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Want to Update Your Pantera Wheels for $900?

George PGeorge PAdmin.
Enkei Wheels is a major wheel manufacturer, the company manufactures wheels for several OEMs. Their wheels are found on the McLaren Formula 1 racing cars. Many of their performance and racing wheels are cast and manufactured using technology that allows them to control and manipulate the grain of the aluminum alloy. The result is a one piece cast wheel they claim is as strong and light as a one piece forged wheel. The RPF1 is one of their RACING wheels manufactured using those techniques. Their 17x9 front wheel is 3 lbs lighter (per wheel) than the 3-piece 17x9 Etoile wheels that were on my Pantera when I purchased it. Their 18x9 wheels are 8 pounds lighter (per wheel) than the 3-piece 18x9 HRE wheels that I had purchased a few years ago.

The RPF1 wheel caught my eye because it has some styling cues that are reminiscent of old 1960s and 1970s wheels, yet other aspects are more modern. I thought they might appeal to a wide variety of people. I don't think they are bad looking ... do you? The standard finish is silver paint, called Formula 1 silver. Other finishes are available: gold, matte black, and SBC (SBC looks like polished aluminum or chrome). I have no idea if those finishes are available on the wheels I've specified below. Silver paint is good enough for me.

The bottom line, these wheels are available all over the internet, at places like Amazon dot com, eBay, etc. Usually with discounted prices. Searching around the internet, I found pricing for two 17x8 wheels and two 18x10 wheels was around $900 to $1150 US dollars. That's about one third the price of a set of Campy clones or Kinesis wheels. You'll need hub-centric and wheel-centric spacers ( Motorsport Tech ) and longer wheel studs. I didn't price them. You'll also need to attach the ISIS wheel centers to the Enkei center caps.

Let's see ... less money ... less weight ... modern tires abundantly available in matched front/rear sets of V rated (or better) passenger car tires ... Smiler

Just stirring the pot ...

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rockyrockyMember
Any opportunity to see those wheels mounted?

Or even a good photochop?

The wheels look pretty cool, but I hate to get the "wimpy brake" syndrome. This car overcame it with the "big brake upgrade", but that's a slippery slope, as I understand it...

Rocky

PS - I am posting this from work, so I had to eliminate my favorite parts of the photo....

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bosswrenchbosswrenchMember
True- if you upsize the wheels & tires, the stock brakes will look kinda wimpy even though they may work quite well. Generally if you can lock the fronts in a panic stop, the brakes are fine; what you need is more rubber on the road. If you can't lock the fronts and the brake system is perfect (which the stock system is not), then sure- bigger OD brake rotors are a good move. The slippery slope is when you get into a repeating cycle of big tires need big brakes need even bigger tires... until you run out of money or fender space.
George PGeorge PAdmin.
quote:

Originally posted by Rocky:

... I hate to get the "wimpy brake" syndrome ...



In terms of appearance, notice that these Enkei wheels have a raised "rib" along the outer rim where the spokes attach. That rib will serve to make the rotors appear to fill the wheels "fuller". That same visual "trick" is being used for the show car in your picture above, the rotors aren't as big as they look.

I think the Pantera's OEM 11 inch front brakes would look fine behind a 17 inch Enkei RPF1 wheel. In the rear, you'd definitely need Scott's rear brake kit however. Smiler

In recent years I've also noticed many showroom cars, including big name cars like Corvette, Mercedes and Porsche, are being made with open wheels, brakes fully visible, where the rotors do not fill the wheel. I believe the public has accepted the "wimpy-brake" look, wheels full of brake aren't as much of a style statement they once were. Or to put that the other way around, brake rotors that don't fill the wheels aren't as big of an embarrassment as they used to be. The world belongs to a younger generation, and they have different perspectives than ours.

Of course, anything can be taken to an extreme, I wouldn't recommend the 11" rotors with 18" wheels.
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