCoA Member
My car will need new tires this spring, but after looking at what's available, I wasn't satisfied with the performance level of the 17" offerings with a width and diameter appropriate for an SC. Through autocrossing I get exposed to what all the really fast guys in the street tire classes are running: BFG Rivals, Bridgestone RE71R, Dunlop Star Spec, stuff like that. And for those models, the available sizes are too narrow and/or too short for an SC.

So I needed 18s, which is kind of a bummer, since I really like the 10th Anniversary Cobra wheels on my car. Also, my Brembo calipers make finding wheels a challenge, since spoke clearance is a problem with a lot of wheels. One wheel I looked at was the Enkei RPF1: it's incredibly light, but after lots of research I found an 18x9 won't clear Cobra R brakes. An 18x10 will, but that's a bit too big for the front of an SC.

So I took a look at the Enkei PF01. It's not as light as the RPF1, but it has curved, rather than flat spokes. Even so, there was very little info on whether they'd fit. I found a thread on an autocross forum about fitting 18x9s in +35 offset to an S197 with Brembos, but that still wasn't a definite answer, so I only ordered one.

Good news:

244_zps53hv4rwg.jpg


Lots of caliper clearance:

245_zpsrxzv4zwb.jpg


And because the offset is better suited for the SC, they'll tuck in 9mm closer on each side. And it's under 20 lbs. per corner, so that's still nearly 5 pounds per corner lighter than my current 17s.

So now I guess I need to order three more of them...
 
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Nice looking wheel, BUT......

Made in japan cast right in the front of the wheel? What's up with that? I don't think I could look at that every time I looked at my car. When did this stuff move from being marked in the back side to the face of the wheel? :confused:

Adam
 
Nice looking wheel, BUT......

Made in japan cast right in the front of the wheel? What's up with that?

While Enkei does have factories in US, China, india, Vietnam, the Philippines and in other countries including Japan, their 'Racing' series, such as the PF01, are MIJ.
 
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Nice looking wheel, BUT......

Made in japan cast right in the front of the wheel? What's up with that? I don't think I could look at that every time I looked at my car. When did this stuff move from being marked in the back side to the face of the wheel? :confused:

Adam

Can't say it's going to bother me. Just their way of saying "This isn't some ~~~ Chinese casting."

Besides...

 
Thanks, all. Got some hub-centric rings off eBay and I'll probably order the other three wheels in the next few days. I probably won't order tires until Spring, but right now I'm leaning toward the Bridgestone RE71R in 255/40-18.
 
Enkei is the manufacturer for numerous OEM's. Don't think you should be expecting any issues...
 
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