Dang it, now I have to start saving for these too.

I need to sell some stuff. Oh I know, anyone want to share a room at SITMs?

BTW Jim.... Very nice work!

 

Would be seriously interested if you made them in 17"...

 

Great job Jim! The prototype looks perfect.

 

I'm afraid of these wheels!

I have two cars these could look awesome on! (86 951, 87 928S4)

But afraid these will be like the mythical modernized Fuchs that are so astronomically priced that I have yet to see a set in person. Despite attending various Porsche gatherings on a near weekly basis in an active Porsche enthusiast area.

 

Thanks again everyone for the overwhelmingly positive response!

Re price, don't know yet. Best news is we have commitment from a reputable North American wheel manufacturer to make these wheels. I can't tell you how important this is to the project!

With that said, pricing we'll be better known once we've completed the next prototype step (preproduction), using this wheel manufacturer.

Re ETA, not sure. My personal goal is to finish development by year's end. There's alot of momentum in the project right now, so you never know.

However, this is not my day job... so no commitents.

Nothing to be afraid of!

Seriously though, those Fuchs are awesome and priced somewhat north of $5500/set

We completely understand how limiting it would be to sell the Phone Dial at that price point.

We will do out best to make these wheel priced at an approachable level.

Keep in mind, this is a private label boutique wheel with a completely custom design. They won't be cheap.

 

I call photoshop....they don't look real.....they will only look real when I see a pic of them on a S4 (front and rear) LOL ....

Congrats on pulling this off..... They look great!

 

they're real! I touched it! really!!

 

Thank you, sir. Computer is behaving again, now (I was getting a "file of wrong type" error when I tried uploading).

Including Jim's original, below, for comparison, and just 'cause I can upload again now!

 

What is the weight of this prototype wheel?

 

Looks like about 26 1/2 lbs.......



"26.5# ish. Not the lightest (Porsche OE), not the heaviest (Mille Miglia Turbos)"

 

26.5 lbs = 12.0 kg. Not lightest but its not too bad either.

http://www.944racing.de/wheelweights.php

 

I'd used that 18" series as a benchmark. Biggest challenge is inherent in the Phone Dial design; it's a closed-spoke design (as opposed to an open-spoke, eg traditional 5-spoke).
So the Phone Dial is great for strength, less so for weight. I chose to err on the side of strength vs. weight, assuming the wheel will be used primarily for street vs. track. Longevity and reducing fatigue are key criteria to the project.

It's hard to compete against Porsche OE, in particular hollowspokes. Wouldn't try to beat Carrera lightweights because they are marginal on fatigue.

For a closed-spoke 18" design, I'm pretty pleased.

Might be interesting to make a lightweight version at a later date. The weight would be removed from the backside.

 

So 26.5 lbs, but for what width? You mention using a 265 tire, so would the prototype wheel happen to be a 9"?

26.5 lbs for a 10" width would sound pretty good to me, but from the way the tire look on the pic it looks more like the wheel is 9" wide?

Just trying to extrapolate what the weight might be with wider rims...

 

Jim those look amazing! Well done. I'll definitely be ordering a set.
My vote would be for 18x8 & 18x10.
All the best with the project.
Tom
928dreaming.com

 

This new PD may be equal to the Turbo Cup Mg PD.