| day's consumer-driven society, we have become | | | | having an extra flywheel on each corner. To lend |
| mostly driven toward such marketing proclamations as | | | | personal perspective, consider the several wheel |
| new and improved, lighter, larger, better and other | | | | guides you read each year. We have to unpack, clean, |
| hyperbolic statements slapped on a new label to sell | | | | position and photograph a couple hundred wheels in |
| an old idea. All too often we don't get what we | | | | the course of two long days. Most importantly, we |
| expected. | | | | weigh them to let you, the reader, know exactly how |
| A buying decision has to take into consideration the | | | | heavy or light a wheel can be. |
| source of the product and make a reasonable | | | | Before I had the Spec-2 Paradas mounted, I took the |
| determination based on the company's reputation, | | | | 8x18 O.Z. Superleggera to our mailroom scale for a |
| history and reviews from other buyers on the firm's | | | | quick test. Including center cap and minus the stem, it |
| products. | | | | weighed in at a light 18.5 lb, which is really quite good. |
| When it comes to wheels, O.Z. has an outstanding | | | | Looking through a recent wheel guide, I noted that |
| reputation among the world's enthusiasts, tuners, | | | | some 8x18s weigh up to a whopping 29.4 lb! One 7x18 |
| racers, and even some OEM for whom O.Z. supplies | | | | busted the scale (not really) at an unbelievable 35.6 lb. |
| wheels for. | | | | Remember the formula about a pound of wheel |
| O.Z.'s Superleggera wheel is a new twist on its | | | | weight? In all fairness, most of the wheels were in the |
| traditional multi-spoke racing-theme wheel, applying | | | | mid 20s, and I'm pretty sure there's a wheel or two |
| advanced modeling techniques to make a strong and | | | | that weigh less than the O.Z. But I'm not going to split |
| lightweight street wheel. Think of it as an updated | | | | hairs. I'll take peace of mind and reputation over |
| Super Turismo. | | | | absolute minimums any day. I'm not a gambling man. |
| For my application I chose an 8x18 O.Z. Superleggera, | | | | Part two of my layman's math states that wrong |
| both for its look and construction. It's the right size for | | | | fitment = very bad. Unless a wheel has been TUeV |
| the 225/40-18 Beetle tires and is a nice step up from | | | | certified for the car, it doesn't go on. Period. This holds |
| the previous 17-in. wheels. | | | | true for each and every wheel I've used on my |
| Many people don't think too deeply about the | | | | project cars, as well as those under my care, for a |
| construction and weight of the wheels they buy but | | | | number of reasons. First, I know it's been tested to |
| rather are more concerned with appearance, followed | | | | some standard. Second, there's the simple problem of |
| by fitment and finally construction. This is the absolute | | | | the handling being disturbed by moving the point around |
| wrong way to buy wheels. If you want to know how | | | | which the tire turns on the ground. |
| smart people buy wheels, read Dave Coleman's article | | | | Finally, there is construction. I remember driving a |
| on how engineering nerds go wheel shopping (Sport | | | | hotted-up Z3 that had a set of "tuner wheels" so |
| Compact Car, Aug. 2002). In simple terms, weight = | | | | poorly constructed, perhaps out of reconstituted beer |
| bad, wrong fitment = very bad, poor construction = | | | | cans, they would flex when cornering and bung |
| dangerous. | | | | themselves on the brake caliper. I didn't want to be |
| Let's look at the first postulation: weight = bad. It | | | | around when that metal finally gave up. |
| doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that part out. | | | | Once again, O.Z. engineers stepped up to the task in |
| First, there is the unsprung weight that has to be | | | | its choice of metals. To make a lightweight and strong |
| controlled by the dampers through an up-and-down | | | | wheel, the company used computer modeling and finite |
| motion. Added to that is the rotational inertia. Drive any | | | | element analysis, along with a special titanium-enriched |
| front-wheel-drive car with heavy "sport" wheels and | | | | alloy. The production process also includes a method |
| compare those to the stock wheel/tire combination, | | | | of heat treating and shot peening borrowed from the |
| and you'll see that those sporty performance wheels | | | | aerospace industry. This means that O.Z. can build an |
| really aren't. Once again, I turn to Dave Coleman and | | | | 11-lb, 15-in. wheel and an 18-in. wheel with as little as 17.6 |
| his words about rotational inertia. | | | | lb. |
| What you need to know is that changing to tires that | | | | If you are looking for a wheel that lives up to its |
| are 1 lb heavier will effectively add 8 lb to the car (four | | | | reputation, consider the Superleggera. It's available in a |
| tires, remember) and that adding a pound to the | | | | satin titanium gray finish, with special applications in |
| wheels will effectively add somewhere around 6 lb to | | | | white (7x17 4x100 pattern) and gold (Subaru exclusive). |
| the car. | | | | Note to self: Buy wheel locks, five sets. |
| In short, think of heavy wheels in the same respect as | | | | |