Granted with high offset wheels in wide widths being the norm now street or track, that inherent cantilevered form they have, seems to cause no issue (aside from leaving the "inner ledge" vulnerable to potholes, but that is separate to my point about face design). The more racing versions have less of this effect, whether because of the concept of how they are loading I cite making that better or because racing offsets are generally minimal, I don't know. Aside from brake clearance (which TBH is a non issue out at the rim) I don't see the reason for it. That is to say a "breaking force" of say a pothole (as opposed to braking force, !) means the metal will face an attempt to "break/sheer" it, rather than working in compression (albeit with the other side merely in tension), which would be the case had the spoke directly met the rim. It puts the material in sheer, rather than compression. I have one small quibble with the design- the way the spoke joins the rim. ha)Īlso that the machined logo is many steps ahead of the old painted one. I kid I kid- just a little, they did look good. (Just as much as they did on that Volvo wagon. I have to say those look amazing, both in themselves and on the car. But what about you guys is the TE37 still the king of tuner wheels? And if so, what’s your ultimate spec and finish? Let me know in the comments below (pictures are a must). So long as they’re still being used and not squirreled away like a low-mileage classic I see no issues with a TE37 world takeover. But on the flipside, it’s a testament to just how respected these wheels are 25 years after their launch. TE37s have become a bit of a collectible item now – almost like a pair of Air Jordans but with more purpose – so that does mean tracking down good sets is becoming harder and more expensive. This was fantastic news to Paul at ICS Motorsport, who now has to modify the front brake ducting and geometry to suit… But that’s why he’s good at his job. I’d love to say there’s a performance benefit in mind here, but the reality is I wanted the more concave ‘Face 3’ design rather than the OE-sized ‘Face 2’. That means a jump from 18×8-inch ET38 to 18×9-inch ET27 with a little bit of fettling. For the fronts, there’s a bit more space to play with. In the case of the 360 Modena Challenge, I’ve kept the rears as close to OE as possible measuring 18×10.5-inch ET30, mainly due to clearance being minimal on the current setup. Then there’s the little RAYS sticker documenting the size, finish and fitment of what lurks inside, alluding to what kind of wacky car they’re going to be fitted on. Look at those material wheel covers I’ve seen animals transported around the world with less consideration. But here’s where it gets even more anorak the whole unboxing process just adds to the experience, doesn’t it? The obvious thing to do on new wheel day is to bolt ‘em up as soon as humanly possible. In reality, they’re an absurdly cool wheel design and nothing says ‘I grew up obsessing over Japanese car culture’ than bolting TE37s on an Italian sports car. Not least because 20-year-old wheels on a race car will have likely experienced some truly terrible things. If I’m trying to disguise myself as an anorak, I could say these TE37 Sagas are lighter than the OEM wheels and considerably stronger. That’s why, unsurprisingly, when it came to finding a suitable upgrade for this Ferrari 360 Challenge race car, there was only ever one solution. And if you thought this design looked good on domestic cars, I reckon they’re even better on non-Japanese cars too. With so much variation, it does mean we now get to enjoy the TE37 on cars previously not catered for. Even more so than the equally-as-awesome BBS RS and LM designs. Let’s push that aside for a moment, because rightfully so the Volk Racing TE37 remains one of the most sought-after and versatile wheel designs ever produced. It’s like the weirdest badge of honour which serves zero purpose outside of the internet. I can’t decide if it’s worrying or impressive, but I can decipher most TE37 fitments simply by their spoke design and PCD. I’ve tried (and failed) to fit 17×9.5-inch SE37s on an even older EK Civic, and now I spend most days posting Volk wheels in the group chat until someone caves in and buys ‘em. I’ve gone down the Gram Lights 57DR route with an old RX-7 along with TE37s and ZE40s. In fact, just last week I swapped them over from white OG TE37s to bronze ones, both in the holy grail GT-R fitment of 18×10.5-inch ET15. So did my second, and nearly 11 years on so does my current R34. My first ever Skyline sat on Volk Racing TE37s. In case you haven’t guessed, I am – like many of you – a complete fiend for RAYS wheels.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |