Right now I am rolling on Buddy Club P1 Racing Wheels with Falkien Azenis RT-615 Tires. My Car has basically been built for Auto-X and Track Racing (haven't done either yet) and when I was chosing Wheels I wanted to go with something that could handle the abuse that I would be putting my Car through on a Track. I didn't have tons of Cash to drop on some Volks or Work Wheels and planned to spend $500 on Wheels. I liked Rotas because honestly, I think they look good. But then I started to do some research and saw that they weren't that great under sever Racing conditions. I saw some pictures of broken Rotas, heard they heat up and bend easily, and that the material they are made of and how they are made just aren't the best for what I want to do. So, I decided to go with the Buddy Club Wheels. I know Buddy Club is a known Company and does have some pretty nasty Race Cars. They build there Cars to to perform well and win so I figured the same process would be put into making their Wheels.

I like the Wheels, don't get me wrong but I grew out of a phase that I was in when I first started working on my Car. I wanted to go with JDM this JDM that and wanted the best of everything that I could aford. Thats one of the reasons why I went with the Buddy Clubs and not the Rotas. That and because I didn't want to damage any Rims. I''m out of that now and honestly just want to do some different things. I now have an urge to have Polished Wheels. I like the look and have always been a fan of Polished/Chrome Wheels.

The two options that I ahve thought of are

1. Pick up NEW Wheels in a Polished Trim
2. Strip the Gunmetal Finish off of my Buddy Club Wheels and have them Polished.

I have found new Wheels but they are made by a Company called Nippon Racing. The Wheels are also a Copy of a very popular Japanese Wheel. They claim the wheels only weigh 15 lbs but it does not state how the Wheels are made or what they are made out of. Now, like I said, I plan on doing a little bit of Auto-X, Driving School, Track Events, ect. and am wondering if getting these Wheels would be a good idea or a stupid idea. The Car will be Driven hard but not something crazy like some kind of high Horsepowered Race Car, I am also no proffesional at Driving so it will be more of a Begginer/Novice experience on the Track. Would it be better for me to stick with the Buddy Club Wheels and have the peace of mind that they are backed by a reputable Company or go with these Nippon Wheels.

I am out of the phase of JDM this and that so I don't care that these are bootleg, wannabe, copy Wheels. My concern is more of the quality of the Wheels and if they would stand up to the kind of driving I plan on doing. Will the Buddy Club Wheels work better for this type of Driving over the Nippon Wheels or does it not really matter considering I am a Beginer at the whole Auto-X/Track Racing and Driving School thing. At this point, I am leaning more towards Fashion then function but I also want to make sure I'm not a making a complete and total mistake out of what I ahve planned.

If I DID chose to go with Plan 2 (Strip Gunmetal Finish off of BC Wheels and have them Polished) How would I go about this and is it something that can be done and come out with the Polished Finish that I am looking for? Any input in regards to the questions I ahve would be greatly appreciated.

Ant

 

ROTA's can take a beating, trust me. Any cast molded wheels will break down after abuse, and exposure to extreme heat caused by constant braking. Whatever happened to those ROTA's that you've seen will eventually happen to a cast molded Buddy Clubs if it's exposed to whatever conditions the ROTA's were in. That Nippon Racing that you mentioned is made by some mystery manufacturer. ROTA's are ISO9001 certified because they had proved good quality, and durability...

Your best bet is going with a "forged" wheel. Forged wheels dissipates heat quicker than cast molded wheels, however, it's not as durable when it comes to impact.

 

Forged Wheels are out of my price range. And like I've said, I don't need a Name Brand JDM Wheel. I'm going more for Fashion then over Function this time when selecting Wheels.I honestly don't want to spend more then $400 on a New set of Wheels. I hearing alot that my BC Wheels are made the same way as Rotas and I've never had a problem with my BC's. Held up real good for the past year. I've driven the Car hard and the Wheels have heated up real good but its not like I am an idiot and wack curbs all the time lol. I'm sure the Nippon Wheels are made the same way so I'm guessing I should be fine. Its not like I'm doing 50 Lap Races and driving for long periods of time. I'll drive the Car more on the Street then at the Track.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EM1:_hotness &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm going more for Fashion then over Function this time when selecting Wheels.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Personally, I think you're better off going for Function for the track, and Fashion for the street. No one cares what your wheels look like at the track!

Since you're looking for "bang for the buck", get a set of beat-up looking (but true, i.e. round) stock wheels for track use. There are TONS of them around, in the marketplace forums, on eBay, and elsewhere. They will fit perfectly, and they will hold up better than cheap aftermarket wheels.

If you're into polished wheels (or any other look), do that for the wheels you use on the street.

 

If I was going with 2 sets of Wheels, I would keep the BC's as Track Wheels and pick up the Polished Nippons as Street Wheels. But . . .I don't want to sets of Wheels. Only one set and that set will lean more towards function. I think it has more to do with the Tire then the Wheel you use.

Maybe later on I will get my self a set of OEM Honda Wheels and slap some Track Tires on it.

I already purchased the Nippons too.

 

The best track wheel is the Kosei K1! I think you should just get a set of OEM wheels for the street and you'll be happy as most come polished! Man if you were not to far I would trade my SI wheels for you Buddy Club!

 

Yea, Koseis are nice. My Buddy is actually selling a Set but I'm all set with Bronze Wheels. I've had Bronze Wheels before and I want to try something new on my Si.

What I do plan on doing is picking up a Set of LS Wheels and Painting 2 of them one Color and the other two a different Color. I'll slap some Drag Radials on one for 1/4 Track Racing and some nice Track Tires on the other two for Auto-X/track Days. Swap the Front Nippons for whatever type of racing I'll be doing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EM1:_hotness &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What I do plan on doing is picking up a Set of LS Wheels and Painting 2 of them one Color and the other two a different Color. I'll slap some Drag Radials on one for 1/4 Track Racing and some nice Track Tires on the other two for Auto-X/track Days. Swap the Front Nippons for whatever type of racing I'll be doing.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wouldn't recommend autocrossing or tracking with mismatched tires. Keep all four the same make and model of tire.

 

Why is it not a good idea to run different Tires? What I was planning on doing was having the Nippons and running falkien Azenis RT-615 (what I have now) then, have LS Wheels or another OEM Wheel, and have BF Goodrinch Drag Radials for when I take the Car to a 1/4 Track (keep the Nippons on the back and put the OEM Wheels with Drag Radials in the Front) and have a more aggressive Track Tire on the other set of OEM Wheels to swap out to the Front when I Auto-X or Track the Car.

It wouldn't be a good idea to do that? I see Cars go up to the Track and they are running different Tires all the Time.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EM1:_hotness &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why is it not a good idea to run different Tires?</TD></TR></TABLE>

It makes the handling extremely unpredictable. You might have one end of the car grip when the tires are cold, the other end grip when the tires warm up, stuff like that.

Note that I'm not talking about the dragstrip (where it's common to mismatch tires, because handling doesn't matter), but the track, as well as autocross events.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EM1:_hotness &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I see Cars go up to the Track and they are running different Tires all the Time.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I've been to ~200 track events, and I've never seen anyone mix a drag radial with a street tire, or a drag radial with an R compound track tire, or an R comp with a street tire. Ever. I'm not saying it's never been done, but it's not common, and it would be rejected by any reasonably thorough pre-event or on-site tech inspection.

Sometimes things sound like a REALLY BAD IDEA because that's exactly what they are. Don't do it.

Again, I'm not talking about the dragstrip, where it's common. But it's an extremely bad idea for the track.

 

I get what your saying. When I said I've seen it done many times I was talking about the Dragstrip considering I ahven't been to any Auto-X or Track Events yet. Thanks for the info.

So it wouldn't be a problem for me to mismatch tires at the Drag Strip but when I Auto-X or Track the Car I should stick with something like maybe my Azenis, Toyo RA1's, or maybe those new Nitto NT01's

 

I've beaten the crap out of my last three sets of Rotas...they've done me well.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by EM1:_hotness &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">So it wouldn't be a problem for me to mismatch tires at the Drag Strip but when I Auto-X or Track the Car I should stick with something like maybe my Azenis, Toyo RA1's, or maybe those new Nitto NT01's</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yup. You can actually use whatever tires you want when you autocross or track the car - not just one of the sticky tires you mentioned, but you could also choose a set of less sticky, longer-lasting daily driver type tires if you want. The point I was making is, in autocross or tracking, to use tires with the same performance profile at both ends of the car (and preferably the same make and model of tire). Whatever tire that happens to be.