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► APEX | SM-10 Lightweight Track Wheels for Porsche
Category: Wheels & Tires Price (no $ sign please): $0 Private or Vendor Listing: Vendor Listing Part fits (select ONLY those which apply): 986, 987, 993, 996, 997, Cayman, Race Car, Other Marques Location (Region): NorCal Item Condition: Brand New
Introducing the new APEX SM-10 for Porsche
The new APEX SM-10 wheel for Porsche combines a straight 10-spoke design with our “I-beam” milling technique to produce a lightweight wheel. Multiple face profiles continue to provide unmatched big brake clearance. The new milling feature has increased strength while shedding weight, and it adds a visual feature typically only found on the most expensive race wheels available on the market today.
1. Fit Matters
These concave SM-10 wheels are designed specifically for your Porsche. The SM-10 provides chassis optimized fitments and proper load distribution. If you’re looking for a cost effective lightweight 18” wheel, this is your answer.
2. “I-Beam” Spokes
The spokes of the SM-10 were designed to be robust where they need to be, and extra lightweight where they should be. Weight is reduced by CNC machining material out from the sides of each spoke. It’s expensive and avoided by almost every manufacturer, but affordable with volume. In each concavity profile of our SM-10 design, the I-beam spokes are carefully evaluated from structural aspects to ensure minimal weight, brake clearance, and remarkable strength.
3. Beefier Lips
By saving weight elsewhere, we’ve added extra material where it counts. We’re beefing up the barrel’s inner lip on the SM-10 to better handle the repetitive abuse seen on the track.
4. Knurled Bead
We’ve upgraded these wheels to include a knurled bead seat to reduce unwanted tire rotation. This added feature will help keep your balance stay more true throughout the life of the tire.
5. Open Center
We’ve upgraded these wheels to include a knurled bead seat to reduce unwanted tire rotation. This added feature will help keep your balance stay more true throughout the life of the tire.
6. Hub Centric
All APEX wheels are purpose built for select vehicle applications, and centering rings are never required for any Porsche application. All 5x130mm bolt pattern wheels feature a direct-fit, 71.6mm center bore.
7. Center Caps
We don't reuse one cap design for all of our wheels. Every SM-10 wheel is designed to work with factory center caps. You can easily replace APEX center caps with OEM Porsche crest caps for a clean factory look. The SM-10 wheels will ship with our Gloss Black center cap that mimics the size and shape of a Porsche factory center cap.
8. Brake Clearance
Spoke clearance is only half the problem. The barrel construction on a wheel also needs to be big enough to clear the sides of your caliper and rotor. Many aftermarket wheels that have aesthetic compromises in their design may work with smaller stock brakes, or smaller diameter big brake kits, but the larger kits will pose a major problem. Targeted at the serious performance-minded owner, 18” SM-10 wheels clear up to 380mm rotor, 6-piston brake kits including the factory PCCB’s.
9. Wheel Hardware
The SM-10 Porsche wheel can be used with all OEM and aftermarket mounting hardware with a ball seat lug recess. Lug bolts, wheel locks, and stud conversion kits all work perfectly. The SM-10 wheel also accepts wheel spacers without issue. The shallow rear chamfer allows the wheel to remain hub centric even when 5mm flat spacers are used. The chamfer is deep enough to clear the chamfered lip found on some aftermarket spacers that would typically cause improper seating of the wheel and, therefore, wheel vibration.
10. TPMS
TPMS sensors, which monitor tire pressure, are one piece of technology that can't be compromised. All APEX wheels accept OEM and aftermarket equivalent Porsche/HUF TPMS sensors, and any standard sized metal or rubber valve stem. Use the chart below to help select the correct TPMS for your vehicle.
Light-weight
Flow-forming allows for a significant reduction in rotational mass by reducing barrel weight. This manufacturing technique allows our wheels to be almost as light as a traditional forged wheel, but without the significant increase in price.
Strength
Track duty requires a wheel that can handle the punishment of high lateral G’s, hitting berms, and every once in a while, a small off track excursion. Spoke and barrel design are a major factor in wheel strength. The flow-forming technique uses high pressure disks/rollers to roll the wheel’s barrel into its final shape. This gives the barrel the same strength properties as a forged wheel, since monoblock wheels go through a similar step to form their barrels. We design our spoke dimensions to help evenly distribute loads from the barrel to the center of the wheel. The lack of a front lip, and spokes directly connecting to the edge of the wheel, also add increased strength to the outer lip of the wheel.
Chassis-Specific Fitments
Stretched rubber, narrow tires, and fender rubbing are not elements to look for in a competitive wheel/tire setup. All of our wheels were designed with offsets that allow for proper fitment of extreme summer, and r-compound tires without the need for spacers or fender rolling. This means keeping the tire under the fender, and away from suspension components. Track oriented wheel widths are also important as they provide proper sidewall support under hard cornering. Too much rubber for a wheel results in excessive sidewall deflection, which translates into sloppy and delayed turning response.
1. Testing & Certifications
Computer simulated stress tests are no match for real world testing when designing a lightweight wheel that will see extreme loads. All APEX wheels are crush and load tested to exceed JWL standards and those results are independently tested and certified in Japan by the 3rd party government agency known as the VIA. Countless wheel companies falsely claim they are tested and certified by the VIA, and so they lack the certificates to prove it. We test and certify each and every design, diameter, width, and offset, separately.
2. Always Flow Formed
All APEX wheels, including the SM-10 wheel, are produced using the Flow-Forming technique. This process significantly reduces weight in the barrel, which has the greatest impact on rotational mass. During the manufacturing process, rollers apply high pressure to the inner barrel, compressing the aluminum into its final shape. This effectively eliminates porosity and aligns the grain structure of the metal, which increases tensile strength. The end result of the Flow-Forming process is a lightweight and extremely strong barrel that equals that of a traditional forged wheel at a fraction of the cost.
3. Weight & Strength Optimization
We didn’t just redrill and recycle our 5x120 SM-10 design, we’ve rebirthed it. After seven months of Porsche-specific optimizations, we’ve minimized weight while maximizing strength. Strength tested to surpass the 5x130 JWL/VIA’s standard, and enthusiast tested to beat their weight standard. Since most Porsches have an inherent rear weight bias and run wide rear wheels, we’ve strengthened the inner lips. The result is a lightweight wheel with extra strength in all the right places. Use the SM-10 with confidence on both street and track.
4. Warranty
All APEX wheels are backed by a 2 year structural warranty and a 1 year finish warranty to the original. This warranty guarantees that all APEX wheels will be free from defects in materials, workmanship, and paint finish under normal and reasonable use.
Popular street and track tires are now available when you order APEX wheels. Add tires with your wheel order and get free tire mounting and balancing by our trusted enthusiast technicians. We use high-end, touchless equipment and inspect every wheel and tire combo thoroughly before they leave our warehouse. With our competitive tire pricing bundled with the savings of free mounting and balancing and convenience, it’s the ultimate wheel & tire package.
*Note: Tires will only ship mounted to the wheels in your order, and can not be sold separately. Tires and wheels must be purchased in the same transaction. Tire-only orders will be cancelled and refunded.
^ I think this is for wheels for those who didn't make the GB. Ours is still ~September.
PorscheAddict is correct. Enthusiasts that participated in the Group Buy are already in line for the first batch which at this time is still on target to arrive in September. We took the opportunity to produce more units for stock, therefore a limited number of newcomers can place a pre-prder with us and still receive wheels shortly after the Group Buy wheels ship.
Hey Ryan just picked up a 996 Turbo and wanted to ask you is the 10% off the above posted prices and are you going to have 18X8.5 ET50 and 18X12 ET 45 in Silver? Thank you.
Hey Ryan just picked up a 996 Turbo and wanted to ask you is the 10% off the above posted prices and are you going to have 18X8.5 ET50 and 18X12 ET 45 in Silver? Thank you.
Congrats on the new purchase! The 10% sale pricing is listed in the OP, and we are still offering free shipping within the 48 mainland states.
The 18x8.5" ET50 wheels are already being offered in Race Silver, however this first run of production will only include Anthracite and Satin Black finishes for the 996 Turbo rear wheel fitments. We will definitely followup with Race Silver rear wheel fitments in the months to come, however there is no hard ETA on that production run just yet. We will keep the community up to date in that regard.
Porsche SM-10 wheels are shipping out to enthusiasts daily, and thanks to many of you who pre-ordered, the first production run is almost sold out. We still have some units available, so let us know if you have any fitment questions.
We can't get enough of this GT3 RS shoot which took place in our backyard at Sonoma Raceway.
Josh's Porsche 996TT with 18" APEX SM-10 Wheels
This 996TT is equipped with Bilstein PSS10 coilovers in combination with other RSS suspension components. When running a 9" front wheels with 255/35-18 tires up front (as opposed to the more standard 8.5" wheel) we typically recommend a minimum of -2.5° camber to eliminate rubbing under suspension compression and to get the most of the r-compound tires.
Wheel & Tire Specifications
Front: 18×9” ET46 SM-10 wheels in anthracite (Profile 1 face) with 255/35-18 Toyo R888 Tires
Rear: 18×12” ET45 SM-10 wheels in anthracite (Profile 3 face) with 315/30-18 Toyo R888 Tires
Alignment Specifications
F = -2.0, R = -1.8,
Toe: F = 0.04 IN, R = 0.12 IN.
There are a couple of fitment options depending on how you enjoy your Cayman. Is this a street car, or does it see track time? Is the car still on the stock suspension, or do you have aftermarket suspension installed including adjustable camber plates and/or control arms? We like to get a full picture of how you plan to use the car, and the current modifications present to ensure you are outfitting the car with a wheel and tire setup that meets your specific needs.
For customers enjoying their Cayman day to day on the street, we recommend option 1 which is a bolt-on fitment. No modifications are required. This option will also work well for the occasional weekend warrior that enjoys back canyon roads or a couple track days a year but does not want to dial in negative camber to squeeze more wheel and tire under the front fenders.
If you are looking to maximize performance and you have the ability to dial in negative camber (or you are open to purchasing the required suspension components to be able to do so) we suggest option 2. Option two increases the front wheel width by 1/2", which closes the stagger from front to rear and supports a wider front tire. The result is less understeer and better turn-in for canyon roads or track/race conditions.
I had a few sets of arc-8 track wheels for my BMW's. Too bad there is not a good rear fitment for my narrow body 993.
Always great to hear from current & former BMW owners that are familiar with our line here on RL. We will continue to expand our Porsche offering and hope to work with you again in the future.
07-20-2018, 01:24 PM
► APEX | SM-10 Lightweight Track Wheels for Porsche
