howdy y'all my name is mike and i'm a future owner of a black/black mcs... i plan on going for a clean look. i've been lurking the forum for a while and i've gotta say everyone has awesome style!

i'm definitely getting meshies... question is i don't know which ones yet. i've visited tirerack and have narrowed it down to four wheels and two colors. they all look pretty much the same but there are subtle differences between them all. just making sure i get what i want the first time.

16" spun/konig supermesh black/polished lip


16" konig supermesh in silver/polished lip


17" asa ar1 black/polished lip


17" asa ar2 machined silver/anthracite


17" "eurostop" racing hart c2 replicas black/polished lip


17" racing hart c2 silver


lastly, here's a picture i've edited from tirerack.com to see how the two color combos work on "my car". the first one has the silver/anthracite asa ar2's while the second one has the black/polished lip asa ar1's. i'm leaning towards the ar2's because i really like the machined silver finish.


so i guess my main question is... silver meshies or black/polished meshies??? thanks everyone.

 

Do you like your wheels to look good all the time?

Do you clean your wheels of brake dust on a regular basis?

If you don't have time to clean often then Black with Polished lip would be more practical and still look very good.

Silver will show more dirt and brake dust and mesh wheels tend to be more difficult to clean.

If you damage the black finish it is easy to use touch up paint to cover the nick or scratch.

 

Black wheels are really great for not showing the brake dust but IMOP, black wheels for your car would look really hot ! I very much like the konig supermesh black/polished lip and the eurostop" racing hart c2 replicas black/polished lip, not a fan of the ASA's. I have two sets of black wheels. One set (Enkei J10's) are a matte black or satin black color and the others are a polished black (Rota slipstream). I like the satin much better but I think both are a good color with my PW. A polished lip is a must (for me).

 

its just personal opinion, but BBS style mesh wheels should always be silver as it is the main color in the BBS catalogue, black with polished lip has more tuner look to it and wouldnt go as well on them, again, personal opinion

i like the AR2.. i came close to getting them as replacements for mine but i went for PIAA sportmesh

 

Compare their weight as well...Lighter = Faster! Just make sure the lightest wheel is also durable enough for the roads you travel... Lighter wheels are on my wishlist as well, but I can't find/afford anything that I like as much as my R90s.

 

i'd probably look at AR2's myself if it was a black car.

 

 

i went through much the same decision making and suggest that you consider strongly the weight and strength of the wheel as much as the appearance...when i got type c anthracites from tire rack i couldn't believe the weight difference...you'll see when you pick them up in comparison to stock....plus my new set up completely cured very bad torque steer unexpectedly...maybe something like the silver ssr below would be nice....go for forged if you can....from what i found, ssr has a good technology... i think polished lips can look very "aftermarket"...i also considered the palo uber signatures which a lot of people here at NAM trash on a namebrand basis and the Team Dynamics with polished lip from Outmotoring, both are very nice wheels in different price ranges...hope this helps you...whatever you choose, you'll want something different in the future

ps, i have a nice set of r90's if you want to buy them....they are beautiful

 

i've considered the supermeshies because they're only 16 lb for 16x7. the rest of them are 17x7 but range from 21 lb and over. i was searching for threads about rotational mass, wheel weights, and the such. the 5 lb difference seems to be a big deal but i don't plan on auto-xing... just a stylish daily driver for me.

 

If you like the Palo Uber wheels...you can save hundreds of dollars by buying sportmax wheels : http://www.sportmaxwheel.com/ . They're the same exact wheels...just without the palo uber stickers.

In terms of color...i really like the all silver look on mesh wheels (even on a black car)....but if you go for the spoke look, black looks pretty good on a black car(like dopamines car above.)

 

[quote=RallyMINI;1871125]If you like the Palo Uber wheels...you can save hundreds of dollars by buying sportmax wheels : http://www.sportmaxwheel.com/ . They're the same exact wheels...just without the palo uber stickers.

i had heard that before but couldn't find the exact wheel which matched the Palo Uber....can you help? maybe you could post pictures of both wheels next to each other so we can all see what you are talking about. thanks!

 

well which style are you interested in? Palo carries a few different ones (they're all made by various cheaper companies).

 

how about the Palo Uber Signature, gunmetal?

 

It's called the sportmax 003. People get confused cause the sportmax site shows the 5 lug version for other cars.....and that design has 10 spokes (5 x 2)....but the 4 lug one has 8 (4 x 2) just like the palo uber (same wheel).

Sportmax 003 (5 lugs, 10 spoke) gunmetal



Sportmax 003 (4 lugs 8 spoke) gunmetal



Sportmax 003 ( 4 lug 8 spoke) gunmetal on a MINI.



Palo Uber signature series (4 lug 8 spoke) gunmetal




You will notice that the only thing different is the centercap....which is just a decal type disc. All of the specs are exactly the same....and all of the engravings such as the numbers, the word 'forged', and other markings are all in identical locations.

 

regarding the original color question....this is a perfect exampl of how amazing all silver(and polished) mesh wheels can look on an all black mini.

 

what kind of wheels are those?

 

I believe they are Tenzo's

 

Wow! That's pretty good detective work. Way to go.

 

Cause he is the "WheelMeister"!

 

These wheels would be a great choice, but they are being discontinued by Sportmax. They do have a couple of 17's and 18's left in the gunmetal. Let me know if you need more info on them.

Leo Barrios
leo@edgeracing.com
800-489-5353 x211
http://www.edgeracing.com

 

Any idea on a timeframe? People have been saying they were gonna get discotinued for over a year now....i know it takes time to truly discontinue a wheel, but i was just curious if you knew when it was gonna happen.

Another question is that multiple companies use that exact wheel as their own. Are sportmax the true producer of the wheel or are they rebadging too? If sportmax isnt the real producer, will the other companies be discontinuing them too?

An example of another company using the same wheel...and ironically keeping the '003' designation from the Sportmax003. It's an identical match when you compare them:

Anella an003

 

This is one HOT MINI!!!!

 

Fantastic stuff...

 

They have been discontinuing them for the past year, but they have stock left. Once they are gone, they are gone. Sportmax is also the true producer of their wheels so you would only bre able to get them through them. I hope that clears things up a bit.

Leo Barrios
leo@edgeracing.com
800-489-5353 x211
http://www.edgeracing.com

 

Thanks for clearing that up leo