peterc005

I'm looking at a set of CTW Motorsports wheels for my white 1988 IROC.

I think they look good and will be a great upgrade for the handling (17" * 9", 17lb).

http://www.ctw-motorsports.com

Is anyone here running these, I'm interested in how people find them and some pictures of these wheels installed.

I'll probably go with the silver ones, but am curious how the black ones would look on a white car?

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

Member paul hurk here is ctw, and his shop is about 20 minutes from me.

I don't have pics, but I held the wheels and loked them over and they are solid

paul_huryk

Yes, CTW Motorsports is my company as Phil has mentioned.

I want to point out that the wheels are 20lbs due to the offset for the 3rd gen applications, BMW versions run 17 to 18lbs...

Unfortunately no one that has purchased the wheels has sent back pics yet - I do plan to get a shop car (whenever I find the right one) and use that for pics. My Camaro, while decently photogenic is immobile at this moment and is good for static pics.

Personally I like the silver wheels - look good on any car, but satin black looks great in pics too - much better in person... The color comes down to preference, if you like dark or black wheels, go for that, if you like something "stock finish" go for silver. Keep this in mind - you can strip the apint off the wheels and powder coat or paint in any color you like; even polish them and/or clear coat.

Australia? That would make my company an international marketer!

I can send additional high resolution pics if you want them.



Paul

peterc005

Hi Paul,

some more pics would be great. The ones on your web site don't give a great perspective.

Maybe a couple of shots from the side to see how they fit under the fenders.

I'd also be interested in picks showing fender clearance on cars that have been lowered a bit.

I think your comments about 17" * 9" being a well balanced upgrade make sense.

Your wheels are more than I want to spend, but they do seem good quality and I might have to bite the bullet.

Any chance you will offer wheel and tyre packages?

peterc005

@paul - any chance of some pics from under the car to see the steering and suspension clearance with some 275 tyres?

paul_huryk

I will put up a few pics that will show the side shot of how the wheels fit.

Thank you. Some people don't fully understand what a huge difference in handling (and even straight line traction) that a 275-40-17 tire offers over a 245-50-16 one; not to mention availability (scarce 245-50-16 is these days).

While we don't sell tires normally (we can't compete with the big online outlets), I do have a tire distributor who on occasion gets me great deals to buy in bulk. For example, about a month ago I got a great deal on 275-40-17 BFG g-force sports - bought 5 sets and sold them, picked up his 2 last sets last week, which are available.

You are in Australia, which is going to be an expensive and long trip for a set of wheels to make it's way to you. I certainly understand the cost issue, we aren't offering cheap IROC clones at $100 each, nor are we offering $1,000+ Forgelines or Fiskes - we are in the middle ground on price and definitely pushing up high on quality, weight, and value. I would suggest you try to find a local tire source for 275-40-17 tires as it would probably make more sense from a cost perspective to buy them near you.

paul_huryk

I will get under the car later and take some pics for you.

In the meanwhile, I put up some pics on the site to better show the wheel well gap and side profile... The pic of the rear wheel in black is with a 2 finger gap due to weight jacks - front is about 3 fingers as it sits...

1fas92

iTrader: (1)

Hello,
I wonder how these would look polished instead of silver or black......

peterc005

@paul, any more pics of your wheels on a car?

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

there are pics on his site of the wheels on my car, if you have not seen them. Red trans am with a cowl hood

hellz_wings

iTrader: (2)

Nice trans am.. Is that on a stock thirdgen rear? It sticks out a bit in the rear it seems.

//<86TA>\\

iTrader: (14)

They are out a little further than a stock wheel "front" 16x8 on rear, but not outside the wheels well. I think they were done that way on purpose to keep fitment the same front and rear (offset/bs). That car has a moser 9", I have the normal wheels packed out with spacers since the rear was about 1" narrower than stock overall. I would have to measure to be sure, but the wheels are about 1/8" further out than they would be on a stock rear.

A side note, I'm not a fan of all black wheels, but my red 86 in those pics looks looked awsome with the all black wheels on it.

paul_huryk

Agreed.

Phil's car looked awesome with our black wheels on it. My blue Camaro didn't "pop" so much with black, but looked good with sliver also.

http://ctw-motorsports.com/multimedia/

Check out the updated pics on the website...

DBLTKE

iTrader: (1)

These look a lot like 5Zigen FN01R-C's... Just saying. Do you ever plan to produce larger sizes and different offsets? I'd be interested but they're a little on the narrow side. I'd like to see an 18x11 or so.

InfernalVortex

iTrader: (4)

oh sweet jesus these wheels are just what Ive been looking for forever. Affordable-ish 17x9.5's that are lightweight and functional for autocrossing and still give a great racey look instead of that blingy, heavy chromed out garbage that gets shovelled towards the domestic car show crowd. I imagine you chose 17x9.5 because its a good balance between light weight, looks, and function and you can keep costs down by offering just one size? If so, I think you chose the perfect size. Are the silver wheels painted silver? Or are they bare/clearcoated metal? I personally love to see a "competition gray" or "gunmetal" or "hyper black" type color, but if that would increase costs too much then nevermind. Id probably prefer to see an unfinished bare aluminum wheel I could easily paint or coat myself than pay more for a dark gray wheel.

I really hope I can get a set at sometime. Maybe I can sell some kidneys and get these on a college budget...

They do set out a bit far in the rears, but this is a problem you're going to have with ANY 17x9.5 set that has the same offset front to rear. The stock wheels have different offsets, aftermarket wheels usually use the same offset. This means you can actually rotate your expensive high performance rubber on your big wheels, but sometimes you notice stuff like this. I think people dont realize that unless they go out of their way to get the offsets set up to accommodate the factory rear specs and then use a spacer on the front, they're going to end up with exactly this scenario no matter what wheel they use. And from what I understand, 9.5 is about as wide as you can possibly go in the fronts without having tie rod end clearance issues or shoving the wheel out farther. This is really the best compromise possible because it keeps the wheel centered around the front wheel bearings and still gives you a nice, wide, rotatable tire.

The key is that using a 17x9.5 with 275 width rubbers makes a wide rear track look a lot more legitimate than it does when you use narrow 245s on, say, a 4th gen rear. They end up looking like little training wheels when set up that way. But a 17x9.5 just looks mean.

This is my car with front offset factory wheels front and back, but it's an inch narrower with 245's, so you dont notice as much:

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot..._4317276_n.jpg

peterc005

I think the upgrade from 16 * 8 to 17 * 9 makes sense.

Better performance, more choice of tyres and looks better. Anything bigger may look out of proportion and not be practical.

paul_huryk

We chose 17" x 9.5" for a few reasons:

Correct fitment of 275-40-17 sized tires (of which there are over 30 tires available)

Ability to run large brake kits - the red TA has the biggest Baer kit (Extreme+) and they fit no problem

Can be used on rutted northern states roads without too much problem - can't do that with a 19" wheel and stock tire diameter

We thought it a waste to only be able to run a 245 or 255 width tire on a 8" or 8.5" wheel, so we went 9.5"; you can run a 245, 255, or 265 tire anyway - which adds sidewall stability


All the wheels are painted - sliver or satin black. You can strip them (do not blast them) and paint or powdercoat any color you want. You can also strip and polish them, but you will need to clearcoat as the alloy will oxidize if left to the elements. You can also chrome them, widen them, or narrow them if you like.

In terms of offsets, we went with one that works for 99% of the third gen applications out there. 0 offset works for stock cars and ones with modified brake systems - sometimes grinding of strut flanges (like on Bilsteins) or tie rods is necessary for clearance.

Rotation is important for tire wear! Using the same size and offset allows non unidirectional tires to be moved anywhere on the car - can't do that with the factory 16" wheels and Gatorbacks.

Yes, with 17" wheels, the widest to clear everything and not stick out with a 275 tire is 9.5" (maybe 9.75" would work too). Once you go to 18" and above, you can tuck the tie rods inside the wheel and get a 10.5" wheel in front with ease - with the right BS.

Keep this in mind also, these wheels make the rear track about 1.75" wider than stock, which also aids handling (wider is better) compared to stock 16" wheels. Front track width is very close to stock.

Weight of your wheels is important - I'm happy that CTW wheels came in at 20lbs in the 17" x 9.5" size with the offset needed. Most aftermarket wheels weigh more than that - even some really expensive forged wheels that cost as much each as a set of ours. Keep this in mind - there is a large variation of tire weights in the same size: a BFG G-Force sport weighs 5lbs more each than a Continental Extreme Contact DW in the 275-40-17 size, we verified this in our shop. The BFG has a slightly wider section width, wider tread width, and stiffer sidewalls than the Contis.

peterc005

@paul - any chance of some more pictures?

In particular it would be good to see some close-ups of the suspension, steering and fender clearance.

paul_huryk

Peter,

I just took some pics of the wheels on the front suspension. I just used the wheel as the tire would just block the pics. Wheel was torqued down properly. They clear the struts (Bilsteins have a strengthening lip on the top of the housing, other brands do not) and also the tie rods ends with ease.

Click the FB link to see the pics

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fb...type=3&theater

There are plenty of pics of the wheels on various cars showing the fender to tire clearance (they sit flush), see the link to the pics section of the CTW website for more visuals.

http://www.ctw-motorsports.com/multimedia/

bwmcam

Just got them in an mounted with BFGoodwrich G-Force Comp 2's 275/40/17 on all four. I couldn't be happier with them. They make a huge difference in traction and feel amazing! No spacers. Paul is an awesome guy to talk to and will answer any questions you have.

bwmcam

More pics. They actually look wider in person! Just fyi.

bwmcam

More pics.

peterc005

Look great.

On the CTW web site the front wheels seem a bit wide, how was it on your car?

paul_huryk

Peter, the wheels essentially are flush with the wheel well opening, which is the only way to fit a 17" x 9.5" to clear the front suspension. That is how the wheels fit on my dead stock '89 GTA and it will be the same on the IROC.

Those with 18" or larger can tuck the fronts in a bit as the tie rod ends fit inside the wheel barrel.

bwmcam

Hello peterc005,
Paul is correct, they are flush with the wheel well opening. Open the first picture attached in post #20.

Eagle223usa

Great looking wheel Paul! I hope you sell a million of them. I'll check you out when tax returns come in. It's nice too see some good aftermarket wheel improvement parts for our cars.

paul_huryk

Give us a call when you are ready - we are always looking to help.

It is our pleasure to offer third gen wheels that require no extra effort other than tires and lug nuts...