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Your new wheels look great. What brand are they?
Thanks, Fikse Profil 13s
Nice John! Beautiful wheels.
so ... what sizes ... what type of finish ... we need details.
-G
so ... what sizes ... what type of finish ... we need details.
-G
Here are a few details as requested.
They are a three piece wheel attached via bolts through the rear. The machining through the center section eliminates the need for nuts and their added respective weight.
The rear wheels are 13" wide and 19" diameter. Rear tires are 345/30/19 The fronts are 11" wide and 18" diameter. Front tire is 285/30/18.
The rims and centers of the wheels are anodized. I have the same anodized finish on another set on my L model and after 10 years they still look like new. One gives up the chrome shine; however, they are remarkably easy to keep clean. Fiske calls it their Race Anodized finish.
The centers are radial forged. As you can see from the pic of the wheel's backside, it has a lot of depth or dimension to it. While this contributes to the rim's appearance, it also allows the center section to mount closer to the center of the wheel's width allowing the inner and outer wheel halves to be more equal in width. Pretty remarkable when considering the frontspacing on a GT5 wheel. This also contributes to the wheels strength. Obviously machining these center sections require a significantly thicker block of forged aluminum to start from and that impacts their cost. The wheels are also hub centric. They are said the be the lightest/strongest wheels at a given size.
Fikse went bankrupt in 2008 and were purchased by Darryl at Kodiak Wheels. Pantera owners in Houston have purchased three sets from Fikse over the course of the past year. Delivery times have been longer than expected as Fiske has rebuilt inventory snd ramped up production. They were able to retain key shop employees. Fotunately, based on the wheels recieved by the three of us, they have not cut corners.
They will continue to keep the brands (Fikse / Kodiak)and manufacturing processes distinct. Although, Darryl was in awe as to how Fikse made their rim halves and had plans to migrate that technology to the Kodiak wheel. Otherwise the diamond cutters and other manufacturing and handling techniques used in the Fikse wheel is to cost prohibitive to offer in the Kodiak line at the prices at which he sell those wheels so he will keep the brands distinct.
They are a three piece wheel attached via bolts through the rear. The machining through the center section eliminates the need for nuts and their added respective weight.
The rear wheels are 13" wide and 19" diameter. Rear tires are 345/30/19 The fronts are 11" wide and 18" diameter. Front tire is 285/30/18.
The rims and centers of the wheels are anodized. I have the same anodized finish on another set on my L model and after 10 years they still look like new. One gives up the chrome shine; however, they are remarkably easy to keep clean. Fiske calls it their Race Anodized finish.
The centers are radial forged. As you can see from the pic of the wheel's backside, it has a lot of depth or dimension to it. While this contributes to the rim's appearance, it also allows the center section to mount closer to the center of the wheel's width allowing the inner and outer wheel halves to be more equal in width. Pretty remarkable when considering the frontspacing on a GT5 wheel. This also contributes to the wheels strength. Obviously machining these center sections require a significantly thicker block of forged aluminum to start from and that impacts their cost. The wheels are also hub centric. They are said the be the lightest/strongest wheels at a given size.
Fikse went bankrupt in 2008 and were purchased by Darryl at Kodiak Wheels. Pantera owners in Houston have purchased three sets from Fikse over the course of the past year. Delivery times have been longer than expected as Fiske has rebuilt inventory snd ramped up production. They were able to retain key shop employees. Fotunately, based on the wheels recieved by the three of us, they have not cut corners.
They will continue to keep the brands (Fikse / Kodiak)and manufacturing processes distinct. Although, Darryl was in awe as to how Fikse made their rim halves and had plans to migrate that technology to the Kodiak wheel. Otherwise the diamond cutters and other manufacturing and handling techniques used in the Fikse wheel is to cost prohibitive to offer in the Kodiak line at the prices at which he sell those wheels so he will keep the brands distinct.
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John,
The Fikse wheels look great as a wheel and superb mounted against the blue of your GT5.
The only aspect to my Kodiak's I do not like is the through bolts both from appearance and wheel cleaning perspective. The blind bolts from the rear really do provide a much 'cleaner' wheel in all senses.
I have also been considering having my Kodiak centers anodized and your positive experience may just tempt me to take that further.
You mention cost differential between the Kodiak and Fikse brands, can I ask what the Fikse set cost?
Julian
The Fikse wheels look great as a wheel and superb mounted against the blue of your GT5.
The only aspect to my Kodiak's I do not like is the through bolts both from appearance and wheel cleaning perspective. The blind bolts from the rear really do provide a much 'cleaner' wheel in all senses.
I have also been considering having my Kodiak centers anodized and your positive experience may just tempt me to take that further.
You mention cost differential between the Kodiak and Fikse brands, can I ask what the Fikse set cost?
Julian
Julian
I spent a lot of time with Daryle, of Kodiak, after he bought Fikse talking about the acquisition, manufacturing processes differences, business plans etc. We probably ordered one of the first sets of Fiske wheels from him after he bought them and he gave me a great price on that set. Although, that set was for another person's vehicle I was restoring.
Daryle hired Alan Baylis as National Sales Manager for Fikse shortly after we bought that set. Alan previously led the marketing initiatives at Kinesis and HRE. Alan reset prices and apprised me that Daryle lost money on the first set he sold me. I believe it and wish I had ordered more in his moment of generosity. Although, in our defense, he was ramping back up and didn't know for sure he could deliver the product as previously built.
My point is I do not know how much Fiske charges as I have received preferred pricing and, in effect, recieve a discount comparable to a distributor as I have ordered several sets and developed a relationship with them.
Fikse has brought on Quella as a distributor as well. No surprise here as Quella obviously worked with Baylis as a distibutor of Kinesis wheels previously. They are respectful of their distributors and sensitive about bypassing them with discounts directly to the consumer. So, it will be difficult to get a discount through them directly.
Regarding anodizing your Kodiak wheel centers. Two points.
1) For me, the biggest benefit is annodizing the rim halves. They clean up so easy with detergent and never corrode.
2) A local Pantera owner bought a set of Kodiaks on the group buy a few years back and had the factory anodize them. The result was not as good as desired. I spoke to Daryle about this after he acquired Fikse and he said Kodiak had stopped offering the process because they couldn't get it right. After he aquired Fikse, he learned their methodology which involves a process whereby no one touches the wheel after machining, it is chemically coated, bagged and set to the anodizer. He said the process is another example of why the wheels cost him more to manufacture. It was another Aha moment for him.
My thinking is that if it is your intention to have an existing set anodized, it may be a more difficult process at this time.
http://www.fikse.com/2010/classic.html
I spent a lot of time with Daryle, of Kodiak, after he bought Fikse talking about the acquisition, manufacturing processes differences, business plans etc. We probably ordered one of the first sets of Fiske wheels from him after he bought them and he gave me a great price on that set. Although, that set was for another person's vehicle I was restoring.
Daryle hired Alan Baylis as National Sales Manager for Fikse shortly after we bought that set. Alan previously led the marketing initiatives at Kinesis and HRE. Alan reset prices and apprised me that Daryle lost money on the first set he sold me. I believe it and wish I had ordered more in his moment of generosity. Although, in our defense, he was ramping back up and didn't know for sure he could deliver the product as previously built.
My point is I do not know how much Fiske charges as I have received preferred pricing and, in effect, recieve a discount comparable to a distributor as I have ordered several sets and developed a relationship with them.
Fikse has brought on Quella as a distributor as well. No surprise here as Quella obviously worked with Baylis as a distibutor of Kinesis wheels previously. They are respectful of their distributors and sensitive about bypassing them with discounts directly to the consumer. So, it will be difficult to get a discount through them directly.
Regarding anodizing your Kodiak wheel centers. Two points.
1) For me, the biggest benefit is annodizing the rim halves. They clean up so easy with detergent and never corrode.
2) A local Pantera owner bought a set of Kodiaks on the group buy a few years back and had the factory anodize them. The result was not as good as desired. I spoke to Daryle about this after he acquired Fikse and he said Kodiak had stopped offering the process because they couldn't get it right. After he aquired Fikse, he learned their methodology which involves a process whereby no one touches the wheel after machining, it is chemically coated, bagged and set to the anodizer. He said the process is another example of why the wheels cost him more to manufacture. It was another Aha moment for him.
My thinking is that if it is your intention to have an existing set anodized, it may be a more difficult process at this time.
http://www.fikse.com/2010/classic.html
John, The wheels look fantastic. What back space are they ? - Jim Coyne
Jim
I determined the optimal offset, for my flares, by using a nut to attach 12mm x 1.5 threaded rod to three of the existing wheel studs. By threading another nut on each threaded rod extension, I was able to move an 18" Fiske wheel, that I have on my L, forward and back a fraction at a time to gauge appearance and interference. I wwrpped a hose around the 18" 1335/30 tire to obtain the 27.2" tire diameter of the 345/30/19" tire.
After removing the shock absorber, I was also able to move the suspension through its range of motion with the tire/wheel asembly in place to determine the best compromise of offset and interference under compression with the top of the fender flare. At least on my GT5, the further outward the wheel/tire, the sooner it contacts the top of the flare. The wheel tire assemble does not tuck in at a fast enough rate under compression to clear the bodywork. This was the case with the stock tires and a larger diameter only exacerbates the problem. Understanding this compromise was critical to optimizing offset. I used a digital inclinometer on the lower suspension arms to learn how much compression I had until interference with the stock tire diameter and them did comparisons at various offsets with the larger diameter wheels to find a suitable compromise. A pic of the process is attached. The end result, was to move the tire in closer toward the frame.
My final dimensions were
GT5 Profil 13 Fikse Diameter FS BS Width Tire Diameter
Front 18 6.875 3.875 10.75 outer lip to lip 285/30/18 24.76"
Rear 19 7.5 5.5 13 outer lip to lip 345/30/19 27.2"
I determined the optimal offset, for my flares, by using a nut to attach 12mm x 1.5 threaded rod to three of the existing wheel studs. By threading another nut on each threaded rod extension, I was able to move an 18" Fiske wheel, that I have on my L, forward and back a fraction at a time to gauge appearance and interference. I wwrpped a hose around the 18" 1335/30 tire to obtain the 27.2" tire diameter of the 345/30/19" tire.
After removing the shock absorber, I was also able to move the suspension through its range of motion with the tire/wheel asembly in place to determine the best compromise of offset and interference under compression with the top of the fender flare. At least on my GT5, the further outward the wheel/tire, the sooner it contacts the top of the flare. The wheel tire assemble does not tuck in at a fast enough rate under compression to clear the bodywork. This was the case with the stock tires and a larger diameter only exacerbates the problem. Understanding this compromise was critical to optimizing offset. I used a digital inclinometer on the lower suspension arms to learn how much compression I had until interference with the stock tire diameter and them did comparisons at various offsets with the larger diameter wheels to find a suitable compromise. A pic of the process is attached. The end result, was to move the tire in closer toward the frame.
My final dimensions were
GT5 Profil 13 Fikse Diameter FS BS Width Tire Diameter
Front 18 6.875 3.875 10.75 outer lip to lip 285/30/18 24.76"
Rear 19 7.5 5.5 13 outer lip to lip 345/30/19 27.2"
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John, Thanks for the detailed Info. It helps me alot. I'm impressed with your creative approach to finding an optimum solution. Your work has once again produced superior results for all of us to admire. The look of your car is really tasteful, balanced, and aggressive. Jim Coyne