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Help APEX Create a Better Porsche Track Wheel

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Old 11-24-2017, 10:26 AM
  #46  
cox1974
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Originally Posted by Yargk
I asked for a 9X20 ET56 because
1. A 9 inch width is better for the 245 tire in the front and should add grip (interestingly I can see that the wear on the front tires doesn't extend all the way to the edge of the tread, where the wear does go to the edge of the tread in the rear, the tread is 1.6 inches wider in the rear, but the stock wheels are 2.5 inches wider)
2. ET56 should be perfect fitment, it's what Manthey uses on their uber special forged GT4 wheels. Others have done ET50, but it looks a little too much like it's sticking out (almost) past the fender for my taste.

Apex says end of next year, perhaps.
fingers crossed ;-)
Old 11-28-2017, 02:49 AM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by Mech33
Looks good. Any chance you guys plan to make a Centerlock version for the GT3?
Thank you for your inquiry. In short, yes. Though this is not in the immediate future, we are exploring the possibility of a center-lock APEX wheel(s) in specifications best suited for cars equipped with factory center-lock hubs. Our first production run will include 18" applications, with 19" shortly following.

Please feel free to reach out at anytime with any further questions!

Originally Posted by cox1974
the gt3 wheels are beautiful......
is it possible to have in 20 for the gt4 with slightly lower et for a better fitment??
Originally Posted by Yargk
I asked for a 9X20 ET56 because
1. A 9 inch width is better for the 245 tire in the front and should add grip (interestingly I can see that the wear on the front tires doesn't extend all the way to the edge of the tread, where the wear does go to the edge of the tread in the rear, the tread is 1.6 inches wider in the rear, but the stock wheels are 2.5 inches wider)
2. ET56 should be perfect fitment, it's what Manthey uses on their uber special forged GT4 wheels. Others have done ET50, but it looks a little too much like it's sticking out (almost) past the fender for my taste.

Apex says end of next year, perhaps.
Originally Posted by cox1974
fingers crossed ;-)
Thank you, gentlemen, for all of your continued input. I appreciate all the positive energy in this thread thus far.

For multiple reasons, I totally agree that a 9" front width is the superior decision - reducing the run radius gives you more clearance, usable and communicative contact patch, the sidewall becomes stiffer, it gives you the potential to run a wider tire if later desired, works with the OEM percentage tolerances, etc etc..

We did not include 20" in any of our potential first wheel options because we do not currently have the toolings to accommodate that diameter. We will certainly explore its possibility if there's a communal push for that particular diameter after our 19" are released in the coming months. For the time being, we seek to bring aggressively spec'd, quality, affordable, strong, and track-worthy 19" GT4 wheels to market. With said 19", we understand the complications of clearing the pesky lower control arm in the rear and the need to provide proper inner/outer clearance in the front; both of which can work with the correct offsets (9" F, 10.5" R).

Please let me know your guys' thoughts!
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Old 11-29-2017, 01:03 PM
  #48  
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Here are the missing finishes - I have updated the original posting to show all -- Enjoy!

Seen below are our 19" APEX SM-10 in profile 1 (front) concavity and profile 3 (rear) concavity.

Anthracite -


Race Silver -


Shown below are our 18" APEX SM-10 in profile 1 (front) concavity and profile 2 (rear) concavity.

Satin black -


Race Silver -

Last edited by Apex Wheels; 11-29-2017 at 08:45 PM.
Old 11-29-2017, 01:57 PM
  #49  
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Those SM-10 mock ups look great. I ran ARC-8s for a number of years on an M3 racecar and loved them, but like the SM-10 better on the 911/Cayman/Boxster.

Last edited by FLACHT6_pilot; 11-29-2017 at 04:31 PM.
Old 11-29-2017, 07:26 PM
  #50  
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Originally Posted by avusm3


Those SM-10 mock ups look great. I ran ARC-8s for a number of years on an M3 racecar and loved them, but like the SM-10 better on the 911/Cayman/Boxster.
Thank you for your past and present support! We'll post more and more photos of the proposed Porsche designs, so please continue to share your thoughts. If you have any pictures of your M3 to share, we'd love to see... By your username, I'm guessing its a '95 E36


Cheers!
Old 11-29-2017, 08:19 PM
  #51  
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I honestly don't see enough differences in this wheel design when compared to the established players in the market. Take away the center cap and replace it with the offerings from others and take another survey to see if the majority can identify it.

$0.02
Old 11-29-2017, 09:17 PM
  #52  
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I had 2 sets of ARC-8s and 1 set of EC-7s for my E92 M3s. Running 18x10 square for both street and track set-ups. Great, relatively lightweight track wheels at a good price point.

Also, great customer service too. A few years ago, I bent both right side wheels on track by running wide then into a hole after the curbing. It was a massive hit. APEX sent me 2 new wheels for cost 2 days later and I received a brand new replacement stud kit.

When my Porsche arrives next year, if these wheels are ready, I'm a buyer.
Old 11-29-2017, 09:40 PM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by Hit Apex
I had 2 sets of ARC-8s and 1 set of EC-7s for my E92 M3s. Running 18x10 square for both street and track set-ups. Great, relatively lightweight track wheels at a good price point.

Also, great customer service too. A few years ago, I bent both right side wheels on track by running wide then into a hole after the curbing. It was a massive hit. APEX sent me 2 new wheels for cost 2 days later and I received a brand new replacement stud kit.

When my Porsche arrives next year, if these wheels are ready, I'm a buyer.
Very interesting that you jump onto this bandwagon since nothing about a new GT4 has been confirmed for next year. In addition you seem to spend your time time on the 991 forums where Apex hasn't created a thread. Were you asked to add fanboy $0.02 in this forum?
Old 11-29-2017, 09:50 PM
  #54  
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"Very interesting"? I guess you are Mr. Suspicious. I just poked around over here to look into the most recent GT4 news and saw the APEX wheel thread. No affiliation with my user name. Haha.

Nothing in it for me, just was happy to see they're trying to spread to another market. I personally don't see a need to spend crazy money on sets of track wheels. With the amount of clag, mounting and dismounting, scoring on the inside barrel, etc. I'm more inclined to find an economical wheel that I don't have to worry about. I think Porsche track rats will be happy with this offering and you should too!
Old 11-30-2017, 12:16 AM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by ExMB
I honestly don't see enough differences in this wheel design when compared to the established players in the market. Take away the center cap and replace it with the offerings from others and take another survey to see if the majority can identify it.

$0.02
That assumes they have to look different for the sake of looking different. That's what HRE does and they're crap.

I say keep a basic design and sell on quality/price/durability/weight. I think a sizable portion of the track people would agree. CCW sold a basic forged wheel on these princples and did very well with the Porsche track crowd. Their designs were basic and the finish wasn't even good (I've heard not to handle without gloves for risk of a burr).
Old 11-30-2017, 12:18 AM
  #56  
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Originally Posted by ExMB
I honestly don't see enough differences in this wheel design when compared to the established players in the market. Take away the center cap and replace it with the offerings from others and take another survey to see if the majority can identify it.

$0.02
No offense to the Apex guys but their wheels haven't traditionally been super innovative from an aesthetic perspective. What they have brought to the BMW market is huge value to drivers who want reasonably light, strong, and economical wheels in a variety of sizes to suit people's needs. Off the shelf, tested, and known to fit, not custom with secret offsets for $$$/wheel which then can't easily be replaced. The Porsche tax on parts is crazy and the lack of off the shelf options for different sizes and offsets for track wheels is surprising given how many people track their cars. If the new Porsche offerings are anything like the BMW offerings, once the specs are finalized there might be a number of similar looking wheels on the market but none will come close to matching the quality/performance/price combo of the Apex wheels.
Old 11-30-2017, 07:05 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by ExMB
I honestly don't see enough differences in this wheel design when compared to the established players in the market. Take away the center cap and replace it with the offerings from others and take another survey to see if the majority can identify it.

$0.02
Originally Posted by Hit Apex
I had 2 sets of ARC-8s and 1 set of EC-7s for my E92 M3s. Running 18x10 square for both street and track set-ups. Great, relatively lightweight track wheels at a good price point.

Also, great customer service too. A few years ago, I bent both right side wheels on track by running wide then into a hole after the curbing. It was a massive hit. APEX sent me 2 new wheels for cost 2 days later and I received a brand new replacement stud kit.

When my Porsche arrives next year, if these wheels are ready, I'm a buyer.
Originally Posted by ExMB
Very interesting that you jump onto this bandwagon since nothing about a new GT4 has been confirmed for next year. In addition you seem to spend your time time on the 991 forums where Apex hasn't created a thread. Were you asked to add fanboy $0.02 in this forum?
Originally Posted by Hit Apex
"Very interesting"? I guess you are Mr. Suspicious. I just poked around over here to look into the most recent GT4 news and saw the APEX wheel thread. No affiliation with my user name. Haha.

Nothing in it for me, just was happy to see they're trying to spread to another market. I personally don't see a need to spend crazy money on sets of track wheels. With the amount of clag, mounting and dismounting, scoring on the inside barrel, etc. I'm more inclined to find an economical wheel that I don't have to worry about. I think Porsche track rats will be happy with this offering and you should too!
Originally Posted by Yargk
That assumes they have to look different for the sake of looking different. That's what HRE does and they're crap.

I say keep a basic design and sell on quality/price/durability/weight. I think a sizable portion of the track people would agree. CCW sold a basic forged wheel on these princples and did very well with the Porsche track crowd. Their designs were basic and the finish wasn't even good (I've heard not to handle without gloves for risk of a burr).
Originally Posted by ajw45
No offense to the Apex guys but their wheels haven't traditionally been super innovative from an aesthetic perspective. What they have brought to the BMW market is huge value to drivers who want reasonably light, strong, and economical wheels in a variety of sizes to suit people's needs. Off the shelf, tested, and known to fit, not custom with secret offsets for $$$/wheel which then can't easily be replaced. The Porsche tax on parts is crazy and the lack of off the shelf options for different sizes and offsets for track wheels is surprising given how many people track their cars. If the new Porsche offerings are anything like the BMW offerings, once the specs are finalized there might be a number of similar looking wheels on the market but none will come close to matching the quality/performance/price combo of the Apex wheels.
Thank you for chiming in, gents. I greatly appreciate the continued support and welcome others to vocalize their skepticism or critique. Working with fellow enthusiasts in any capacity helps illustrate what we're about.

There have been several wheel companies over the years who have offered variations of our split 7-spoke mesh EC-7 design and 10-spoke SM-10 design. This is simply due to its ability to be strong, weight conscious, and clear a variety of massive factory and aftermarket big brakes if properly optimized and engineered. With that said, it is important to note that not all 7 nor 10 spoke designs on the market are created equal, even if they look remotely similar on the surface. The “genetic makeup” greatly varies from manufacture to manufacture, and this results in a major difference in the final product that enthusiasts receive. This is where the differences in the wheel industry show themselves; how the wheel performs, endures repetitive track abuse, how the finish holds up, weight, how much brake clearance they provide, and more. Done right, you get a Ferrari Testarossa. Done wrong, you get a replica Testarossa on a Pontiac Fiero chassis. They look somewhat similar, but their differences will become apparent with use.

While many companies recycle wheel designs from one vehicle platform to another, we understand that chassis specific optimization is necessary to ensure each "version" of the APEX wheels that we produce encompasses all of the important features that enthusiasts are looking for. This doesn't just mean changing the center bore and bolt pattern to provide a direct fitment for each vehicle platform, but also re-engineering each wheel for each specific application to ensure it can be put up to the test over the course of years. Our wheels were not simply FEA tested in a computer simulation or in-house tested to an unregulated standard. We conduct real-world third party VIA crush testing and all of our wheels exceed Japan’s JWL standard.

We offer our SM-10/EC-7's in three different face profiles, which all vary in spoke concavity to ensure brake clearance is never compromised due to width or offset changes in the wheel. The SM-10/EC-7 is one of the few 18" VIA/JWL certified wheels on the market that can clear Brembo and OEM 380mm 6pot brakes. There are many companies that focus their efforts on the aesthetic design aspect of a wheel. At the end of the day, that is not how we bring value to our customers. The design of our wheels lend themselves to proper brake clearance, weight, strength, with appropriate load distribution. Chasing designs to meet ever-changing aesthetic preferences is not the fight we want to fight.

Last edited by Apex Wheels; 11-30-2017 at 09:39 PM. Reason: Added comma
Old 12-01-2017, 09:08 AM
  #58  
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please make 20 inch wheels.... in italy a different size is not allowed for the gt4
Old 12-02-2017, 12:51 AM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by ExMB
Very interesting that you jump onto this bandwagon since nothing about a new GT4 has been confirmed for next year. In addition you seem to spend your time time on the 991 forums where Apex hasn't created a thread. Were you asked to add fanboy $0.02 in this forum?
ExMB, are you OK? Seriously, like is there something wrong? 95% of your posts you spout all this negativity regardless of the topic. You jumped all over me in a discussion about Trofeo Rs sometime ago. I don't understand where any of it comes from.

As for Apex, they have a tremendously strong following in the BMW community, myself included. I knew they were looking to get into the Porsche market 15 months ago and am glad they're here. How about giving them a chance to do right for the community before pissing in their cheerios?
Old 12-02-2017, 08:54 AM
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Originally Posted by krell
ExMB, are you OK? Seriously, like is there something wrong? 95% of your posts you spout all this negativity regardless of the topic. You jumped all over me in a discussion about Trofeo Rs sometime ago. I don't understand where any of it comes from.

As for Apex, they have a tremendously strong following in the BMW community, myself included. I knew they were looking to get into the Porsche market 15 months ago and am glad they're here. How about giving them a chance to do right for the community before pissing in their cheerios?
You mean where you popped in talking about Pirellis on a M3 and only afterwards corrected to say Trofeos on an older modified M3. Link Isn't the pot calling the kettle black here?


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