[Obioban]

Please PM me if you are seriously interested after reading all of the below.

If some of this post looks familiar, I stole some of it from Cleveland's old RAC RG4 group buy thread, as honestly, who could write it better than him.

I have been talking to Ralph at RAC and he has authorized me to go ahead and make this group buy. For this to succeed, we will need 20 people to sign up and make a 50% deposit. It will be several months before you receive the wheels as they will be custom designed for our car, JWL and VIA certified, produced, and shipped AFTER deposits are received. Price is set at $3600 + shipping, but that could go down if the exchange rate with Japan gets better. If you pay by credit card, it will be an additional 3%.

My goal is to make the ultimate, bar none, 18" street setup for the e46 M3. By ultimate I mean, strong, light, good looking, brake clearing, and wide tire fitting. This NOT intended to be a rotatable square track setup, and that's not in the offing.

For those who might care and do not already know, RAC Monolites is a custom wheel builder, evolved from the mutual interest and pasion of two good friends and performance car enthusiasts. The two owners of RAC MONOLITES (Ralph and Chuck) are very well known BMW members over on Roadfly. They started this company a few years ago because of the lack of world class quality wheels available for the BMW community. They have spent a a lot of time, effort, and money out their own pocket to give us better quality options. They believe (as do I) that a wheel should be built with the best possible materials and manufacturing techniques available FIRST, then focus on the apperance SECOND.(at each and every price point) I really wish more wheel companies had that philosophy. Don't misunderstand me here. I'm not against buying a "pretty" wheel, it just shouldn't be the only thing that matters. I enjoy looking at an esthetically beautiful wheel as much as the next guy. Unfortunately, I have discovered over the years that for most companies, 'looks' are what come first (about 95% of the time), and quality construction is somewhere lower on the priority list. (and sometimes not at all)

Specifics:

* 6061 T6 HEAT TREATED Aluminum Alloy (currently the best wheel material available)

* 8000 TON SPREAD FORGED MONOBLOCK WHEEL

* 18 x 9 Front , offset is +38, 18.62 lbs

* 18 x10 Rear , offset is +27, 20.14 lbs

* Wheels have a 72.6mm center hub bore so they are HUBCENTRIC (the fit is perfect, no centering rings needed)

* Can accommodate any 365mm or smaller BIG BRAKE KIT without spacers

* Powder-coated in a high quality finish of your choice

* Can accommodate tire sizes up to a 265F/295R.

* Wheels will accept the OEM roundel centercap. (RG63's will be designed from the factory to use the OEM E46 M3 centercap)

* The wheels will be forged in Japan at one of the finest manufacturing plants in the world, and normally take 30 days just to clear U.S. customs.

* The RG4 wheel exceeds all JWL & VIA wheel certifications for use on the E46 M3

* Of note to the FI people: Ralph (of RAC) ran wheels of this size/offset on his track car with 295 rears with stock, unrolled fenders, and was able to do so without rub. I'm not saying this is possible with every model of tire or every alignment, but if you're looking for more traction, you can have it here.


Warranty/replacements:

RAC keeps a few sets on hand exclusively for warranty replacement purposes (rare factory defect). They also keep enough wheels on hand in case anyone needs to purchase a wheel due to damage caused in a car accident or damage incurred due to hitting a huge pothole.



Tire Sizing

These will allow you to run a 245-265 front and a 265-285 rear at any ride height without rubbing. As in, you could remove the springs from the car and ride around on the shock bump stops, and you will not rub. SOME 295 tires will fit, with the right alignment. Personally, I plan to run a 255 front, 285 rear as that gives you a rolling diameter that is identical to stock.


Appearance:

The wheels are going to be based on the RG63s that recently came out for the e9X M3s. I chose this design because they tend to look larger than they actually are. On the e9X they are 19s, but in pics they look like 20s. As the owner of 18s that tend to look like 17s, this is important to me.

Pics of the 19" RG63s (note that while these are 19s, they have a 35/40 profile tire on their 19s, like our 18s (as the total rolling diameter of the 90 is larger than the 46), so the visual effect will be similar on our car with 18s. Similarly, their brake rotors are larger than ours. In other words, these in 18" should look similar on our car as they do in 19" on the e9X.










We have set the offsets and widths identical to the RG4s in the front, and 2mm less aggressive in the rear (to allow for 295s). As a result, they will sit almost exactly as flush as the RG4s (in this pic I am running a 265 front and 275 rear):




Finishes

There will be 7 different finishes you can choose from. IMO lighter cars should get a darker finish, and darker cars should get a lighter finish, but it's entirely up to the buyer.

Note: The "brushed" finish cost extra on the e9X RG63 GB, and will likely here as well. In that group buy it was an extra $120 per wheel.

Options:

(note: blue line is not a painted lip but protective packing tape)









Gloss Black:



gunmetal:



silver:





gunmetal:



brushed:



hyperblack:



brushed:



anthracite:



gloss black:



gun metal:






In summary, these should be (imho) the best possible 18" street wheel for the car. They will be VERY light, VERY strong, allow for large tires, clear BBKs, fit perfectly on the hub without any rings, require no spacers, and look great.

Please note: I will make no money off of this (zip, zilch, zero). I am organizing it entirely because nobody makes what I want for my car for the street.

[Obioban]

For those wondering why this is 18" and not 19", here's my thoughts from earlier in the week:

Originally Posted by Obioban

given the same weight wheel, the 18" wheel will ride better, handle better, accelerate better, and brake better. Most of the time the 18" wheel will be lighter, in which case it's even more dramatic. Even given a 19" wheel which is 3 lbs lighter than an 18" wheel (which is what is necessary to make the accelerating and braking equal), the 18" will still ride and handle better. And, at the end of the day, you don't see a lot of 15-16 lb 19s out there, whereas 18-19 lb 18s are easy to fine.

... not to mention 18" tires are cheaper

I don't know... I think I've reached a point where I can't let myself do it anymore. I feel like I'm gimping my car for appearance, and that goes against everything I believe in.

So you'd need a 14-15 lb front and 14-15 lb rear 19" wheel to equal these in acceleration or braking... and that's not a weight I've ever seen




Edit: More pics

Note how the 19s look like 20s-- great for our 18" setup, imo

Ben's Brushed





Ajax' Brushed



TLud's Gunmetal




Greg's Silver




slipstream's Silver



aus' Anthracite





AlpWt's Anthracite




swamp's semi-gloss black




No hyper black on a car yet, but here they are in box:








Silver in box:








Brushed:

[TightLettuce]

Nice looking wheel I think the brushed looks pretty slick. Good luck with the group buy.

Wish they fit E36...

[Cruzer]

Interesting...

[Mr. Wolfe]

Wow, this is the best 18" wheel I have ever seen. I am a 19" wheel man, but this really has me thinking.

Mr. Wolfe

[krell]

Holy smokes. So this is what comes out of a 23 page thread about wheel diameters!

First off, Obi thanks for getting something like this started. What's the time frame to get 20 buyers? Delivery would be based on that obviously, but do you have any idea if they'd be showing up in time for track season (April-May time frame for those of us in the Midwest)?

[bmwbob]

oh, i hate your face. my bank account hates your face. i thought i was finished with wheels.

[Mpoweroo1]

So does this mean you will be selling me your 19's?

[Monsoon]

Great time of the year to do this - Tax Refund.

Great post Obi, don't know you too well but from the short time I've been a member I respect your experience.

The wheels look great, however I'm looking for a wheel with a lip on it, so I will pass and wait and see how many wheels come up in the For Sale section now.

[SC_TR0JAN_M3]

no option for a square setup?