From my calculations based off the space I had inward to the coilover and outward to the widened flared fenders, I specified a 18×9+45 front and a 19×11.5+51 rear Forgeline GA1R wheel. This would give me a few millimeters of flexibility to dial in the perfect setup with wheel spacers to clear the massive front PFC brakes, and clear the rear fender and coilover as my camber setting changes.
These wheels are huge! Especially when you consider that the front wheel is only half an inch narrower than what is typically used on rear of most NSXs.
We had the wheels finished in a dark “Black Bronze” which look primarily black except when in direct sunlight.
The “Open Center Lug” design was influenced by the open-faced steel wheels which allow NASCAR pit crews to have lightning-fast pit stops. This became a significant competitive advantage on pit-lane which aided in many of my wins driving a Roush Mustang, making this feature especially meaningful for me.
The center hub is thin to keep weight down and the spokes taper into the center hub to improve strength and rigidity of the wheel.
The spokes themselves feature and I-beam design to keep the wheel stiff and strong.
9 comments
Jesus Christ, that is one great-looking car! That massive rubber and functional stance really bring out the purpose of the NSX.
Thank you very much. It took a lot of planning and testing but i’m extremely happy with how everything came together visually and performance wise. Stay tuned for when we track test and compare it to standard 17/18 tire sizes!
Billy, you are making the best content out there on car websites right now. Keep it up. I also enjoyed seeing you in Dahm’s RX7 series!
Thank you for the kind words. I’m trying to put out unique and interesting content. Spread the word! 🙂
There will be more Project FD RX7 Restomod coming up soon, so keep an eye out!
Thanks for including the wheel and tire weights. Pretty amazing that you could add that much tire and still lose some unsprung weight.
Now you just need a twin-turbo and sequential gearbox to make the ultimate NSX!
“Plus, it raised the ride height by over an inch, which is not good for looks, handling, or performance.”
Do you have any idea if dropping an inch (going the other way) would help handling?
My logic as to why it may work, preserves suspension geometry, reduces unsprung weight, opens up possibility for cheap, fun tyres.
Reasons why it may not work, ground clearance.
The 1 inch smaller diameter tire will drop the ride height 0.5″ without any other change, which is a win-win. The ability to lower it another 0.5″ from a fender clearance standpoint will have benefits and negatives (lower center of gravity, but less ideal suspension geometry). Depending on the rest of the setup this can be good or bad, but typically it will still be good. Ground clearance isn’t an issue on track.
Thank you so much.
I’m a casual driver and would like to get a set of spare rims for track tyres. I’d like to go to 16″ down from my stock 17″ and maintain the tire sidewall height.
All this time I didn’t realize you were the wheelman with the Mustang too. Hopefully other tire manufacturers start offering stuff like this, namely Toyo as I’m required to run their tires in my series. It would be awesome to datalog tire temps and pressures over the course of a race.