I'm about to place an order for the 7 spoke exels and want to make sure they send you everything you need. I won't need to buy anything else to put them on right? I'm going with stock size 17's.

 

u should ask Wheelmax....that is what would make the most sense...but...make sure they supply hub centric rings.

 

Wheelmax says they are good to go and I ordered them, but I found some threads indicating the opposite on here, I just wanted real world confirmation.

 

I was going to order some Exel Speeds a while back. Wheelmax guy told me that the wheels had a 73mm bore & that they didn't have centering rings. I was told I'd need to get them elsewhere.

 

Well, they are waiting for me on my porch...so we'll see if everything is golden in about 2 hours

 

Well, everything looks great! I'll put them on tomorrow at work, or later tonight if I'm not still dead tired...but I'm very happy witht he tires and wheels - the kit of chrome bolts and plastic hub centric rings was also included - even the valve stems are chrome! I weighed them at 40 lbs. for each set, so about a 7 lbs. loss at each corner - about what I expected for 'normal' wheels (non light-weight small, racing only) and high performance tires. I'll get to the track as soon as I can to do comparison runs - and we'll see exactly how big of a difference this changes makes - I'll also do a cruise speed test, since I just logged 500 miles on a trip this weekend and have lots of data from the logs for comparison


I predict less than a 2MPG improvement at 80, windows up A/C on. I get 27 right now.

I predict less than a .4 second 1/8th mile improvement, due to increased traction off the line. My 0-60' times are 2.5s now.

 

Sorry I haven't posted sooner, but I got the 18" 7 spoke Excel's, and my experience with Wheelmax was just fine. I did have to source centering rings locally, but that was not a big deal. I've just added a gallery, so if I did it correctly, you can see a shot or two of the wheels there. Good luck!

 

Not to hijack the thread or anything, but I checked you gallery and love your door inserts! I have Lapis too and was considering something like that in the future - any tips would be appreciated :smile:

 

Just for clarification, they ship with rings as of now at least.


MAN these look GREAT on the car! 2x as good as the OEM design, and I REALLY like the OEM design!! I'll take some pics when I get to detail the car again soon - it's filthy now from our Miami weekend trip.

Also for clarification, the weights listed on the mini2 site for these tires and wheels are incorrect. My OEM Pirelli and 17" 8 spoke are 51 lbs., so I have an 11 lbs. drop per corner with these Exel BR-7's and ES100's in stock size.

 

Eval, I used a local upholstery guru. I'd suggest finding a good rod shop that does upholstery and start there. Should be plenty of those in and around the Bay area. Back to kaelaria's topic!

 

OK, first impressions.


We have great roads around here (Tampa area), and Ihave NEVER thought the runflats were in any way harsh. Except when cornering, i can't even tell the difference in ride quality between these and the runflats, they are both very stiff, with great feedback. Cornering, I can tell there is slightly more sidewall flex with these, and in that regard I prefer the runflats - but it is not that big of a difference, and it still corners very, very well.

Off the line they definitely grip better than the runflats, I don't need to feather 1st gear NEARLY as much as with the runflats. This is a very big plus, and off the line starts have improved greatly! I definitely cut at least a 1/4 second off my 1st gear time alone, it now goes through it VERY quickly - it was a big enough difference to throw off my timing for 2nd gear the first few times off the line, I have to get used to it again.

Overall quickness - yes they are *slightly* quicker than the runflats overall. I can tell there is a little more power put down through the gears, and the time through 3rd gear has definitely dropped a bit. I would equate it to a little more of a change than when I put the JCW airbox on alone. It's not a day and night difference, but you can definitely tell it's changed.

Overall I'm happy with them, they are what I expected, with the added plus of me liking the look more than I thought I would! So if you're looking to ditch the runflats STRICKTLY for performance reasons, be aware it's not a big difference, and I would say definitely not a $1000 difference. If you are also doing it for the looks - well, you can't put a price on individual taste I think I got a really good deal, and everyone that's commented says it looks really good, better than it did before!

 

I am definately doing it for looks and have ordered a nice set of Exel wheels with Yokohama tires from Wheelmax as well. I spend $800 (free shipping) on the after market set and would surely expect to get at least that much money on ebay from my MCS 17" wheels with run flats and pretty much less than 200 miles.

H

 

I'm thinking of doing the same thing now. There is only one auction up right now for this set with new tires, and it's already over $800 with 4 days left. There is a severely used set up with 3 of the wheels scuffed, it's only at $60, no obviously They only command good money if they are perfect, which mine certainly are.

I had originally planned on keeping them for a long trip, but I also ordered the Continental kit from Tire rack, and the more I think about it, the less I think I'll ever need the OEM set and runflats again. The fact that I can recoup most of my cost is also a plus! I had only seen sales on this forum for the set, and they were so low-balled it completely turned me off to the idea - but ebay is definitely selling them well.

 

Quick pics:

 

Nice choice!

May I suggest some HSport springs to eliminate some wheel gap? The little drop gives just the right look with still being functional over day-to-day terrain.

I hear dropping weight on the wheels help accel some but is really noticed during braking. True?

-Steve

 

The gap looks the same as stock, and I'm happy with it for now.

I have not braked hard yet to tell.

 

OK after a couple days of driving and a little data logging, I can say this mod was 90% for looks. I gained a whopping 1mpg crusing at 80 with the a/c on, so there's the answer for that. I'll be hitting the track next Wed to get the 1/8th mile improvements.

On another note, at least one of the tires is out of balance - I have a slight steering wheel wobble above 30. Wheelmax did say I can have them redone anywhere I like, and they will reimburse my card though. I'll get that done this weekend.