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Posted by: Charles Freeborn May 8 2023, 09:30 PM

Considering a second set of wheels / tires for the track car.
Conventional wisdom has been cookie cutters, but they've gone up in value. Any other budget friendly options?
6x15 & 7x15 / 5 lug.
Don't need to be pretty nor stylish. At all.
Thx.

Posted by: campbellcj May 9 2023, 07:35 AM

I'm not sure anything in that config would be less costly than cookie cutters but you may be able to find some used panasport/minilite type or BBS/clone type wheels. Also of course some Fuchs repros are semi affordable. I have some Braid Fuchs clones which are nice quality and 1/2 or less the price of real Fuchs IIRC.

I did have 15x7 cookies on my car long ago and thought they looked cool...that was back when a set of 4-5 was like $250 lol. Also ran Panasports for a while but I don't think those were DOT street-legal technically if that matters.

Posted by: BillJ May 9 2023, 08:18 AM

Even new panasports are not that pricey. I got 15×9s for under $300 a wheel? Steve at aircooledracing.net sells them new.

Posted by: infraredcalvin May 9 2023, 01:24 PM

Agree with above, a set of cookies are prob your cheapest bet. Where are you located? What size tire size are you using?

I happen to have few sets of 7x15 cookies I was getting ready to list…pm me if interested…

Posted by: Charles Freeborn May 9 2023, 05:10 PM

Tire sizes will be 205/50/15 front and 225/45/15 rears. Not sure if my front fenders will allow 225's all 4, so will run staggered for now.

I'm in Portland OR.

Posted by: mepstein May 9 2023, 05:17 PM

No alloy wheels cheaper than cookies and they have been used on the track forever.

Posted by: Matt Romanowski May 10 2023, 05:50 AM

But the newest cookie cutters are how old now?

Are Panasports really $300 a wheel? I'll have to give them a call. I'm a buyer at that price.

Posted by: mepstein May 10 2023, 06:22 AM

I hear that statement about Fuchs all the time but they are also used at the track. Not that I’m a Fuchs expert but I’ve had hundreds of cookies and Fuchs in my possession and hardly ever see failures other than pot holes or crash damage. Sure it happens once in a while but I bet it’s no more than any other wheel. Mag wheels / gas burners on the other hand are different. Magnesium easily corrodes and failures are common.

Posted by: slivel May 10 2023, 10:17 AM

Another data point:
I have two sets of real Fuchs, 8x16 for the front and 9x16 for the rear. One of the sets started on my 944 Turbo track car which saw maybe dozen events before I started racing the 914. Over 23 years of racing the 914 the wheels saw curb and gator running as well as the occasional off-track excursion. The wheels were and are still inspected regularly and have no cracks and are straight. I think the fact that these wheels were engineered for a car 1000 lbs heavier than the 914 is a factor in their longevity. The biggest downside to these wheels is that the choices in performance tires becomes ever smaller. Now that my car is strictly a street hotrod, I no longer run on Hoosier R7's in 245-45-16 F and 275-45-16 R and now have Toyo RA1's in 245-45-16 all around.

Posted by: Matt Romanowski May 11 2023, 05:59 AM

I've cracked 2 Fuchs on my 914 and it has not gone off roading. I have a good friend that cracked a Fuch on a street car years ago as well.

Posted by: Matt Romanowski May 11 2023, 08:02 AM

Cracked wheel for reference.