topkho

Hi ! I have 18" fanblades on my GT, and I am thinking of swapping with Ford GT wheels.

Are the Ford GT wheels lighter and will I feel a difference in performance ?

Thanks !!!

antdog

Check with Brad, he has them on his project Mustang

elwhit95

I have the same Ford Gt whell on my car and love them, however I did not the wheels from the catalog I got my from ctrwheels.com you will like the price much better. The ford wheels from ford are 940 I got my set for 680.

Hollywood_North GT

Fanblades are cast, GT wheels are forged - therefore the GT wheels are technically superior. And if you get a flat spot, they can be "hammered" back into shape, whereas the cast wheels have to be reheated. I believe the GT wheels will also accomodate wider tires.

That said, personally, I prefer the look of the fanblades, as they are more unique than the GT's, whose style mimics lots of similar designs out there.

I doubt you'll notice one iota of performance difference.

Mustangfreak

940 for a set, or wheel?

Poco

As listed...the retail price.
http://www.fordracingparts.com/parts...tKeyField=7617

SteelTownStang

It appears that price is for 1... wow! $3,760.00 a set. That can't be right

mikes rx

Actually, it's $940 for the front, and $999 for the rear. So, it's $3880 for the set

classj

Yup. they list for close to 4g a set.

But..... that is list, and it is a frpp item. I have seen them for closer to 800 a wheel.

I am not sure if the back ones even fit our cars. I know the fronts do.

They are expensive because they are BBS forged wheels. You guys are all used to the cost of cast american wheels and chinese stuff.

Take a look at forged Fiske, BBS, etc, wheels. They are close to that much a set if not more.

For that matter 19" E46 M3 wheels are that much from a dealer each if you wreck one. Not sure if they are forged or just obsenely overpriced though.

BLoG

personally i like the fanblades better than the ford gt wheels UNLESS you could get the rears to fit somehow. To me, the whole point is to have those huge things in the back.


What about the standard non-upgrade ford gt wheels? Has anyone even done 4 of the front ones all around?

Here's a photoshop i did of those back in 2004

elwhit95

Crazy isn't it 940 a wheel. I have good luck with these wheels http://www.ctrwheels.com/

G.T

The Ford GT wheels are actually lightweight Forged aluminum wheels made by BBS.. which justifies that seemingly exaggerated price tag

Imatk

The Ford GT wheels weigh in around 20 pounds and the Fanblades are about 27 pounds so there is a definate difference in weight.

If you count rotational mass (the wheel) there's even more difference.

I have noticed a difference in performance... granted I don't know that the difference is worth that amount of money but I truly dig my wheels

-FROG-

Wheels for exotics typically run close to 1K each. If you can afford the car, you can afford the wheels. That's all there is to it.

RobK

I don't see too many Fanblades on the road but I think they look great. I personally went with a set of BBS RGRs. I like the look of the classic BBS lace wheels as well as the light weight (about 19# for 9" and 20# for 10"). WAY cheaper than the forged FRPP pieces.

mrkabc

LOVE the Fanblades... when I first saw them in pix I thought they looked like crap. However, once I saw them in person, I was sold!!!

A TMS member sold me my set. I'm not looking back.

The weight difference will make NO difference in performance. This is a looks mod only! Go with what you feel is the best look for your car.

Imatk

Sorry but that statement is entirely innaccurate.

Rotational weight on a car (your wheels and anything else that rotates... driveshaft etc) has a HUGE impact on many things... handling, braking, accelleration... and for those that are concerned with it -- gas mileage.

Unsprung weight on a car also has performance impact because the less weight a car has to haul around... accellerate, brake, turn, the easier it is for that car to perform those functions.

If this were a mod that reduced unsprung weight (removing the back seat, the subwoofer) I would tend to agree that the difference would be negligible unless you were removing a significant amount of weight but for wheels and tires... and any other rotational mass on the vehicle there is a distinct difference in performance.

My car corners better, accellerates better and handles better at speed on the freeway. Not to mention I get a couple more miles per gallon

RobK

You beat me to it! Unsprung weight (wheels, tires, brakes, struts, live axle - anything NOT supported by the springs) has a huge impact on how well the car will handle. Braking, turn in and managing impacts from bumps are all affected by the amount of unsprung weight. Of any changes you can make to a car that will affect handling, reducing unsprung weight is one of the most important. The added benefit of forged wheels is that they are much stronger than cast wheels. While OEM cast wheels are usually pretty strong, that is not always the case with aftermarket cast wheels. I've been through so many wheels over the years I now only run forged wheels. They're not cheap, but then again it's not inexpensive to toss out 3 perfectly good wheels because you tore up 1 wheel that is no longer produced. So, you're not going to drop two tenths at the drag strip with lighter wheels, but you just might drop a tenth or two on the road course (maybe a stretch but who knows!). That and ANY weight reduction measures you can make will definitely have some impact on performance. Racing teams go to unbelievable lengths to get every last once out of a car that they can, so they can add balast wherever it will help them the most.

Rebel73

Hey guys, I know I'm going off on a little bit of a tangent here, but I've been debating about spending the extra bucks for some lightweight wheels. In theory, they SHOULD improve performance.

I found these 5zigen wheels, which weigh in at around 18-19lbs, and run for about $1100 for the set. Wadda'yall think?

http://intakeone.com/Wheels/5Zigen_F...Rims18x95.html

Based on the average wheel weight, say of about 25lbs, I'd be saving about 7lbs a wheel, for a total of nearly 30lbs of rotational mass!

Sounds pretty good to me, but I'd like to hear some other's opinions!

mrkabc

I recognize that a reduction in unsprung weight will help in controlled racing / laboratory conditions - only then would that 30 lb weight reduction would be beneficial.

However, I doubt very much that a 30 lb weight reduction will have ANY discernible benefit to ride, handling, acceleration, etc on a street car to justify the expenditure.

The original poster asked if he would FEEL a difference in performance. I still stand by my original answer of NO! I say buy the wheels for the "bling" factor but NOT to improve performance.