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      09-15-2010, 04:22 PM   #1
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XXR 521 Wheels

Anyone use the XXR 521's for track wheels? A square set of 4, 18 x 10 et 25 is only $600 for new ones. Pretty cheap, but not sure how heavy or durable they are.
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      12-25-2010, 04:34 PM   #2
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Bump on this idea.. they weight considerably low...
21 lbs Look like a nice idea and you can put a nice FAT wheel on the front and rear.
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      11-05-2013, 07:40 AM   #3
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im considering this as well. im think doing 18X10 +25 all around would look great.
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      11-05-2013, 09:11 AM   #4
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God help all of you who run those cheap junk wheels on the track. The demands of the track warrant higher quality than the street, not lower quality. I don't understand the logic of cheap wheels on the track.
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      11-05-2013, 09:38 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slicer View Post
God help all of you who run those cheap junk wheels on the track. The demands of the track warrant higher quality than the street, not lower quality. I don't understand the logic of cheap wheels on the track.
i agree but at the same time apex wheels are cheap but have shown to be a high quality product....
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      11-05-2013, 09:45 AM   #6
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I would love to score a set of track wheels for a price like that.

But I'm too much of a sissy to join the track beta test group. I keep worrying about that old engineering addage: strong, light, cheap. Pick any two.

If you guys go for it, keep us posted!
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      11-05-2013, 09:53 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sebringjetta View Post
i agree but at the same time apex wheels are cheap but have shown to be a high quality product....
Apex are not as cheap as these. Plus, they are a known commodity (proven on the track).
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      11-05-2013, 10:36 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sebringjetta View Post
i agree but at the same time apex wheels are cheap but have shown to be a high quality product....
Quote:
Originally Posted by InterJon View Post
Apex are not as cheap as these. Plus, they are a known commodity (proven on the track).
I'm not a big fan of Apex but at least their wheels seem to have been designed for track use from the start, they have tested their product through race team sponsorships, and many people around here have had success with them.

The xxr 521 are $125 each and are clearly made to a price point. Good luck.
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      11-05-2013, 10:53 AM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slicer View Post
I'm not a big fan of Apex but at least their wheels seem to have been designed for track use from the start, they have tested their product through race team sponsorships, and many people around here have had success with them.

The xxr 521 are $125 each and are clearly made to a price point. Good luck.

Add me to the list of proven, ive had great success with apex. 20 track days, one off and not a single problem with them except for rock chips. Will be powdercoating them soon to fix that. I knew a local guy who ran xxr's at the track in his S-14 and did not have any problems at all with them that i know of. Ill ask him though, he might be able to provide more feedback.
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      11-05-2013, 06:19 PM   #10
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I don't know...the design seems to at least be robust. Can't be any more dangerous than the D-Force LTW5s of which I've seen 4 crack and one actually come apart on the track...which is $330 wheels. I've seen plenty of expensive forged rims bend and break.

So price doesn't mean shit to me.

If I'm reading their ebay auctions correctly, they use hub centric rings. That would be a point of concern for me.
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      11-06-2013, 12:21 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sebringjetta View Post
i agree but at the same time apex wheels are cheap but have shown to be a high quality product....
APEX wheels are flow-formed (a process called roll-forging by some other manufacturers), engineered for strength, and then properly tested and certified. There's a significant difference between cast wheels and APEX wheels.

Flow-formed barrels reduce weight in the most important part of a wheel by reducing rotational mass at the furthest point from center without sacrificing strength. The barrel of a wheel produced this way can be 3-10lbs lighter than a cast wheel depending on the diameter/width. When comparing cast and flow-formed wheels with identical static weights, a flow-formed wheel will accelerate/decelerate faster. ARC-8 and EC-7 designs purposely do not have a deep front lip. Instead they feature spokes that support the front lip to increase rigidity and reduce the chance of bends from berms, off track excursions, and on the street. The barrel of the EC-7 is designed with a high clearance curve after the drop center to clear Brembo 380mm BBK's. Most importantly every single APEX wheel size is properly VIA certified to the JWL standard. This means after factory crush testing, we ship wheels to Japan for independent verification crush testing by the VIA. This is important because it is extremely common in the wheel industry to falsely claim that testing and certification has been performed. A truly VIA tested wheel would have a registry number and be listed in the VIA's online database.

The wheel mentioned in the original post are cast, not flow-formed. The weights quoted in this thread look to be inaccurate for a cast wheel of that size, as a quick google search found higher (and still only estimated) weights on other sites. The design simulates a 3 piece wheel and is drilled for aesthetic fake mounting bolts. The deep cast front lip lacks spoke support to the edge. Most importantly you'd want to verify their JWL and VIA claims. If the wheels are VIA certified like APEX wheels are, then the manufacturer can easily provide the VIA registry number and we'd be able to see them on the government's online database.

For reference, the 18x10" ET25 ARC-8's registry number is: VIA-15-0462
The EC-7's registry number is: VIA-17-0643
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      11-06-2013, 09:52 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Eddy@ApexRaceParts View Post
APEX wheels are flow-formed (a process called roll-forging by some other manufacturers), engineered for strength, and then properly tested and certified. There's a significant difference between cast wheels and APEX wheels.

Flow-formed barrels reduce weight in the most important part of a wheel by reducing rotational mass at the furthest point from center without sacrificing strength. The barrel of a wheel produced this way can be 3-10lbs lighter than a cast wheel depending on the diameter/width. When comparing cast and flow-formed wheels with identical static weights, a flow-formed wheel will accelerate/decelerate faster. ARC-8 and EC-7 designs purposely do not have a deep front lip. Instead they feature spokes that support the front lip to increase rigidity and reduce the chance of bends from berms, off track excursions, and on the street. The barrel of the EC-7 is designed with a high clearance curve after the drop center to clear Brembo 380mm BBK's. Most importantly every single APEX wheel size is properly VIA certified to the JWL standard. This means after factory crush testing, we ship wheels to Japan for independent verification crush testing by the VIA. This is important because it is extremely common in the wheel industry to falsely claim that testing and certification has been performed. A truly VIA tested wheel would have a registry number and be listed in the VIA's online database.

The wheel mentioned in the original post are cast, not flow-formed. The weights quoted in this thread look to be inaccurate for a cast wheel of that size, as a quick google search found higher (and still only estimated) weights on other sites. The design simulates a 3 piece wheel and is drilled for aesthetic fake mounting bolts. The deep cast front lip lacks spoke support to the edge. Most importantly you'd want to verify their JWL and VIA claims. If the wheels are VIA certified like APEX wheels are, then the manufacturer can easily provide the VIA registry number and we'd be able to see them on the government's online database.

For reference, the 18x10" ET25 ARC-8's registry number is: VIA-15-0462
The EC-7's registry number is: VIA-17-0643
And this is why I will be ordering a set of apex wheels for track use!!!
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      11-06-2013, 10:13 AM   #13
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I worked in the wheel industry for 5+ years and have first hand experience with nearly every wheel brand. When it came time to get wheels for my M3, I purchased a set of Apex Wheels. They are everything you need in a wheel! They are very strong, light weight, look great, and are affordable. I just recently purchased my 2nd set of Apex Wheels, you can never have enough!

Robert, you've seen my set of Apex Wheels put through tons of track use You can't go wrong with them! Like you, I owned a set of Volk Wheels in the past and can tell you that you will be very happy going with the Apex Wheels for your e92 M3.
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      11-06-2013, 11:10 AM   #14
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+1 on Apex wheels. Have used them on 135i and e92m3 on the track many times. Never had any problems.
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      11-06-2013, 11:31 PM   #15
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So back to the topic is XXR 521 wheels worthy as a track wheels?! Can someone confirm that b4 I do the purchase?! Thx
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      11-07-2013, 05:57 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blast1st View Post
So back to the topic is XXR 521 wheels worthy as a track wheels?! Can someone confirm that b4 I do the purchase?! Thx
I wouldn't
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      11-07-2013, 08:35 AM   #17
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Sorry to go OT again but if anyone is interested:

I'm going to putting up for sale this weekend, my Apex ARC-8's (Anthracite) 18x10 F and 18x11 R with 275 35 18 F and 285 35 18 R RS3's. Perfect M3 fitment and no spacers are needed.

They have barely been used - no chips or anything and they only have a few hundred miles on them with only one partial track session (not even from me, from the MRF shop car just to break them in for me).

But I just got another car so I don't think I'll be tracking the M3 anymore.

I'll post pics of them tomorrow both on the MRF shop car and off the car to show condition/tread in a For Sale thread (i'll create this Saturday or Sunday).

They probably will need a re-balance after being on the track.
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      11-07-2013, 12:43 PM   #18
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Those XXR's do have a great price. It would be good to find out if they are good quality. Their website does mention they are VIA qualified. Probably just want to do your research to make sure this model meets all the necessary quality specs.
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      11-09-2013, 02:08 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dapopa9 View Post
Those XXR's do have a great price. It would be good to find out if they are good quality. Their website does mention they are VIA qualified. Probably just want to do your research to make sure this model meets all the necessary quality specs.
That was the point of my post. Request VIA registration numbers from all vendors who make wheels and claim VIA, as almost every single wheel company claims to be VIA but only a small number of wheels actually have it. It's a per wheel size/width/offset/bolt pattern certification. Consider what it means if a wheel doesn't have it, but you were told it did.
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