Superformance 16” 308 wheels

Thinking of storing my original wheels and getting a set of repro wheels for weekend driving. Is superformance the way to go or are there any other good options out there to consider?


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Your being in GA, it wouldn't hurt to get a quote from T.Rutlands (there's only one manufacturer of the reproduction 16" QV wheels, but many sellers).

 

I'm happy with my 16" repros from Superformance. Get the metal valve stems and make sure the tire mounting service places the balance weights on the inside of the rims.

 

I was impressed by the quality of the reproduction wheels on my 308, straight with a nice finish. The decals were a little lame, though. As Steve noted, they are all from same manufacturer, made in England I believe. The only problem with them is that the appearance of the reproduction wheels are identical fronts and rears. The original wheels are configured just a bit differently front to rear, but you probably know that already.

 

I have a set of the reproduction wheels. High quality, had for 10 yrs and still look new.
Yes- the tip off is the they are incorrect with the two sizes. The wide rears look identical to the front narrower wheels.

I would replace them with the real wheels if i could find them to buy.

 

Not if you had TRX Wheels, they are the same all round.
As a result I was very happy with the Superformance rims which at least were staggered (7" front/8" rear).

 

Are they the same as the original fronts? Might be worth getting some correct rears made?

 

Hi Andy, Good point, I hadn’t thought about the TRX wheels, same front and rear with 14 inch wheels too, right?

 

TRX are 390mm (Metric...) which is 15.3543 Inches

 

Yes, Andy, I didn’t write that very well....what I meant is that the 14 inch wheels are also the same front and rear, not that TRX wheels are 14 inch.

So what I was trying to communicate is that the reproduction wheels compared to the original 16 inch wheels don’t pickup the slight difference between the front and rear wheels. It is noticeable to the careful Ferrari observer, but the other 99.9% of the population will never notice. The reproduction wheels are still really nice looking wheels and capture the essence of the OEM wheels.

 

Yes, I agree with you.
The 'dished' 16" rear wheels will look good - just because 'dished' wheels do. But the repro wheels, exactly as you say, completely capture the essence of the design and are only an issue for the pedant end of the market
If you want the best looking wheels you need a set of Compomotive TS17's or their modern day equivalent - they are to die for!

 

Is it still necessary to use a plastic centering ring for the hubs with the SF wheels?
This is, what I always disliked from an engineering point of view.
Besides the absent groove on the rear wheels, which actually only those notice, who know about. It's only a small detail, but it actually makes the wheel looking better than without it. Somehow more slender. Better proportions. Don't know exactly. But that's just my personal taste.
And I don't understand, why the remanufacturer missed adding this detail.

Best from Germany
Martin

 

Yes Martin but only on the fronts. It assures correct centricity and isn’t a big deal.

 

It's more of a difference than just a "groove". The groove is just a result of moving the whole star portion back to the same level as where the valve stem mounts. The advantage for KN to keep star portion's location the same relative to where the valve stem mounts is that major portions of the same die casting tooling can be used for both front and rear with only some minor different tooling insert pieces. To make them like the original 16" QV wheels would require two completely different separate sets of die cast tooling (i.e., much more expensive). Since they didn't know what the demand would be for these wheels, I can't blame them for being cautious about keeping the initial tooling investment cost down -- but, in hindsight, these do seem quite successful, and popular, so it is a bit of a shame that they didn't go the route of having two separate die casting tools - JMO.

 

Superformance 16" with Goodyear Eagles 205 front 225 rear Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I wonder how many "correct" rear wheels they would sell if they went ahead and made the molds. Not only would a bunch of people on the fence about buying a full set finally jump in, but I bet half of us that already own a set would buy a pair of rear wheels that looked right. I know I would for sure.

 

I’m looking into getting some coffin spoke 17” wheels made in China and the casting mould cost is $6000 so you need to sell a few wheels to cover the cost of design drawings and mould. CNC from forged blanks is about $250/wheel so stronger, individually customizable, and cheaper for small volumes (under 100 wheels.)

 

I went with Gold 16" wheels from Superformance. Very happy with them

 

Gold of course?

 

Yes, gold. I think I will stick to 8" front and 9" rear as wider starts to give clearance issues and rear tyres wider than 245 are overkill (and drivetrain kill.)

 

Did you ever have these coffin spoke wheels made?

 

Pete, there are about 7 of us now so need another four to make cast 16” viable (at around $1200/set.) Are you interested? Know anyone else who might be?

 

Steve, are these wheels from Rutlands true copies of the QV wheels? Rear wheels with the deeper dish than the fronts??

 

I'm interested in the gold wheels. Would you please post a picture of your car with the gold wheels. Thanks Charlie

 

No, all the reproduction 16" 308 wheels are the same (with the rears being the proper 8" width, but looking more like the stock fronts with the spoke section protruding out some. IIRC, the (only) manufacturer is KN Wheels, but there are lots of sellers.