I was playing around with The Tire Rack wheel selector, trying to determine if any stock color could work with the orange Kosei K-1 TS wheel. And my jaw hit the table when I looked at the left pane, 10.6 lbs for the 15x7! I quickly checked the 17x7, only 14.1 lbs! Yet they're not expensive at $149 and $199 respectively. They have to be the lightest wheels under $200, but I haven't seen anyone mention them as an option for competition. Everyone seems to be transfixed on SSRs, Volks or some other outragous wheel.These are slightly heavier than those wheels but you can get wheels and tires for the price of those wheels alone. These are now on the top of my list but in grey or sliver, not orange.

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John Stuart

Moderator: SCCA STS Forum

DancesWithCones@northamericanmotoring.com

 

yea, I just saw these today on the Tire Rack website - I had to go change my pants right away - they're awesome! Feather light, and good pricing.

...get 215/40-17!

 

The other night I did some shopping at the Tire Rack and came up with these numbers for the 17 inch wheels I liked. For the best weight reduction per dollar Kosei K1 TS is by far the best of these wheels.

MINI CS Wheels Lbs Reduction Cost Cost/Lb saved
R85 17" S-Lite----17"Dia., 7.0" W, 25.0 Lbs, Base on MCS Sport package
Kosei K1 TS-------17"Dia., 7.0" W, 14.1 Lbs -10.9 Lbs $199.00, $18.26/Lb
Kosei K1 Racing-- 17"Dia., 7.5" W, 16.3 Lbs - 8.7 Lbs $179.00, $20.57/Lb
OZ Superlegerra--17"Dia., 7.0" W. 15.5 Lbs - 9.5 Lbs $280.00, $29.47/Lb
SSR Comp-------- 17"Dia., 7.5" W, 13.0 Lbs -12.0 Lbs $355.00, $29.58/Lb
OZ Crono Evolution 17"Dia,7.0" W, 17.0 Lbs - 8.0 Lbs $249.00, $31.13/Lb
SSR GT1-----------17"Dia., 7.0" W, 16.5 Lbs - 8.5 Lbs $339.00, $39.88/Lb
SSR GT7-----------17"Dia., 7.5" W, 16.8 Lbs - 8.2 Lbs $349.00, $42.56/Lb

I like the SSR Comps because they have the largest weight reduction and they are 7.7 inch wide which I think will work better with 215/40/17 tires than a 7 inch wide rim. That extra 1/2 inch width and 1.1 Lb weight reduction ONLY costs $156 per wheel! Thats $624 more for the car. :smile:

 

The TS only has 38mm ET. Isnt that borderline for wider tires? I can get Konig Heliums in 15 x 6.5 (10.8lbs) for 400. Is the extra .5" in width worth the extra 50 bucks?

--
Cheese

 

Alex @ Tire Rack told me that the Kosei Racer (Single spoke vs Twin Spoke for the Ki-TS) is not available with proper off set for the Mini. That may not be true for the TS but, I'd suspect 38mm ET not going to be the hot setup.

 

>>The other night I did some shopping at the Tire Rack and came up with these numbers for the 17 inch wheels I liked. For the best weight reduction per dollar Kosei K1 TS is by far the best of these wheels.
>>
>>MINI CS Wheels Lbs Reduction Cost Cost/Lb saved
>>R85 17" S-Lite----17"Dia., 7.0" W, 25.0 Lbs, Base on MCS Sport package
>>Kosei K1 TS-------17"Dia., 7.0" W, 14.1 Lbs -10.9 Lbs $199.00, $18.26/Lb
>>Kosei K1 Racing-- 17"Dia., 7.5" W, 16.3 Lbs - 8.7 Lbs $179.00, $20.57/Lb
>>OZ Superlegerra--17"Dia., 7.0" W. 15.5 Lbs - 9.5 Lbs $280.00, $29.47/Lb
>>SSR Comp-------- 17"Dia., 7.5" W, 13.0 Lbs -12.0 Lbs $355.00, $29.58/Lb
>>OZ Crono Evolution 17"Dia,7.0" W, 17.0 Lbs - 8.0 Lbs $249.00, $31.13/Lb




>>SSR GT1-----------17"Dia., 7.0" W, 16.5 Lbs - 8.5 Lbs $339.00, $39.88/Lb
>>SSR GT7-----------17"Dia., 7.5" W, 16.8 Lbs - 8.2 Lbs $349.00, $42.56/Lb
>>
>>I like the SSR Comps because they have the largest weight reduction and they are 7.7 inch wide which I think will work better with 215/40/17 tires than a 7 inch wide rim. That extra 1/2 inch width and 1.1 Lb weight reduction ONLY costs $156 per wheel! Thats $624 more for the car. :smile:
>>
>>



Don't forget Racing Hart EVO CP8-R:D Yah...they're more expensive (forged at $340 each) but they weigh in at 12.4 lbs.



_________________

 

If they had these in 16", I would have gotten them for sure

 

Another cost effective semi forged option is the Enkei RPF-1. Check it out.

15x7 9.5lbs
16x7 13.7


--
Cheese

 

Another option nobody knows about is the Velox PG-REV 10. It's a 10 spoke wheel that looks kind of blah, but it's only 11.5 lbs in 17" size, and only like 8 for 15". I can't find a pic, but there's the numbers.

Oh, and it costs like $460 a wheel for 17"

 

True, the 15x7 has a 38mm offset but then dpayne1 ran 225/50-15 in STX without rubbing issues. 205s shouldn't present too many problems. The 17 runs with a 42mm offset, perfect for the MC.

A 7.5 width would be better for the 215 but 7 is within the acceptable widths. If anyone can find a 17x7.5 with a weight ~15lbs and price <$250, I might consider it. The lists above are very similar to the wheels in my parts spread sheet. I like a lot of the wheels mentioned but they're all hundreds more then the K-1 TS. The only prices I could find for the aforementioned Enkei's were not affordable like their other wheels. Post a link and price if you've got one Cheese.

Just got the April 04 Grassroot Motorsports today and the K-1 TS is in the "Tech Forum: Product Review" section. I guess these wheels are no longer a secret.

You know, everyone has their own price points and weight targets. The same goes for the tires. In the smaller 205/50-15, the prices aren't that much different. But in the 215/40-17 size, the differences become much greater from my perspective. "Value" is more important than "ultimate". The difference between the K-1 TS+Kumho MX and the SSR Comp+PP S-03 is the M7 carbon fiber hood or getting the Leda coil-overs instead of the H&R ClubSports.

 

Email Nino at ninosautoacc@aol.com for a price on the Enkei's. Hes a good guy. He's big with the subaru guys but he's local to me so I asked him for a price in our fitment. He quoted me $710 for the 15x7s... So thats a little bit more money but they're a pound lighter and semi forged. I believe this is his shipped price too but Im not sure as Im local.


--
Cheese

 

Here are the Kosei K1 TS in 15" on my DS/Blk 2002 MCS. My only regret is that I went with 55 series tires to keep the speedo accurate (205/55/15). I'm tempted to ebay the tires (ContiExtremeContact) for a 50 series tire. Can't beat the look though, IMHO.

 

Kosei K1 TS and K1 Racers have been around and recommended by Alex@tirerack.com and by Randy Webb (the K1 Racers).

Light is not always better so don't go banging around a set of K1 TS on the street with low profile tires. They aren't like your S-lytes nor like the strong and light SSR Comps. For the price they are good.

I have a set of silver K1 TS that I have been using for autocross only to keep them in good shape with Kumho V710 205/50-15 tires. This combo is light and works well for me. I could have gone with 225/45-15 tires in the Avon Tech R or 225/50-15 (added weight to 24 pounds from 18 and larger tire diameter to 23.7" from 22.9"). I wanted the V710 rubber and I like the lightness. I took off the plastic centering rings and center cap for track and autocross use (due to potential heat) and put in more durable metal rings.

I could use them on the track but I have Michelin Pilot sport cups in 205/50-15 for that since they are more durable.