In the near future i am going to be re-creating the GTA crosslace wheel in an 18 inch version. It will be a 3 piece wheel, in either 18x9.5 or 18x10.5. Polished lip and inner barrel, and a painted face, either gold, black, or gunmetal. Im going through the design stages at the moment, autocad renderings, and 3d renderings on autodesk inventor. Once i get the first set made, have tires mounted on them, and then mount them on my car and test them, i will make them to order if enough people want to buy them. So what do you all think? they will be able to fit the stock center caps also.

 

Have you found a source for the barrels? Are you doing a bolt-together design, or are you having them welded? How bout a source for the spin forged blanks for the centers?

I'm hoping this actually happens since I've been slowly gathering information, but it will be on the back burner for me for a long time yet. Even doing most of the work myself, I'm still looking at $800 for materials for the centers alone.

 

I'm curious about your estimated price on these wheels. Most of the big brands ask around $1,000/wheel for a non custom 3pc in the 18" x 10" size, not counting finish or hardware upgrades.

 

yes i have a source for the barrels. step-lip design. i can get the barrels in any width i want, but i will be mostly using ones that add to 9.5 inch wide, or 10.5 inch wide. if in the future a buyer wants them wider, i can most likely do that for them. They will be bolt together. im still working on a source for the spin forged centers. gotta see how much the centers will cost me. I need to finish my cad rendering before i can get a price for the spin forged center peices though.

 

Do you have access to FEA software? How bout fatigue testing since you're planning on selling them?

 

This is very interesting and depending on the final factors, mainly quality and testing, i'd be very keen.

 

im still trying to contact companies on it, but ill keep you guys posted the best i can.

 

the company im contacting that will do the cnc machining to the face of the rims also makes rim faces for other major companies. the faces they do the cnc to are spin forged aluminum. they would be doing the fatigue testing and run it through the fea program to make sure that it is up to spec. and the people who manufacture the barrels also have made them for HRE and a few other major wheel companies, so they have a good reputation.

 

Probably some of the best news if your going through with this, the larger companies have access to the equipment and software for testing which really is crucial for wheels + on-road use.

Looking promising ;-) But design will be everything has to be micky mouse ;-)

 

Count me in. I would want at least 11 or 12 for the rear.

 

yes, this is very exciting!! very curious about these. I too would want some on the wider side.

 

I'm in on as a buyer of a set with gold centers. Just keep me posted.

 

sounds good guys, i will most likely need like a list of around 20-30 people to place my order so i get a better price for the materials for ordering in bulk. im still working on my cad rendering and 3d rendering, along with getting the dimensions of the barrels so the face can fit in them. Once i have that, and i finish the rendering, i can get a price on how much the faces machined will cost me, then i will get a price for powder coating, and finally i will have a final price for the sets of rims. Price may vary a little bit depending on how wide each person wants the rears. but not by much. it may be a while though, depending on how long the designing takes, and then the design needs to be run through the FEA program and stress testing etc.

 

What about big brake clearance? GTA wheels clear stock brakes but not sure about a 4 piston set up or Corvette brakes.

 

For all you guys who have bought in already, here's what you can expect for a price: http://www.vividracing.com/catalog/h...150724000.html


20-30 pre-paid buyers is not gonna be easy to get.

 

What's your price point? Curious if you have priced out what the barrels, fasteners and CNC time cost.

 

i have the price of the barrels and fasteners so far, but once i have everything priced out, and i have the price from the companies for ordering in bulk, i will have a final price. then i will post up what each set will cost.

 

its gonna cost around $3000+ just to make the first set, and i dont have that kind of money at the moment, so im putting all this on hold for a year or so until i can have enough funds to start it up, once i have enough, and i can order in bulk, the costs for each set will go down a bit most likely, but im sure not alot of people will not want to pay $4000+ for a set of 18 inch gta rims, but if there is alot of interest still in a year or so, ill start it up.

 

You should check out HRE wheels website. They make one that looks like GTA crosslace rim. It comes in either 18 or 19 and are custom made to you spec...i.e. brakes width etc...
Vintage series
#501

http://www.hrewheels.com/wheels

 

Honestly, I expected it to be higher. Hell, $3K for a true 3 piece forged wheel is still a bargain. Mine were over $4K. Guys that are in the market for a high quality 3 piece wheel would probably find this attractive from a price standpoint.