Trying to decide between two wheels; input?

[Roflwafflez]

Heyo! Just looking to get some insight from everyone on two different wheels on TireRack... I'm partially biased towards the first set only because of the color (Car is white, going for black and white 'panda' themed haha), but I keep thinking about the other set because it just sounds too good to be true spec wise, and I could always just plastidip them black as well. Both save some weight over the stock wheels, so their's a slight performance plus to both. Anyone heard about bending problems with either brands? These would be street use wheels, not track use. Thanks!

Option A)
Sparco Trofeo 4
Size:17x7
Offset:47mm
Backspacing:5.866"
Bolt Pattern:4-108
Rec. Tire Size:205/40-17
Weight:18.4 lbs.
Finish:Black Painted
Construction:1pc. Gravity Cast
Finish Warranty:Not Available
Manufacturer Part #:W2906400153
Manufactured in:China

Option B)
Kosei K5R
Size:17x7
Offset:42mm
Backspacing:5.669"
Bolt Pattern:4-108
Rec. Tire Size:205/40-17
Weight:15.9 lbs.
Finish:Light Grey Painted
Construction:1pc. Low Pressure Cast w/Flow Forming
Finish Warranty:Not Available
Manufacturer Part #:K5R772LG
Manufactured in:Thailand

Thanks!

-Matt

 

[LT Berzerker]

Low pressure cast ftw.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Roflwafflez]

Yea, I've definitely been reading a lot (First time purchasing aftermarket wheels so I have a lot to learn) about the pros and cons of low pressure casting vs gravity casting. From what I've gathered, so long as you stick with a reputable brand, either one should be strong enough for street use if you don't live in a place where potholes are the size of moon craters lol.

-Matt

 

[Tpetro33]

Absolutely the Kosei's......LP cast and great weight savings.

 

[MKVIIST]

Get the Kosei K5R, you can always power coat them black.

 

[Roflwafflez]

Thanks for the input, appreciate it!

-Matt

 

[BlueBullet]

I bought some 17's from tire rack last year and regret not getting 16's even though these only weigh 14 lbs. I still can not buy good riding tires that are not taller than stock which makes me sacrifice in the gearing. I thought larger diameter would help my mpg but if anything it went down. If I had to do it again I would buy 16's. Just my .02

 

[Waterfan]

Weight reduction is my primary criteria: Another vote for K5R. IIRC, these are the lowest cost, lightest weight 17x7 that will fit.

 

[Roflwafflez]

Looked at a lot of wheels in general in the last few days, but I pulled the trigger on the K5R's a short while ago. Given the price, I was able to pick up an extra just in case of any problems with bending or cracking. Excited to see what the overall weight reduction feels like for accelerating/decelerating/handling. I'll post up pics in the official wheels post when I have them on. Thanks for the input everyone! Hoping that Kosei wheels are able to hold up to daily street driving!

-Matt

 

[terr3nce]

Nice choice. I also prefer lightweight wheels. Post some pics when you are done installing them.

 

[imhenry66]

Nice choice. I also prefer lightweight wheels. Post some pics when you are done installing them.

Noob question: Are the OEM ST wheels heavy? (Seems probable considering the class of the car and the pricing) I've never researched about it. Thanks.

 

[Waterfan]

Noob question: Are the OEM ST wheels heavy? (Seems probable considering the class of the car and the pricing) I've never researched about it. Thanks.

"Heavy" is somewhat subjective. OEMs are 22.5 lbs. OEM wheels need to be a balance of durability, weight and cost. For an OEM wheel expected to stay true and take daily abuse over ~200k miles under varying road conditions, personally I don't think 22.5 lbs is "too heavy". For sure they are not considered "light" (as an example only, my personal minimum for "light 17x7" is 19 lbs or less)

Take a look at this list from Tire Rack as a point of reference (41 different 17x7 available, ~30% are 19lbs or less)

 

[RAAMaudio]

A quality low pressure cast flow formed wheel is nearly as strong as a forged wheel and sometimes better as less brittle in some cases I have seen. Saving weight on the wheels is one of the all time best all around performance mods one can do as well.

The car should of been sold with 16's instead of 17's which are not a good fit in many ways and it would of been very cheap for Ford to have quality wheels made that were very strong and lower weight, the true performance guys there were given a mandate and budget to use 17's I doubt was well appreciated.

You should notice a great improvement in the new wheels over the weight of the stock ones.

 

[Cerberus]

Looked at a lot of wheels in general in the last few days, but I pulled the trigger on the K5R's a short while ago. Given the price, I was able to pick up an extra just in case of any problems with bending or cracking. Excited to see what the overall weight reduction feels like for accelerating/decelerating/handling. I'll post up pics in the official wheels post when I have them on. Thanks for the input everyone! Hoping that Kosei wheels are able to hold up to daily street driving!

-Matt

I just purchased a set today as well. Can't wait to get them installed. Hopefully they look good on black!

 

[Roflwafflez]

Definitely looking forward to this mod. Wheels are suppose to arrive tomorrow, but I won't be able to get them on until sometime next week or the week following. I'm also toying with the idea of powdercoating them before install since I wanted to go with black wheels, but haven't decided on that part just yet. Does the powdercoating process have any negative effect on wheel strength/durability? The next step also is to see if I can find some sort of way to get custom wheel caps. From what I understand, the rear wheels could fit caps but the fronts cannot because of the wheel hub being too far out? I wonder if running some small 5mm spacers would fix that issue?

-Matt

 

[Cerberus]

Let me know if you figure out a center cap fix. Im fine without them, but something custom and more finished looking would be a plus.

I dont believe powder coat will affect structural Integrity. Is your car silver? I think the wheels In the original color will look great!

 

[RAAMaudio]

If staying in 17" with lower weight wheels you still get most of the benefits you would get from going to 15 or 16" wheels which can a bit better ride as the suspension can control the wheels over bumps better as long as the tires are not to stiff. I would look for the lightest tires that will work for your needs as the weight from them is far out from the center and will add to the rotational performance loss issues if heavy ones are used, negating much if not all the gain from of the lighter wheels.

 

[Roflwafflez]

I might be overthinking this but, quick question about painting the wheel hubs... Do you think it would require any specific type of paint to withstand high heat temps? I've been looking at the different types of Rustoleum available, and some state not to use on surfaces that reach 200 degrees or above (I have no idea how hot wheels get lol), while others can withstand engine temps up to 2000 degrees.

Also another question that came to me... Can you resuse the stock tire valve stems, or do you need aftermarket/replacement ones? I ask because my wheels were delivered a short while ago and they came with these (hideous, in my opinion lol) bright red, metal valves and I'd much rather use just plain old black ones.

Let me know if you figure out a center cap fix. Im fine without them, but something custom and more finished looking would be a plus.

I dont believe powder coat will affect structural Integrity. Is your car silver? I think the wheels In the original color will look great!

Will do. Until I actually have the wheels on the car, I won't have a good idea of how close the hub is to the inside of the wheel portion, so no idea how thin or thick of a center cap it would require. My car is oxford white, and my 'theme' for my car is a panda (lol), so having the wheels black would fit the theme nicely.

If staying in 17" with lower weight wheels you still get most of the benefits you would get from going to 15 or 16" wheels which can a bit better ride as the suspension can control the wheels over bumps better as long as the tires are not to stiff. I would look for the lightest tires that will work for your needs as the weight from them is far out from the center and will add to the rotational performance loss issues if heavy ones are used, negating much if not all the gain from of the lighter wheels.

RAAM, do you think the OE tire weight will offset the wheel weight and make any performance/handling gains null?

-Matt

Also edit for pic:

Had a chance to look over all 4 of the 5 that have arrived (5th is scheduled to arrive on Friday) and I see no obvious defects or problems. I actually really like the color, they look darker in person than I expected. Don't think I'm going to have them powdercoated after all.

 

[Roflwafflez]

Wheels installed!

Stock suspension, no wheel spacers, stock option all season tires:

-Matt

 

[M-Sport fan]

Are those Pilot Sport AS3s the 205/40-17 size??

I want to know since I also ordered my '16 with the all season option, and am HOPING for THESE tires over whatever else they would/could install at the factory (NOT too many all seasons made in this size).