Due to the lack of suitable 15 inch tires for road racing, I'm thinking about purchasing a set of PS Engineering pin drive 17" wheels to swap back & forth with the 15" Trigos.
Haven't been able to connect with PSE for a couple days, so am curious what if any issues I'd run into with these on my SPF. I'm told the PSE's will fit the Trigo adapters and use their wingnuts. Izzat so? I talked to the guy who imports Compomotives, he says theirs will fit, but I'm a little gunshy of a modular wheel for road racing (Silver State Classic, etc.)
Is there a good source for these, or is direct to PSE the way to go?
Also, I doubt if I could round up enough potential buyers to wrangle a group purchase of PSE wheels and maybe save a few bucks, but just in case, is anyone interested? I'll probably order a set in the next 2-3 weeks once I figure out how to ease them past the watchful eyes of my wife. Thanks.
Tim
I have been researching these also. Not ready to buy yet. Still working on my boss. For my ERA they quoted $1900 for the wheels and $400 to have the full polish. Best tire prices I have found were at costco. Also found that america's tire will price match mail order companys such as tire rack. I went on to one of the viper club web pages to read what brand tires they are using since they use the same size I was looking into (335-35-17 and 275-40-17). They seemed to like the Michelin Pilot sports. Several were running kumhos although these are sticky enough to throw rocks. A couple of threads on the viper site said they had gotten good prices by watching the sales at Sears on Michelins. I found out yesterday they will have a sale on all of their tires on 2/14. Prices I think will be 5%-37% off. They did not know the actual sale price on individual tires/brands. Sears also said they would beat any price I found by 10%. Just thought I would pass some of the results of my investigation on to you.
What tires and size are you going to run on your SPF?
I have been looking at the 17inch rims for my upcoming project and would consider participating in a group purchase. Send me some email as you find out more information. I'm am ready to buy if they put together a good package.
Red Era -- I think those rims and tires would work pretty incredible on you car... Maybe we'll see them on at this years vintage races?
Scott S.
p.s. I also live just north, so it might be pretty easy to work out the logistics.
Good info on tires, Red Era. Those Michelin Sport's are among the possibilities, along with Bridgestones and maybe Kumhos. Wheels, probably 8 & 10.5 inch, tires the same sizes you're looking at, except maybe 315's in the rear.
Once you step up to 17's, almost too many choices.
As soon as I get some info from PSE, I'll pass it along. Got a couple of other SPF owners maybe interested in a buy, so we'll see.
Let me know what you find or decide on. Maybe we will see you both at the historic races this year or some other gathering. If I find any good tire prices I will let you know.
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I stopped by the PSE facility a couple months back & talked to Phil for about an hour. It was just as he was opening up the shop & getting ready for the day. He seems to be quite busy but is a real nice guy & does sell direct. Good luck!
I have a second set of 17s for my car that I have only had on a few times but they certainly grip well. I also love the look. Here are pictures of the car with 17s and 15s.
Tires are RE-71 s 335/35/17 and 275/45/17
I purchased the PS Engineering wheels directly from Phil at PS. The price listing sounds about right + another $1000 for tires
__________________
James
A few ERAs, SPFs, Shelbys, Kirkhams...
Last edited by James Baldwin; 01-31-2003 at 11:02 AM..
He's willing to give a small discount ($200) off list price for a quantity of 6 sets. (I didn't ask him about an "ascending" scale if we came with more, remembering how I got burned a couple of years ago when I attempted to co-sponsor a group buy on lifts, ending up with only 3 of us actually making a purchase. Gets egg on one's face, y'know.)
There are some common parameters for this buy:
1. The PS wheels in this case are designed for Trigo adapters & spinners; any other fit, such as Superformance's own wheels, will require an additional charge, since his current run at the foundry is set for the Trigo pattern. Phil indicates SPF's and ERA's are two that will work; there may be more, but gotta be Trigo-based.
2. They have to be pin-drive, 17 inch by the standard range of widths and offsets. For example, I have SPF #724, which uses 7.5" & 9.5" Trigos and Wilwood brakes. I can fit 9" & 11" on this car without modification or fitment problems, providing I stay within certain tire parameters. In this case, Phil says a 275R40-17 front and a 315R35-17 back aft will fit (maybe even a 335, as noted by James on his post and pictures (beautiful!) 8's & 10's are a no-brainer fit.
3. The wheel quoted will come polished rims and a satin-silver shot-peened inner section. Chrome adds $100 per wheel. Custom centers (polished, powdercoat) will also add to the price, but I didn't get into those specifics yet.
4. Shipping & handling will range from $64 per set on the west coast to $102 to the east coast. He uses UPS rate charts for comparison.
If you are interested, please contact me via private email and we can go from there. I'm thinking an order within the next 30 days gets delivery within 60 days. After March 1 the turn-around time gets longer as the race season approaches. Thanks.
For all-around use, take a good look at Bridgestone's SO-3s. I've had them on my Audi 4.2 in the 255x40x17 size on the road, some autocrossing and during Audi Club events at several tracks. They are just damn great! Better grip than Pilot Sports in dry or wet, they track straight on the road and the wear is excellent. Pirelli Russos are not bad--better wet grip, but they give up a bit in the dry.
Do the bridgestone so-3 and Pirelli Russos come in the sizes we are looking at. I did not find them. 335-35-17, 315-35-17, 275-40-17 . I am looking for options and recommendations.
Hmmm... I don't see them listed at Tire Rack, but that is surprizing--check their web sites. They are both fairly new (introduced last year) so maybe they're still adding sizes.
Jamo is right about the S0-3's, but I suspect it may be an Audi owners conspiracy, since my All-Road buddy just shoe-horned a set of them on new Euro Audi 18's. Nice tires!
PSE doesn't have an active web site or a working email right now. It's a small, focused operation with two guys, and I know Phil is one busy fellow. But a nice guy, and a straight shooter from everyone I've talked to.
Anyhow, as I told the guys over on the SCOF forum, I'm going to initiate an order 'round about Feb. 20 or so, to get us in ahead of the seasonal crunch. This'll get the wheels delivered within 30 days of an order. After April 1, it may double.
Remember, in order to play this straight with PSE, send me a private email with your vehicle brand, desired widths, setback/offset requirements if different than the Trigos, and any custom options as noted in my earlier post. That way PSE can quote on special features, so no one gets any sur-prices....!
Phil said he can handle credit card orders, so once we get a list together and to him of the group buyers, you can go ahead and do your own thing as far as payment. He's cool - doesn't bill the card until wheels are shipped, unless you want him to for your own billing reason.
Now, if I get a bigger-than-anticipated group of serious buyers, I'll go back to him and see if we can cut a little deeper deal. To protect the deal and avoid any problems with jobbers, etc. I'll only provide pricing information via private email to legitimately interested buyers. It's not like we're undercutting dealers, because our price is still above theirs by about $100 a set, but I don't want to get into a rhubarb over this. Thanks for understanding.
As for tires, we're on our own, unless one of you enterprising souls wants to delve into a group buy; there are sooo many options the idea of getting something together - yikes!
Just a reminder - if you want in on this buy, you gotta send me an email with the particulars asked for in earlier posts.
I'd like to pass along a list to Phil @ PSE no later than Feb. 24 so he has time to go thru it, figure in any options, ask questions, and get an order going before the hordes fill up his dance card for the season.
Need car model, current wheel brand (should be Trigos, but just in case), wheel size now, wheel size desired (17 x ??), offset if different from Trigos, and finish (chrome, polish or powdercoat centers). Also, if anyone has added some huge 6-piston calipers or anything like that, let me know in case that red-flags something to Phil.
Hurry now, boys, and get your homework done so you can go racing....
If anyone needs to talk about this, my home phone is (541) 269-2360. My work schedule is wacky, so you may need to leave a number and a good time to call you.
One more week to go before the cut-off date of Feb. 23 for anyone interested in a group buy on these wheels. On the 24th, I fax Phil at PSE with the list.
If you've already emailed me with your intent to participate and your particulars, I've got you covered.
I'll send an email to participants once I've got a firm price on the wheels and individual options.
Still looking for two more buyers to make the 6 set margin PSE needs for the discount. The more that sign on, perhaps the better the deal.
UPDATE (last longwinded post on this, hopefully!!).
Talked with PSE Phil this a.m. Here's the scoop:
He'll include the new Superformance wheel pattern (bigger pin diameter) in this buy, along with the Trigos we originally began this with.
He'll also include that 6 pin pattern one of you guys with an ERA wants. In your case, you need to determine whether you have the XKE rear or the Jag sedan rear. XKE will work, sedan will not due to offset & clearance issues.
Please note: He cannot accomodate lug bolt wheels in the current production run (100 wheels). He won't be able to ensure fit on either Baer or Alcon big 6-piston calipers, but 13 inch rotors with Wilwoods or similar will fit. As noted in an earlier post, his offsets duplicate the Trigos, with 1 inch of rim inside and either 1/2 or 1 inch outside depending upon the desired width. Same for the SPF-brand wheels.
Now, a couple of clarifications:
1. The only finish option available as an alternative to the standard (polished rim, shot-peened silver satin center) is full-polished. This option is $110 per wheel. I was wrong about chrome - he tells me they have stopped chroming because the process creates a conflict with some of the welds. So, no chrome, at least when you buy them. I suppose a guy could have them chromed aftermarket (caveat emptor!).
2. The widths on this batch are limited to 9.5"x front, 11"x rear. He tells me he has discontinued a 9" rim. These will fit 275's and 315/335's.
3. He tells me that there was a run of SPF's that came out with some wierd adapter on the rears only that differed in thickness from the normal remainder. These would require a standard replacement adapter and pins from Trigo. Mark at Snakebite is supposed to know which cars were affected, so I'll get that information and relay it if applicable.
[ANOTHER UPDATE FOR SPF OWNERS: I JUST TALKED TO MARK DOVE @ SNAKEBITE. THE REAR WHEEL ADAPTERS IN QUESTION CAME ONLY ON THE SPF BRAND WHEELS, NOT TRIGOS. YOU WILL NEED TO PULL A REAR WHEEL AND MEASURE THE WIDTH OF THE REAR ADAPTER, WIDTH BEING THE DIMENSION FROM THE HUB SURFACE OUTBOARD. IT MUST MEASURE 4 INCHES. IF IT MEASURES 4.5 INCHES, YOU HAVE THE ODD ADAPTER, AND THE PSE WHEELS WILL BOTTOM OUT BEFORE FULLY SEATED. ANOTHER WAY TO COMPARE: PULL A FRONT WHEEL AND MEASURE THE ADAPTER; IT WILL BE 4". COMPARE IT WITH YOUR REAR; IF THEY DON'T MATCH, YOU GOT THE ODD ONE.
THE SOLUTION: YOU MUST PURCHASE A PAIR OF THE "SHORT HUB ADAPTERS", FROM TRIGO, MARK, OR ANOTHER SPF DEALER. THESE ODD-BALL ADAPTERS ONLY CAME ON A FEW DOZEN CARS BEFORE THEY WERE DISCONTINUED AND THE TRIGO-TYPES RESUMED, BUT MARK CAN'T FIND THE VIN NUMBER LISTING FOR THEM, SO BEST BET IS TO MEASURE YOURS TO BE SURE.
Now, after all that, who's still standing? I need a final show of hands by the end of this weekend. Send me an email with your phone no., locale (for shipping calculation), and whether you want all-polish or standard finish. That's about it. The rest of the gritty details (shipping costs, etc.) are found in earlier posts on this subject. As always, call if you need to: my home number is (541)269-2360 (Oregon).
TimV
Last edited by Tim Votaw; 02-21-2003 at 02:22 PM..
PS Engineering wheels
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Nice tires!
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