Rally Wheel Thread?

[Tesseract_Indeed]

I've not seen a thread dedicated to Rally Wheels and surrounding discussions, so I thought that I would start one. Firstly...

I am looking at the Method 502 VT-Spec wheels. They are 15x7, +15mm offset, and 5x114.3 bolt pattern. I am currently running stock 16x6 +39mm offset, with awful Michelin Defender 195/65r15 [91T] tires from the dealership. I can make a 5x105 to 5x114.3 adapter work, but I am worried about fender and suspension clearance given the huge offset difference. For height clearance, I have a hell of a lot of room between the tire and fender, even with the mini-van tires.
I want to install Megan Racing lowering springs, which will drop the car 1.1" in front and 1.2" in rear. Given that the new wheels are an inch less in diameter, I doubt actual height clearance will be an issue, even with lowering springs. I emailed Method to see what size tire they recommend with the 502 VT-Spec. My Sonic is my only car, therefore it is my daily driver. That said. I can't buy huge, expensive, short-lived rally tires for it either. I want to combine the rally look (I especially love these wheels) with a reasonable daily driver tire, and make sure it will work with the Megan Racing Lowering Springs.

here are the Method 502 VT-Spec wheels in question:
https://www.methodracewheels.com/collections/rally-wheels/products/mr502-rally-vt-spec

Again, this should start a Rally wheel thread, so the rest of the thread is an open floor for rally wheel discussion! opcorn:

 

[carsNskis]

I find the stock 15's to be an excellent budget choice for Rally or RallyCross. They're easy to find cheap, plenty of 15" rally tire takeoffs out there.

If you're looking to get new wheels and actually going to Rally or RallyCross I would get them custom drilled and avoid spacers. For street/show it doesn't matter, but the abuse of off road plus added unsprung weight makes spacers and competition a bad idea.

Braid will custom drill a 5x105, probably the best bang for your buck in custom. OZ and Sparco are available custom but harder to get an order placed.

Redrill wouldn't be a good idea for something under high stress, like racing or off road. Custom is the safest, but not everyone sees value in safety.

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[Tesseract_Indeed]

Wow, i've never heard of Braid before, but after skimming their website for a bit, i'm impressed. As far as Method wheels go, the Method 502 Rally wheels are 17x8 and a +38mm offset, and 5x114.3 bolt pattern. Unfortunately, That means that I would still need a bolt pattern adapter or some other way to make them fit, but beyond that, they look about perfect.
Btw, I like what you've done with your sonic so far! I would like to one day do a rally build, but for the next few years it will be a daily driver and maybe some SCCA to get my foot in the door for racing.

 

[TheGreenDragon]

Sorry to be a bit late to the party, I've been elsewhere for awhile.

If you're just jumping into rally for the first time, it isn't a bad idea to stick with steelies for awhile. Steel wheels are cheap, easy to bend back into shape, but most importantly, they are easy to bend.

If you buy a full-blown reinforced rally wheel, you'll be getting a rim that won't budge for anything. If you are new to the sport and hit something you shouldn't with a rim like that, the impact will go straight to the suspension components; probably damaging something important. By running softer steel wheels, you allow the steel rim to absorb any impacts and deform (bend/break) rather than your suspension components. And like I said before, steel wheels are much cheaper to replace.

You can go with the Sonic's stock 15" steelies, the Cruze's 16" steelies, or the 16" Pacer 83B 'Black Mod' wheel. The Pacer one in particular is nice because it has a recessed hub that helps protect the lugs in the event of a side impact. Although the Pacer wheel is also a dual-pattern wheel, which could mean that it is weaker as it has more holes.

Up to you, to be honest.

 

[Tesseract_Indeed]

TheGreenDragon, I would definitely stick with steelies for the first while rallying. I'd rather replace a wheel than a tie rod. And I don't like to consider threads "dead". I think that no matter how late you are to a discussion, if you have something to contribute, go for it. So thank you.

 

[Palmaris]

TheGreenDragon, I would definitely stick with steelies for the first while rallying. I'd rather replace a wheel than a tie rod. And I don't like to consider threads "dead". I think that no matter how late you are to a discussion, if you have something to contribute, go for it. So thank you.

We have been using aluminum and steel rims on our Mitsubishi rally car (2WD). Most of the rims are Alloy wheels from VW (4 x 100). Our rally friends rally their ZX3 Focus and only use the factory wheels too and have done many events without problems. Both our teams have been doing this for 3 or 4 years now. I believe there are a few concepts.

In the first few years, its very exceptional to hit the high speeds required to dent or damage a rim unless you hit a large object in the road. It takes lots of good experience and practice to get there. It seems like we arn't even there yet as we still don't break rims. I really don't think you will hit the speeds driven by David Higgins or Travis Pastrana so its not an issue.

Of course, the rally rims do look awesome, so if its for looks you can go right ahead.

Well I do believe that we bent our rims on this impact! They lasted the event but were a bit wobbly.

https://youtu.be/wAx_M9azvWQ

 

[carsNskis]

Steelies really aren't a good idea for RallyCross as they tend to unseat easier than an alloy wheel.

There's a guy in our RallyCross group that ran steelies at Nationals last year and they ended his day...

Besides, used alloy wheels are as cheap if not cheaper than steelies anyhow. I'm running a set of stock 15" Sonic wheels and I picked up for $50, used rally tires I scored for $100 and they've held up well even down to 25psi... Go alloy

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[Tesseract_Indeed]

Huh, okay. That's good to hear. Palmaris, it's awesome that you guys are that far into rally at all. Being young (high school senior) and pursuing the career I am, I won't be able to get into any rally at any level for probably another 10 years due to all of my time going into my career. This is all just gaining information and ideas and becoming more educated in the sport now as a side interest. Thanks for the support, I really appreciate it!

 

[Palmaris]

Huh, okay. That's good to hear. Palmaris, it's awesome that you guys are that far into rally at all. Being young (high school senior) and pursuing the career I am, I won't be able to get into any rally at any level for probably another 10 years due to all of my time going into my career. This is all just gaining information and ideas and becoming more educated in the sport now as a side interest. Thanks for the support, I really appreciate it!

No problem. Lots of people start Rally at a later age. I did my first one when I was 34 so do what you can, when you can! Drive, lots. that's the fun stuff.

 

[carsNskis]

If you have a local RallyCross club you can run a daily driver in stock class work snow tires. Cheapest and easiest way to get that rally experience without that rally budget!

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