I got my new wheels put on this week and wanted to share what I did In this write-up I compare my choices to what's already on the market or what other owners have chosen. I'm in no way disparaging them, merely giving another point of view with my own rationale. Different strokes for different folks, and the following is how I strok... nevermind.

The N24 is what gave me the idea to go with a clean 5-spoke. I wanted something that looked like the Speedlines but a bit more elegant. I found the BC Forged RT-50 and they resemble the Speedline wheels of the N24 but have thinner spokes, striking a perfect balance between sporty and elegant, exactly what I wanted.

Bunch of pics here for reference:
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They're sold by one of our board sponsors - PYSpeed. They've put BC Forged on a bunch of Audis and BMWs but not on an exotic, and I haven't seen any other cars with this particular model wheel. The design was exactly what I was looking for so I worked with PYSpeed to get them made - sent them my own measurements and was basically a guinea pig lol. Apparently I'm the first Aston Martin with these wheels! Here's a link to the wheels on PYSpeed's website:

http://www.pyspeed.com/BC-Forged-Whe...-p/bc-rt50.htm

Here's what I have on my car:

BC Forged RT-50 wheels
19x8.5" +35 front
19x9.5" +40 rear

Michelin Pilot Super Sport wheels
245/40ZR19 front
285/35ZR19 rear

I kept the OEM diameter and width but specified a more aggressive offset. A lot of people get bigger, wider wheels and I just don't see the point. All it does is add weight and requires larger tires, which also add weight. Our cars simply don't have the power to require such wide tires. With the Michelin PSS tires I have on the car, grip isn't an issue. The tires are +10mm front and rear compared to OEM for the '07 V8V. The +10mm sizes I'm running are the same size fitted to the V8V sport pack and V8VS, if I remember correctly. No rubbing issues whatsoever.

Speaking of rubbing, another thing some people do is get the wheels as far out as absolutely possible. I drive my car way too hard to do that and wanted an every-so-slight inset so the tires can tuck in during a hard corner. Looking at the car, nobody is going to miss the extra 3mm or so that I could have pushed the wheels out further. The offsets I'm running are just a hair off from the OEM 7-spoke wheels with spacers.



Front


Rear


I'm sure a lot of people are going to ask about weight. Honestly, I didn't weigh the wheels. I'm sure PYSpeed or BC Forged can provide that info, then add in tire weight (Tire Rack has that info), et viola. The OEM 7-spoke wheels are super light already, and these wheels felt nice and light as well.

The wheels are made in Taiwan But looking at them, they're excellent quality. I can't comment on durability yet because I haven't started abusing them like I did the OEM wheels (I kinda sorta maybe totally did demolish one or three of those lol). I don't mind the whole "Made in Taiwan" thing because tons of wheels are made there anyway so that's nothing new. And I wasn't looking for prestige wheels, so place of manufacture didn't matter. They have some excellent detail in them, so as long as durability is good over time, I'll have no qualms whatsoever.



And here are a couple more quick cell phone shots:





In this pic you can see how low my car is. Hopefully that helps illustrate why I was worried about rubbing caused by too aggressive an offset. It's a matter of millimeters, really.



If my car was any other color, I would have gotten gunmetal instead of silver. I didn't want the color of the wheels to be too similar to the color of the car, I wanted them to pop and add some brightness to the overall look so I went with silver. That said, if I were to do it over again, I probably would have gotten the brushed finish instead of painted. The wheels look great, but in hindsight I think I would have preferred brushed. The silver still looks great and has an OEM-like finish to it.

One of the issues we have is our requirement for funky lug nuts. We need 14x2.0mm lug nuts. There is a company called Otis in LA that provides them in our sizes for a very, very low price, and their customer service is absolutely fantastic. I'm running open-ended lug nuts on mine. It gives it a racier look, sure, but mainly because I have extended studs on my car for the spacers I was using. Without the spacers, the studs are too long for a cap-end (as in, "normal") lug nut to fully seat. Using open-ended lug nuts solves that problem. Eventually I'll get standard-length studs put on my car again, but right now it's really low on my list of priorities.

 

Looks good. I like how thick the rubber looks on the tires along with classic spoke style! How do they ride so far?

 

They ride great, no issues at all!

 

Rich, looks great! Your wheels, in black on my car, would look so amazing I love 'em

I hate how my car looks so high up even tho we are on the same springs... boo hoo :'(

 

Thanks, Mike! I love the look of these things

How can your car still look high up on H&R springs?! The pics on your FB look great. Maybe it's just the lighting?

 

Bad ***!

 

Based on your tire specs, I have 5mm less sidewall than your setup and it is also a bit stretched so maybe.

Happy new years!

 

Very clean!

 

Wow, nice wheels! How do you keep your Vantage so nice running it on the track so much? I drive mine on the street, long trips mostly with clear bra on it and I find new chips all the time.
Ron

 

Thanks guys!

I added a couple more pics to the first post to try to show fitment a little better.

I've got a clear bra on the front half of my car, too. It's worth its weight in gold! But it's showing its wear and tear so I'll be replacing it soon.

Aside from that... The paint helps hide the dirt I think these cars are just so photogenic it's hard for it to not look nice!

 

Looks Great! Love the 5 spoke look, I am contemplating upgrading wheels soon again also! The mesh looks great, but I hate how much of the brakes it hides! The width and fitment look great! I for one, went with a +1 sized 20" wheel with an aggressive offset but I used a slightly narrower tire so I wouldn't get rubbing issues after lowering the car. I did alot of research on fitments and widths so I would get the fit just right. Suprisingly, I wish the front was about 1/4" lower still. Your car looks phenomenal! Great color too! And YES, Clear bra is the absolute best thing you can do for your high end car! If you use 3M products for clear bra, look into Xpel brand. Self healing, sandable and polishable and will not yellow!

 

It's definitely cool seeing the brakes, can't blame you for wanting to change things up! If you get a new set of wheels, consider sizing them to allow bigger tires. Like Mike pointed out above, his wheels are larger than mine but his tires are a touch shorter. In my opinion, meaty tires can give a more aggressive look to a car than larger wheels. If you had to run a narrower tire to fit the wheels, you might have a "stretched" look which takes away from the meaty look. That might give you that 1/4" you're looking for. Just food for thought are you keeping the murdered out style? Looks vicious on your car!

 

Wait, is that a wedding photo? Lol just noticed!

 

Lol! Yes, it is a wedding photo! The wife wanted the car in a few pics! The front tires are perfectly sized for the wheel. 225/35/20 so there is no stretch on those wheels. The rears are 255/30/20 on 10" wide wheels so they are stretched a tad. I went with the stretched tire so there would be no rubbing. The aggressive look is definitely maintained out back with the wheel width and stance. The front seems a little high compared to the rear ride height.
As for keeping the murdered look; Thanks! Glad you like it and, Yes, for now that is the plan. I really like the way it comes together on the car. I developed the fondness with my Esprit and it only works on a few cars. Luckily this is one of them

 

Wow that Esprit is killer!

Honestly, those tires seem a bit narrow. Stock is 235 on 8.5" in front and 275 on 9.5" in back. Do you have any traction issues?