Tune to an IMSA live stream this year, and you’re likely to see or hear about Forgeline Wheels. Although these high-end wheels seem like the product of one of those German companies devoted to navigating labyrinthine homologation rules and employing jumpsuit-clad workers named Klaus, their origins are much more humble. Despite a big-time role in …
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true story: i had Forgelines on my $2002 Challenge corvair. The owner of Forgeline raced Corvairs forever, so he made a few sets of 13x7 for (iirc) his ITA car, and I bought one of his used sets.
I have Forgelines on my FD. They came free with the car but were over $600 apiece when new. I would never have purchased them myself though. The are the same model (LS) as pictured in the bottom right under the "Meet the Brothers" photo in the linked article.
In reply to AngryCorvair :
Wow... he must have sold them at an incredible discount since the price for the cheapest wheel they sell is well over half the budget.
An 8-spoke Minilite style wheel would be a nice addition to the classic line - since finding Panasports can be a real pain (not helped by possibly the worst website on the web).
In reply to Ian F :
i had 25% of my budget in those wheels and the used race tires that came with them.
I felt like a low-level super hero the first time I picked up an 18X10ish Forgeline with one hand. Then I realized that it was like 20lbs and I was not as super as I'd initially thought.
I just sold my Forgelines to a guy who had badgered me about them when I bought them. 17x10 RSII were some bitchin wheels
Ian F said:In reply to AngryCorvair :
An 8-spoke Minilite style wheel would be a nice addition to the classic line - since finding Panasports can be a real pain (not helped by possibly the worst website on the web).
Trans Am Race Engineering makes some nice Panasport/Minilite style wheels. I've got them on my 1969 Cougar in 17x8.
Ian F said:In reply to AngryCorvair :
Wow... he must have sold them at an incredible discount since the price for the cheapest wheel they sell is well over half the budget.
An 8-spoke Minilite style wheel would be a nice addition to the classic line - since finding Panasports can be a real pain (not helped by possibly the worst website on the web).
Check out Superlite in Australia. They'll basically make any size/offset/BCD you want and are inexpensive. I had a staggered set made up for my GT6 a decade ago.
https://www.performancewheels.com.au/product-category/current-wheels/
While I like top shelf parts as much as anyone, and am not afraid to spend money when it helps the end goals of the car, I am definitely on the fence when it comes to wheels. Much as I like having the strongest, lightest wheel possible (being able to spec them to my liking is definitely nice!), some of the nicer lower end of the market wheels have come a long way. Best example I can think of is the RPF1.
Best case scenario a forged 17x9.5 might be within a pound of the weight of a 17x9.5 RPF1. Is it three times better a wheel? Because they sure cost three times (or more...) per corner. That difference buys a lot of tires...
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