Sponsored by The Tire Rack

[Richbot]

Guys, Apex is running another group buy and I had a thought

Conti now sells a very freshly designed and perhaps best all-round value in a performance summer tire in the ContiExtremeContact Sport, which so far from reviews and my personal experience, is on par with PSS or maybe even better at significantly lower cost.

It is also available in 275/40-17 and 285/40-17, great sizes to match with the Apex 17x10's on our cars. This is a big deal for me and I'd never considered doing the 17" wheels despite the cost and weight benefits as the only tires available in those sizes up to now were either old technology, tires I don't like, or R-compounds. The conti + the 18.4lb 17x10 Apex wheel will come in around 43-44lb, which is about as light as a 10" rim/275 setup will get no matter how much you spend.

I also think lots of sidewall looks rad because I'm an American who grew up looking at drag and NASCAR cars and formula cars and thinking "more sidewall = more fast"

So I'm pulling the trigger and moving away from my 18" setups assuming they get enough pledges to make a production run.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthr...3#post21415173

Anyway, just a thought I had and hadn't heard it mentioned before, it's a pretty good option we didn't have until February of this year when the Conti came out and brought the wide 17" tire tech into the present day for a nice (and cheap to run at $170 per tire) high quality street setup

[ApexWheels]

Richbot, appreciate your support in our efforts to bring the WIDE 17x10” ET25 ARC-8 Wheels back into production. From dramatically reducing rotational mass to effectively mitigating the seasonal tire budget, we truly do not give the 17" ARC-8 wheels the attention that they deserve. A square set of APEX ARC-8 17x10" ET25 wheels in comparison to the factory 220M, 219M or 359M 19" will shed some serious rotational mass


APEX 17" ARC-8 Wheels
17x10" ET25 ~ 18.40 lbs



E90 M3

• APEX Wheels: ARC-8 in Anthracite
• Front: 17x10” ET25 ARC-8 with 275/40/17 Toyo R888 Tires
• Rear: 17x10” ET25 ARC-8 with 275/40/17 Toyo R888 Tires
• Spacers:None
• Suspension: JRZ RS1 Coilovers
• Camber: F: -3 degrees | R: -1.8 degrees

E46 M3

• APEX Wheels: ARC-8 in Anthracite
• Front: 17x10” ET25 ARC-8 with 275/40/17 Toyo R888 Tires
• Rear: 17x10” ET25 ARC-8 with 275/40/17 Toyo R888 Tires
• Spacers:None
• Suspension: Ground Control Coilovers
• Camber: F: -3.6 degrees | R: -2 degrees

[roastbeef]

so are you selling your 18's? what width?

[Richbot]

I have started to accumulate an unhealthy number of wheels for this car but I don't think I'll be selling My MT1's anytime soon, I built a gigantic tire rack in my garage for racecar/streetcar wheels. Never know when another M3 might want to come home with me

Group Buy is now live in the deposit phase, we (well, probably the E46 guys, but hey we helped) made it to the highest level of discount they're offering at $200 a set so if you want some 17's go get you some

[Richbot]

If I understand the rules of the road for group buys it is officially official and I'll be getting a couple sets of these at a nice discount. Will definitely report back with results and photos when I finally get them, hopefully my 18" tires are all dead by June-July when we're supposed to get these. Can't wait to buy $170 top-tier 275's for this car and turn them into trips to walmart and daycare

[GeorgeA]

Hm, interested to see what its going to look like on your car.

[SYT_Shadow]

I really liked the 17*9.5 ARC8 wheels I had on the E46M.

I had to ditch them with the move to the E92 because my front Z54 BBK doesn't fit :'(

[Richbot]

Should look like the pics above but more excellent because Jerez black 08 with black lines is the most dapper

[TZANIDO777]

Do these 17" Arc-8's clear a ST60 Trophy kit with 355mm rotors?

[Richbot]

Here's a side shot of the 9.5" ET35 over the Z4M ST40 kit with a 12mm spacer (ET23, so effectively the same offset and face profile as the ET25 10") No idea of whether the STR60 caliper takes up more barrel space

http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthread.php?t=694514

[z3papa]

That's a fair amount of camber needed to tuck the top of the R888's into the wheel well. For those that are going to the track, that's no big deal but I'm not sure I'd want to DD with that setup unless you really got the car aligned to zero toe.

[Richbot]

The 275/40-17 is almost the exact same tire as a 275/35-18 from an outer dimension pov i don't foresee any issues with a real street tire that runs narrower

[gzim335]

anyone know if the group buy is open and where do I sign up?

[SYT_Shadow]

Originally Posted by TZANIDO777

Do these 17" Arc-8's clear a ST60 Trophy kit with 355mm rotors?

The 17" aaaalmost clears the pfc z54 372mm front bbk. Such a pity it doesn't!

[Locksmythe]

What is the total price with or without GB completion? I don't want to register just to find out I can't afford it.

[bigjae1976]

I don't think the 17s will clear any 6 piston calipers. I ran 17's with my stoptech ST40s and its pretty close.

[ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by z3papa

That's a fair amount of camber needed to tuck the top of the R888's into the wheel well. For those that are going to the track, that's no big deal but I'm not sure I'd want to DD with that setup unless you really got the car aligned to zero toe.

That E90 M3 was setup that way for track use, and as @richbot mentions, the R888 runs a lot wider then your average street tire. The 17x10" ET25 square fitment is typically a direct fit, no excessive camber modifications required (unless r-compounds or slicks are used)

Originally Posted by Richbot

The 275/40-17 is almost the exact same tire as a 275/35-18 from an outer dimension pov i don't foresee any issues with a real street tire that runs narrower

Originally Posted by gzim335

anyone know if the group buy is open and where do I sign up?

Originally Posted by Locksmythe

What is the total price with or without GB completion? I don't want to register just to find out I can't afford it.

The Group Buy actually ended a couple week ago, however we had enough participation to move forward with a new production run (we hold a Group Buy approx once a year for this ARC-8 17x10" "specialty fitment" in effort to warrant a new production run). Now that production in Hyper Silver, Anthracite and Hyper Black finishes have been confirmed, they are available for pre-order on our website and we are offering free shipping on all sets purchased before their arrival.

- Ryan

[ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by TZANIDO777

Do these 17" Arc-8's clear a ST60 Trophy kit with 355mm rotors?

Originally Posted by bigjae1976

I don't think the 17s will clear any 6 piston calipers. I ran 17's with my stoptech ST40s and its pretty close.

Believe it or not, the 17x10" ET25 does clear both the StopTech 6pot 355mm BBK, as well as the Brembo 6 pot 355mm BBK.

I do not have photo's of an E9X M3, but here is an E9X 3 series with the ARC-8 17x9" ET30 and StopTech 6 piston 355mm BBK for reference.









- Ryan

[07tundra]

Are these made in an et44

[pbonsalb]

You can get flat face ARC8 in ET42, I think, in the 8.5-9.5 width range. I have a set of 17x9 on my E36. But the concave look better and only come in lower offset.

[Richbot]

Will get some better pics once I get the car out somewhere I can get uniform light (EDIT: Potatophone camera shots in overcast light added). Very dirty from a road trip to Road America last weekend, so the wheels are the cleanest part of the car.

285/40-17 Continental ExtremeContact Sport square, 17x10 ET25 anthracite Apex ARC-8's

This combo weighs about the same as PSS 275/35-18 on TR MT1 18x10 ET25 and 2lb less than 275/40-18 on MT1's. Just under 46lb per wheel including TPMS and weights and such. If I had gone with the 275/40-17 there would be more weight lost.

Naturally there is a little fender liner rubbing up front as you'll get with a 26" tall wide tire (I have previously run a 285/35-18 up front and knew what to expect). Rear fits and could fit with a 12mm spacer easily. I'll probably switch to the 275/40-17 when I get done with these. There is a little more than 1/8" of tire clearance to the strut.

BTW, the FAlken RT615K+ is available in 275/40-17, and it's a legit fast street tire, if you want to run these with something that has a little more stick.

Will have some more impressions when I get some miles on the tires. Obviously this is about the biggest tire you can fit up front without going to a shorter tire (26" tall, 11.4" wide), so I'm curious how it matches with itself with a square tire back there. I'm on stock ZCP springs, Dinan front bar, stock non-adjustable shocks and Dinan front camber plates with about -2.5 on each side. Front brake setup is the Stoptech STR40 355x35mm kit

[pbonsalb]

How do you like the RT615K+ on the street? Noisy?