Stock Car Rims

[comet_666]

In the ever changing world of me trying to pick rims for my car...these popped into my brain for some reason..

15x12 rear
15x8 front

thoughts?

[Mike DC]

Some roundy-round wheels are not DOT approved for the street.  Supposedly not strong enough, although they would seem to be okay. 

[JB400]

Make sure you get the ones that are DOT approved and the correct lug nuts to mount them.

[Ghoste]

Can't help but wonder what quality, or more accurately what lack of, makes a stock car rim not meet DOT approval?

[RallyeMike]

All that, plus I don't think they make those in 12" wide, and certainly not the backspace you'd need unless you plan to go old school and jackup the rear to the moon.

[Cooter]

Can't help but wonder what quality, or more accurately what lack of, makes a stock car rim not meet DOT approval?

Most times, like with the 3 1/2" X 15 aluminum ones that say "for off Road use only", the wheels are so light, they will bend at the slightest dip in the road.
the 10-12" wheels may very well fiit if you narrow the rear for the right offset.

[Ghoste]

You would think a stock car rim would be robust enough.  Certainly more so than a 3 1/2 wide aluminum pizza cutter.

[Indygenerallee]

Nope, Stock car rims are thin as possible to reduce weight, the centers can flex and break out around the lug holes, also if you were to get in a accident with non DOT approved rims your gonna be facing a major lawsuit if you happen to do major damage to persons or property...

[Ghoste]

Really?  That surprises me too because I would have thought they needed extra beef around the mounting to withstand side loads.
These aren't statements of doubt by the way, just saying it surprised me to learn it.

[HPP]

There area varying levels of lightness to race specific wheels.  A 15x7 race wheel can weigh anywhere from 15-25 pounds depending on style and application. Compared to 25-35# for a street wheel, that's quite an improvement. Certainly they are pretty strong, but they do tend to make the hoops thinner and d.o.t. compliance entails a pretty fair amount of testing that race wheel manufacturers don't necessarily want to foot the bill to perform since it is not their primary application.

They also use a 45* taper on the lug seats as opposed to a street wheels 60* taper, so they require race specific lug nuts.

[comet_666]

These ones are DOT approved, not a fan of the 15x8 size however...

[comet_666]

Not sure how these would look on my car though...

[Dino]

D window wheels look pretty on any muscle car.  It gives It that 'don't mess with me' look and lends itself to adding RWL or yellow if you can!

The right guy could take a D wheel and build it into any size you want.

[comet_666]

Geez, I like these too.

[Ghoste]

Those I like much better than the first pic.

[Mike DC]

The typical dirt track racecar is much lighter weight than a street car, which puts less stress on the rims. 

But even with that difference, I've always had a feeling the lack of DOT approval for most (steel) racecar wheels has more to do with the price of certification than the weakness of the wheels.


 


The off-road truck & jeep world is another place to look for wheels.  They're cheap, durable, and they come in musclecar sizes & bolt patterns.

The Ford/Mustang crowd is a place to look too.   They deal in 5x4.5" bolt circles and their hobby is huge.

 

[Dino]

Geez, I like these too.

I think you found a winner here.

[Highbanked Hauler]

 I have had 10X15 stock car wheels on mine since 1998 with no problems and my wheels have a 1/4 in. thick center and yes there are lightweight out there. The difference that I can see between DOT rims and stocker wheels is the lug nut seat.  Street rims have a 60 degree seat and a stocker wheel has a 45 degree seat and if you use a 60 degree nut in a 45 degree wheel you'd chew the holes out in short order.  I use 45 degree lug nuts on my wheels and have never had a wheel get loose in 18,000 mi.

   I am still waiting for somebody to prove to me I'm wrong, seriously I'll be corrected.

[Mopar Nut]

Those I like much better than the first pic.

Me too.

[comet_666]

Just found out they make these in 17x9...
Wish that vexer fitment guide still worked so I could see what tires to put on them..