I drove quite a few cars for extended periods of time with different wheels before I bought this one but I’ve really become a fan of 18”s on these cars if at all possible. I live in the NYC area and the pot holes are brutal. When I bought the car, I had them pull off the 19”s off and put 18” Carrera 3s on from another car they had on the lot.

My long term plan was to use the 18” stockers for winter tires and then buy another set of wheels for 3 seasons. I was waiting for a long time to see someone make a Fuchs look in 18” and hopefully better widths in a reasonable weight but I got tired of waiting after almost 2 years. I love having great looking wheels (for me that means 70’s influenced aesthetic, not modern 20”s) but I’m not willing to take a big hit on strength or weight either. I settled on 3 piece forged wheels because I didn’t like the looks available in 1 piece forged wheels and I didn’t like the sizes available and the prices were much higher as well.

I considered most of the usual cast of characters (HRE, Fikse, BBS) before I settled on Formula 43. I knew I wanted black anodized centers and matte anodized rims, I also was concerned about the profile of the barrel hoops (wanted multiple steps for strength and aesthetics). The guys at formula 43 were on their game as you would expect from most of these guys (Jeff Alton is a great guy to talk to about Fikse for example). I’d recommend formula 43 to anyone.


Before, -18” Carrera 3s with spacers

-Front 8x18 offset 57 with 7mm spacer carrera 3 23.3 lbs + Ps2 225/40/18 tire 23lbs = 46.3 lbs (spacer is prob additional 1.5 lbs) = 47.8 lbs Note that when using a plumb-bob stuck to the fender directly above wheel center there was a 5.2mm gap between string and tire

-Rear 10 x18 et 58 with 17mm spacer carrera 3 27.6 lbs + Ps2 265/40/1 tire 26lbs = 53.6 lbs (spacer is prob additional 2 lbs) = 55.6 lbs Note that when using a plumb-bob stuck to the fender directly above wheel center there was a 0.3mm gap between string and tire


After -formula 43 RAD 10 CCD

Front 9 X18et51 21.2lbs 245/40-18 Ps2 tire 24 = 45.2 lbs (no spacer needed)
Note that when using a plumb-bob stuck to the fender directly above wheel center there was a ~-3mm gap between string and tire

Rear 11X18et51 21.9lbs 295/35-18 PS2 tire 28 = 49.9 lbs (no spacer needed)
Note that when using a plumb-bob stuck to the fender directly above wheel center there was a ~-3mm gap between string and tire

a different option -for reference 19 option BBS CHR

Front 9X19 24.7lbs Ps2 tire 22lbs = 46.7lbs (no et data available but this would prob require spacers(weight) to match the offsets above)

Rear 11X19 26.8lbs Ps2 tire 28lbs = 54.8lbs (no et data available but this would prob require spacers(weight) to match the offsets above)


So I got wider and lighter all around and I love the look. They were so light the UPS guy thought that these were tires (not tires+wheels). So far I’m very pleased. I threw these on quickly Wednesday night and after I scrubbed in the tires on a few cloverleafs and I was really impressed with the improvement. Going to 9” wide in the front is a great move- the difference is surprising- it tunes out some of the push the car had before. These are quick pics at night and some of them don’t have the center caps in place and the car is dirty. I’ll take some better pics later on.

 

I still haven't heard back from the Fuchs USA guys about their plans for their's in 18.

 

Stunning...Well Done!

 

Very Nice!

 

I'd rank Formula43 right up there with the very best of the best in quality outside of BBS and OZ. While I rarely, if ever, see scientific data backing up claims of strength from better known wheel makers like HRE, CCW, et al, Formula43 posts them up voluntarily on their website. Not all forged wheels are created equal.

Nice pick-up, buddy.

 

thanks all. I'll eventually get around to taking more pics when the weather clears and I get the summer wheels (the formula 43 wheels) back on the car. Until then here's a few more pics of the wheels alone. I later switched out the crests for silver.