gldndrgn14

iTrader: (1)

anybody familiar with this company? they can make custom sized wheels for anybody. and they are forged. heres the link. they are really light for what they claim. so who knows.
http://www.kodiakracingwheels.com/

Understeer

Aske user "Jaker"

mkinpwrat12g's

u can get works for about the same price, but they are nice looking

bosco500

I used Kodiak 10" wheels when racing F500. Havn't used anything larger than that, but I can tell you that they are quality pieces.

DB2-R81

I live close to their operation in Vancouver, BC and they don't have the best reputation locally for service or quality of engineering.

This happened around 3 years ago and their service and structural testing may have changed but, talk to Jake he purchased wheels I rejected from Kodiak after they jerked me around for almost a year.

I had commissioned them to build some wheels and almost 10 months later, when they finally cut my centers the pieces were so far from the drawings I had provided they could not be used. Jake purchased the same centers half a year later at a fire sale price.
I am not the only one, there were a slew of people on the Spec Racer board at the time that demanded their money back after waiting an extended period of time with no delivery.
I would never, ever approach them again!




Modified by DB2-R81 at 9:48 PM 1/6/2006

Jaker

I have a set of the old billet centered Kodiaks. 15x8.5". My dealings with Kodiak have been great so far. I know DB2-R81 was less than enthused with the service he received, but the operations at Kodiak have improved substantially since then. I also happen to live about 25 minutes drive from them. I may be selling my wheels in the next couple months.

What would you like to know?

LBHgti

Wow....blingtastic!

I just went to their website and damn near soiled myself when I saw their prices. $300 something for a 14"x6! Thats a bit steep. I like the prices on the Diamond custom wheels website better

gldndrgn14

iTrader: (1)

how well are they designed? also since you have the billet 1s, are those as strong as the forged 1s? and have you ever ran those into dips or holes or anything? also, what offset/backspace should i use for the rears on the 8.5"?

work wheels dont have the right offsets and widths that i want for a 4 lug. and they arent quite as light either. i wouldnt mind work wheels if they did.

DB2-R81

I likely should not say much because Jaker mentioned he is going to sell the wheels but I just can’t stand by while some other unsuspecting person purchases what I consider to be unsafe wheels.

I will just mention one point about the lack of thought that went into the design of Kodiak wheels.
You can make your own hopefully informed decision.

If you look at the first picture Jaker posted up, the centre bore hole is way over sized for the bolt pattern, notice the distance between the lug holes and the centre bore hole. It is almost non-existent; there is very little material between the two holes. The properties of air has little to do with strength.

I rejected Kodiak wheels for a number of reasons, this one alone is enough to avoid Kodiak. They would never pass a simple visual inspection, engineering requirements, safety testing or certification testing, they are an accident waiting to happen.

Their design is seriously flawed, Kodiak should have never let them out the door, not even for money!




Modified by DB2-R81 at 1:48 PM 1/7/2006

Jaker

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DB2-R81 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
If you look at the first picture Jaker posted up, the centre bore hole is way over sized for the bolt pattern, notice the distance between the lug holes and the centre bore hole. It is almost non-existent; there is very little material between the two holes. The properties of air has little to do with strength.
Modified by DB2-R81 at 1:48 PM 1/7/2006</TD></TR></TABLE>

What I am not sure you realise is that the amount of material between the lug holes and the center bore is more than that photo shows. The diameter of the lug holes at the lug nut seat is substantially smaller than the diameter at the wheel face. Those holes at the face are about 30+mm in diameter whereas the hole at the lugnut seat, and through the wheel is only about 12.5mm. That leaves about 10+mm of material for about 1/2" or more of depth.

I have done 300+ autocross runs on these wheels, changed or flipped tires about 12+ times, both by highly qualified professionals, and by hamfisted rookies (including myself), and the rims are still perfectly round, true and solid. There are no cracks or failures that I can detect. I can't honestly say that I've pounded them through any potholes, as the only time they've ever seen the street was to heat cycle a set of tires. They are made for "race only" and not intended for street use at all.

I had the wheels made up with a back space of 5.75" and I tune the fit with spacers. In the rear, depending on which tire is mounted on the wheel (225/45-15 Hoosier or 225/50-15 Kumho V710), I use either a 1/8" or 1/4" spacer to clear the trailing arm. The front could run with no spacers if you're using OEM style brakes, but since I am using Wilwood Superlite calipers, I need a 1/8" spacer to clear the caliper. I measured that dimension wrong when I had the wheels made.

rotten

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DB2-R81 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
I rejected Kodiak wheels for a number of reasons, this one alone is enough to avoid Kodiak. They would never pass a simple visual inspection, engineering requirements, safety testing or certification testing, they are an accident waiting to happen.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I had an opportunity to purchase some Kodiak wheels for a reasonable amoupretty good deal. Talked to grumpy at Mid Atlantic Motorsports about tires, etc. and he had a lot of stuff to say about the failure rates of the Kodiak wheels.

I decided not to buy from them.

They are lightweight, but they aren't usually very strong.

Jaker

Oh, and by the way this is on an EF. I know the fit for an EG or an EK would be slightly different.