Educate me on aftermarket wheels please.

I need 15" wheels for my CRX. (crappy 13" tires need to go away)

Any brands or styles to be afraid of?

Any brands that wouldnt let me pass tech to autocross?

Any certifications on the wheels I need to be aware of?

I havent shopped for wheels in over 25 years.

Thanks in advance, PB.

As long as you stick with known name brands or stock wheels, you should be fine (i.e. GRM advertisers ).

I don't know of any wheel that would cause you to fail tech unless it was obviously cracked/bent.

I've never heard of a certification for wheels.

Your options are pretty wide-open when looking for 15" wheels.

The 4x100 bolt pattern is probably the most common and as long as you avoid 4x100's specific to Toyota's and Miata's (the center bore is too small), you're good to go. Offset could be a problem, but it would take an extreme measurement to be a real issue. Most any 15x6, 15x16.5 or 15x7 should fit just fine. I run 15x7's on my '90 Civic Dx and have never had a problem, except for some minor rubbing on the rear wheel arches. Then again, the car is 2"-2 1/2" lower than stock.

Stick with a 195/50-15 tire size; there is no real need to use 205's for normal street use. I happen to currently use 195/45's for a little better gearing, but that size a little harder to find and I don't use the car much as a DD.

Also, make sure you use lug nuts with the appropriate taper angle.

you could go cheap and look for honda castoffs from other models..

RPF1 /thread.

Rotas are pretty good for cheap and you can usually find them used on forums.

I have heard stories of rim failure on Rotas. Don't know how much truth there is to it, but i'd at least do some research.

Appleseed wrote: RPF1 /thread.

yes.../thread

I've heard stories too but I never had a problem with mine. Including hitting curbs and pot-holes, worst that happened was a bend in the lip.

I do approve of the RPF1s though.

What about the ones with two sets of lug holes in them?

The CRX was lowered on Konis when I bought is, no idea how much. I havent seen a stock one to compare it with.

I trust Rotas. I have heard of and seen the ones people damage (seen 2, not in person but in the interwebz of course) and I dont think any wheel can withstand some of the abuse the people had put them through.

Yes, your Rotas did break when you drifted into a square curb at 45+ mph... No I dont think that if you had a $2000 set of jdm yo wheels it would have made it...

Nevertheless there was one I had seen years ago that had some odd damage but if you make a gazillion wheels there is bound to be 1 that has a problem... and if its used in a track situation, any wheel can fail after so much abuse.

RPF1s are a great choice... But i think the TE37 looks even better. Too bad they are WAY too expensive. But they are soooo light...

I would love a set of RPF1s for my Ti.. but the only size they make with a 5x120 bolt pattern is a 19"...

porksboy wrote: What about the ones with two sets of lug holes in them? The CRX was lowered on Konis when I bought is, no idea how much. I havent seen a stock one to compare it with.

Two sets of lug holes won't be a problem, as long as one set is 4x100.

If you visit some of the web vendors (here's a plug for TireRack.com), you can select the wheel section, choose the vehicle application (including car color) and pull-up a view of your car with the wheels installed- all with prices and recommended tire sizing included. It can be a bit easier than waiting for someone to hotlink a pic, or wade through pages of a fanboy website.

Wheel choice (for a DD) should dictated by styling preference and budget - you have a LOT of choices.

My Civic with 15x7 MiM's (long discontinued, but representative of a common theme):

cxhb wrote: RPF1s are a great choice... But i think the TE37 looks even better. Too bad they are WAY too expensive. But they are soooo light...

Actually, the smaller TE37's aren't really that much lighter than a comparable Enki, Rota, etc in a size you would run on a civic. For the $500 each they cost, you could buy 2 complete sets of mounted r-compounds in a 15" size of any of the other brands.

Backspacing is important ,also.

HiTempguy wrote:

cxhb wrote: RPF1s are a great choice... But i think the TE37 looks even better. Too bad they are WAY too expensive. But they are soooo light...

Actually, the smaller TE37's aren't really that much lighter than a comparable Enki, Rota, etc in a size you would run on a civic. For the $500 each they cost, you could buy 2 complete sets of mounted r-compounds in a 15" size of any of the other brands.

Exactly why I dont own a set lol. I love the way they look yes. Will I ever own a legit set? No. Id rather buy knock-offs that look identical and spend the spare money on tires and a really good alignment lol

Count me in the "not worried about Rotas" camp. Once I searched back far enough to get the whole story, the majority of the horror-show pics that get passed around on the forums turned out to be due to crazy abuse/incorrect mounting/etc. (bought wheels last year on a tight budget and spent some time digging). That said, I doubt they have the same quality control and paint consistency as Enkie or even Konig. Wheel design aside, cast wheels just aren't going to be as strong as forged either, but that goes without saying.

While I agree with oldsaw that budget and style matter most on dd wheels, I'll just add a footnote that there are plenty of affordable choices below 14lbs. Rota, Konig, Maxxim, Kosei, TR Motorsports, and Team Dynamics all come to mind.

Favorite wheel sites are:

Tirerack.com (as mentioned)

jlbmotorsports.com (great selection of Konig, Maxxim, & Rota)

good-win-racing.com (generally for miatas, so check hub bore)

discounttiredirect.com (tirerack competitor, without the awesome testing or high-end wheel selection, but great tire prices)

Platinum90 wrote: I have heard stories of rim failure on Rotas. Don't know how much truth there is to it, but i'd at least do some research.

That's BS. Yeah, some have broken. Any cast wheel will break if it's hit the wrong way. I've cracked 2 stock wheels (1 Nissan, 1 Honda). I've seen $400 OZ, Rays, and BBS forged wheels destroyed. Any wheel can be destroyed.

There is nothing wrong with Rotas - probably more people use Rotas and Enkeis than pretty much any other wheel brand out there at the track/autocross/etc. Hell, the time-attack Impreza running like 500hp on circuit runs Rotas.

Most people that hate on Rotas are the people who are mad that Rota "copies" the cosmetic design of more expensive wheels for theirs, and then makes cast (vice forged) versions of them for 1/3 the price. So my Rota SDRs look almost just like a Prodrive P7 (except mine are 4lbs lighter!) Do your research, you'll find the same 5 pictures of cracked/broken Rotas - most of which were from hitting curbs or walls at the track. Disregard the haters.

btw, I've had 5 sets of rotas (currently have 2 for the WRX) and most have seen track work, autocross, a rallycross or two, and thousands of potholes in Washington DC's crappy streets. Not a single problem in maybe 200,000+ miles and 30-40 various motorsports events.

I've been running 15x7 Drag DR-21's with a 40mm offset on my CRX. Selling that setup now along with 2 sets of 205/50-15 Toyo R888's in favor of 13x9 steelies and slicks.

Stay away from the Konig C-Sharps. Those are MINE.

But here's some real input/advice.

Before the Enkei RPF1, there was the Enkei RP01. I think the RP01 looks better. To the point that i spent a year and a half trying to track down the set that i wanted.

Of course, now that i have them, the tire manufacturers have stopped making the ideal size for them. Go figure.

These are what i have. They're gorgeous. (No they don't always come in that color scheme, i just wanted the Special Edition, so i got them.)

They look great in white, and polished as well. My 16x8s weigh less than 15lbs.

if you want cheap and decently light, check out used NINI Cooper wheels on Craigslist, Do a web search for "mini cooper wheel weights" to find out the lightest ones. Some are just over 13 lbs.

I run a set of the heavier ones (17lb) on my '05 Scion xB. I've bought two sets at an average price of $175/4 with fair rubber.

They're 4x100, with the right offset and centerbore for Honda.

I’ve been through three sets of wheels on my 07’ Mustang in 10,000 miles (4yrs). I have a bit of a wheel fetish unfortunately.

A few things that I learned when purchasing wheels:

Like anything else, for the most part you get what you pay for. Where you draw the line at price is tough to define sometimes.

I’ve had two sets of rear widened (they were not available in the width I wanted them) by Weldcraft in Plymouth, MI. When they widen wheels they straighten/true them up to some very exacting standards. My widened wheels are noticeably “rounder” than the exact same wheel that I did not have widened (the fronts). And they were decent quality wheels. The welder there told me that he hardly ever sees “round” rims (including new) that are under the $500 price point/wheel or are OEM. I had them true up my current fronts to match the widened rears and at 175mph the lack of vibration is astounding. And they hardly take any weight to balance. The moral of the story, most inexpensive wheels are not round.

I always ran magnesium rims on my racebikes because the advantages were well worth the price. I wouldn’t have thought that it would have translated quite as intensely to car wheels. It is well known, but I don’t think fully appreciated what advantages lighter wheels have. Light is right.

And last but not least, hub size. A lot of times wheels are relatively generic and the wheel hub will be larger than the cars hub so they rely on the lug nuts to center the wheels. My current wheels are bigger at the hub than the hubs are. I put them on (they were balanced perfectly and as close to perfectly round as they could be) and drove the car to the machine shop and spun out some hub centric rings that are so tight you just about have to kick the wheels on. The decrease in vibration was noticeable at speeds as low as 75mph. If you get wheels that do not have the same hub size be sure to get some hub centric rings.

Hope that helps.

I love my Konig Heliums

I can honestly speak FOR Rotas. I have a set of 17x9's on my ms3, and for anyone that live in/near MN or has seen our roads lately, I'd be better off walking. I've encountered multiple potholes/divots assorted detrius, and other than bending a couple of endlinks, I'd had no problems. I once met a curb at like 25mph because I tried to cut a corner too hot, and nothin. They've been strong, and pretty light, too. They're only about 18lbs a corner. Sure, they're not heliums or RPF1's, but for the price.....

93celicaGT2 wrote:

Those are handsome wheels, and I have a similar set in all silver on my Miata. My real problem is that totally naff "Racing" center cap that Enkei uses - it always reminds me of Hyde's STUNTMAN jacket from That '70s Show. Lameass. Too bad I can't find a picture.

Yep, i hate the center cap, and i've been trying to find out if i can put a normal "Enkei" center cap in there.

And i'm still not real sold on the blue/black scheme, but at the same time, i'm not sure how bad resale would be hit if i did something else to them. I'd like to replace the black with white. Or just hand-polish them.