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Eric from APEX Race Parts here. (Don’t worry, I’m not just another internet sales guy - I’m actually leading APEX’s Porsche wheel development.)
For those of you who know us from our roots in the BMW world, you know that we develop our performance wheels based on real world experiences and feedback from go-fast enthusiasts. (You!) We’ve been flooded with requests to develop some Porsche-specific wheels and now we have the team in place to make it happen! We’ve got a few fitment ideas in mind, but we really want to pick your brain before we pull the trigger. Got a few minutes to help us out?
Once we get a better understanding of your deepest wishes and desires for an affordable (yet race-proven) set of shoes for your car, we’ll put our creative and engineerings minds to work to develop a lineup of APEX wheels that makes sense whether you’re in the market for street or track-worthy wheels.
So, who am I? Well, many things, but the important thing is that I’ve been neck-deep in the performance driving world for years - HDPE’ing and Time Trialing my Porsche around the Northern California tracks every opportunity that I get. If you’re like me and have spent time in the paddock, you’ve surely seen the majority of BMWs on a set of APEX wheels. Over the past 10 years, it was obvious that APEX dedicated themselves to fill voids and ease pains the BMW enthusiasts felt in regards to wheel quality, affordability, and availability. By enlisting fellow enthusiasts in the decision making process, APEX incorporated forum members into product development and connected with their community in a way that no one else in the motorsports world had. Hungry to implement that in other track oriented markets, I proposed the idea of a Porsche department to APEX, and voila! That’s why I’m reaching out to you now.
Now that we’re all gearing up for the off-season builds, repairs, and modifications, I speak for the whole team when I say that we’re ecstatic to get the wheels rolling (pun intended) on developing off-the-shelf, race engineered, lightweight fitments that are perfect for your beloved Porsche.
The best way to help would be to tell us a bit more about what you’d look for and expect in a set of track proven, dependable, and affordable wheels. When you grab your next cup of coffee, could you take a minute to share your thoughts with us?
I think the market is missing an Affordable, durable, relatively lightweight wheel. If money is no object, others already offer a good but expensive forged wheel. Here are some ideas for specifics that I would say;
You don't need to redesign the wheel. Instead, just copy the existing Clubsport or Cup Car "look". No reason to stray, just make it look like the real deal and they will sell. Your ARC-8s already look great.
Other little things:
1. Make sure the center opening can receive a Porsche OEM cap.
2. I would add a mark or small rib in the wheel mold on both inner and outer sides of the wheel so my tire installer can set it up with a particular letter on the mark so I can observe if the tires is moving on the wheel.
3. On colored wheels, I would leave the area inside the stud holes and the surrounding shoulders natural silver as they will surely scratch with nut removal.
4. Speaking of studs, design the wheel so that the hub just outside of the stud holes does NOT encroach to closely to the stud area so that the average garage torque wretch socket can easily fit. Many custom wheels just don't leave enough space and interfere with either the socket or the torque wrench.
And, finally, specific to the Porsche, in general the fronts can be lighter, but the rears must be more robust. (thinking of a 911 going around Daytona - much more weight in the rear than a BMW).
Thanks for taking on this project. I own several sets of your wheel for my various BMWs and I've always been happy with your products.
I appreciate your positive comments and continual support! It is always great to get feedback from enthusiasts who have a history of putting our products to the test on other vehicle platforms. Your success stories are what bring us here to infuse the same features of quality, chassis optimization, and cost effectiveness into the Porsche performance driving community.
Originally Posted by matttheboatman
I think the market is missing an Affordable, durable, relatively lightweight wheel. If money is no object, others already offer a good but expensive forged wheel. Here are some ideas for specifics that I would say;
You don't need to redesign the wheel. Instead, just copy the existing Clubsport or Cup Car "look". No reason to stray, just make it look like the real deal and they will sell. Your ARC-8s already look great.
Other little things:
1. Make sure the center opening can receive a Porsche OEM cap.
2. I would add a mark or small rib in the wheel mold on both inner and outer sides of the wheel so my tire installer can set it up with a particular letter on the mark so I can observe if the tires is moving on the wheel.
3. On colored wheels, I would leave the area inside the stud holes and the surrounding shoulders natural silver as they will surely scratch with nut removal.
4. Speaking of studs, design the wheel so that the hub just outside of the stud holes does NOT encroach to closely to the stud area so that the average garage torque wretch socket can easily fit. Many custom wheels just don't leave enough space and interfere with either the socket or the torque wrench.
And, finally, specific to the Porsche, in general the fronts can be lighter, but the rears must be more robust. (thinking of a 911 going around Daytona - much more weight in the rear than a BMW).
Mc
Just as we've successfully done with BMW over the past 10 years, that is precisely the market void and current pain point we are trying to remedy in the Porsche market. A quality, strong, lightweight, and affordable wheel with off-the-shelf availability in various fitments perfect for track abuse.
Unless there's a huge push for the ARC8, I do not think they'll be produced for the Porsche community yet. With the fitments (widths/offsets) that these Porsche chassis allow in the front, the concave spokes will be very difficult to clear the majority of large brake calipers. The front wheels would have to be very flat-faced or possibly even convex, which does not lend well to their design. Provided there's enough community-wide support for the ARC8, we'll absolutely explore its feasibility in the future. For our first few production runs, we'll likely be offering our SM10 and EC7 as seen in the survey, or throughout here.
To minimize the possibility of the tire spinning on the wheel, we're looking into incorporating a tried and tested method of bead locking called a knurled bead seat - Essentially machined grooves throughout the barrel where the tire beads. I'll certainly consult the community as this specific detail develops.
Regarding the finish in the lug bolt/stud openings, this is something APEX already does with their existing wheels. Beyond what's pictured below, we have found no reason to leave anything else unfinished.
Thank you for reaching out to express your needs. It's extremely beneficial as we always encourage fellow enthusiasts to influence our product development.
Thank you all for your survey feedback thus far. If you have not filled it out yet, please take a moment to let us know what your wheel preferences are. Your invaluable feedback will be directly shaping the details of our Porsche program.
Slow news day here, but have a question for the community.
If given the option, would you be willing to add .25lbs to the weight of each wheel for center cap accommodation? The center cone would need to be enlarged to accept an APEX or Porsche cap, thus, minimally increasing weight. Both options will still be hub-centric, so it is purely aesthetic preference.
Option 1: No center cap, .25lbs lighter
Option 2: Ability to run center cap, but .25 lbs heavier
You can mull over the pictures below and please let me know your thoughts.
I'll be running a SPB tomorrow at Sonoma Raceway, so please let me know if you'll be there too!
As our Porsche wheel development is chugging along at a fast pace, please note that the survey is still up and running. If you haven't already, please take 5 minutes to share your preferences!
Thank you to the 700+ fellow enthusiasts who have participated in our survey. It is still live and we're continually welcoming feedback well into our development stages. It directly impacts what we produce and when, so please share your preferences.
I'll have exciting news in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!
This is the first round of renderings, so I know this isn't a 986 - but just a hint of what's to come! Here's some visual excitement for your Monday - a sneak peek of satin black APEX SM-10 on a Sharkwerks 3.9L GT3RS - Enjoy!
Please feel free to reach out with any inquiries and/or questions.
There will be more wheel finishes posted this coming week, so stay tuned!
Here's a sneak peek of a Cayman R on 18" Anthracite SM-10; this rendering closely resembles 18x9" ET44 (profile 1 concavity), 18x10" ET38 (profile 2 concavity).
We have silver and satin black ready to show, so please let me know if you'd like to see!
10-05-2017, 03:07 PM
Help APEX Create a Better Porsche Track Wheel
