Hi Damon, I'm also sorry the wheels got damaged so soon, the wheels were used the way they were supposed to (I hit the track twice a month), I have to say that I tend to push a bit hard, and sometimes I do have "moments" at the track, bends are not that uncommon in general and mine were minor and repairable, Rims are OK now. In general O.Z. Alleggeritas are cheap and look good. Nevertheless I feel these are more suitable for litgher/smaller cars like minis, miatas, lotus... or for more occasional use.
I'll try now the three piece E88's, they are not that light but they are easier to repair and look Great!!

 

Damon, do you know of people who've bought them for track use? Or where they street wheels?

 

Almost all are for track use as a matter of fact.

 

Hmmm, heavier, three times the price, and a pain to get fixed!!!

I'm not saying the BBS' are not good wheels, just different strokes......

Under your own admission they are being driven hard. Reminds me of a guy we once sold a set of SSR Competitions to. He kept continually bending them and created quite a stink about it on all of the forumns he frequented. But at the same time he posted pictures of himself with one side of the car two feet off the ground through corners.

Honestly, this is the FIRST instance I have had of someone bending them in a track environment.

Drive safe.

 

Here's my 2c... I just spent three days beating on my Alleggeritas at Laguna Seca.. 10 sessions per day (two of us running in different run groups), two days = 20 sessions.. Lap times at 1:37 - 1:41's (pretty fast pace for stock engined car) zero issues with them.. I was running Hoosier R6's with 245's front and 315's rear.

I have previously owned Fikse FM5's, HRE's, and a set of Kinesis wheels all for track duty... The OZ's fit perfectly, look great and held up under some pretty serious abuse (other than REALLY pounding the kerbs)... I like them, especially for the price.

Video:
http://www.vimeo.com/9172426

Pics:

 

Damon, I agree, but IMO a quality track wheel should be able to hop curbs and keep on rolling. I hit curbs, divots and even got airborn (yeah all four wheels) and it didn't phase the stock BBS one bit.

Leguna is smooth and you can probably drive even El cheapo wheels on a smooth track and not have many problems. It's the bumps and curbs that determine quality. Granted everything that glitters (fikse, HRE, etc.) isn't exactly gold when it comes to the track.

I have yet to hear about bending CCW track wheels. They are really what I would trust aside from the stockers.

 

The quality of the engineering and the tensile strength and ductility of the alloy are the key components to track wheel durability.

I am a fan of the OZ product. Nicely engineered! However, these wheels are not forged, only flow-formed and may not be able to take the abuse of rough tracks and kerb jumping. Only (track) time will tell.

For strength, cast wheel makers must add material and that makes the wheel stronger at the expense of unsprung weight. Specially heat-treated A356 cast alloys can achieve tensile strengths of almost 40,000 ksi when done by experts (more common is 27-30,000 ksi), but ductility is always poor at around 2% elongation before failure. (Non heat-treated castings are much weaker and therefore must be massive (heavy) to prevent deformation and failure.)
Forged wheel makers use tough alloys, at the expense of your wallet. Quality 6061/T6 heat-treated forgings can exceed 50,000+ ksi tensile strength while maintaining 10-12% elongation properties. This translates into toughness and durability. There are also stronger military and aerospace grade forged alloys with tensile strength in excess of 95,000 ksi but they are very pricey and tough to work with.

Every wheel design is a compromise. OZ deserves kudos for making such a nice lightweight wheel with reasonable durability at such a great price. Whether they are tough enough for your car and driving style is a question only you can answer.

 

At the end of the day it really comes down to that. Well said. I never denied that there were not stronger wheels out there IF you want to pay three times the price of these OZ's!


Anyway, I'm glad to see these are being driven as they were designed. Time will tell if they can hold up to it. Keep the feedback coming.

 

Hardly 3 times for CCW's. Heck even the Volks (even though they are ugly to me). There are several affordable options that don't cost an arm and a leg and work with SERIOUS track abuse.

There is also nothing written in stone that the wheels that DO cost 3 times the price wont bend. In fact they are likely more fickle.

 

Thanks for the insight.. I must say, I love these wheels as another option for the track, just to have as a spare and to switch off.. But your last sentence is what worries me, as that is me to a T!

 

the problem is, there is no single wheel that is fail proof. im a big ccw fan but those too have cracked on the track and were outlawed in one of the racing series.

forged dosent equal indestructible but is a better start than cast given a proper wheel design.

hp sells cars and light weight sells wheels and quite honestly, im afraid of some of the super light forged options. they are forged but their producers are pressured to ever lighter weights and the wheels are rail thin.

if your hard on wheels and like to hang it out on the track, go with what the race teams use.

 

CCW outlawed? That's a shocker to me.

What series was it?

 

it was on viper alley a while back, i cant recall the series.

 

What color do you guys think would go with a white car? I know I won't like black but am open to the others.

 

Gold or blue