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Steeda Ultralights 18x10 - any experiences?

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dmichaels

Papa Smurf
547
30
CT
I got a fantastic deal on some Steeda Ultralights today ($200 for a set of 4 plus tires that can support another 1-2k street miles). I would like to use these as another set of track wheels (have 09 GT500 wheels now as track wheels). Plan is to have a set of slicks and a set of "rains" - I'd like to use the Steeda wheels for the slicks, since they are 18x10 instead of 18x9.5 (as the GT500's are). But I'm a little nervous about the capabilities of the Steeda wheels and running a 5-spoke wheel with slicks on the Mustang, given that if a single spoke cracks, only 4 remain, as opposed to the GT500's where a single spoke cracking leaves 9 more, plus more evenly distributed loading.

Anyways, the question is does anyone have any experience with these wheels and/or any suggestions? I can easily flip the wheels if they're not up to the job, but I couldn't pass on the deal!

Thanks
 

steveespo

Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child
Moderator
4,008
1,924
Exp. Type
W2W Racing
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Cookeville TN
Derek,
I don't have experience with the Steedas but are they forged or cast? Any cast wheel that has the name "Ultralight" would scare me for track use. I have become a nervous Nelly with safety after hearing about the few wheel failures on the site and the death of that instructor at Summit Point a few weeks ago. Do research on them before running slicks.
Steve
 

dmichaels

Papa Smurf
547
30
CT
steveespo said:
Derek,
I don't have experience with the Steedas but are they forged or cast? Any cast wheel that has the name "Ultralight" would scare me for track use. I have become a nervous Nelly with safety after hearing about the few wheel failures on the site and the death of that instructor at Summit Point a few weeks ago. Do research on them before running slicks.
Steve

Yeah I'm researching - they are a low pressure cast wheel - roughly 22 lbs, so not super lightweight. Worst case, they would do fine with street tires, and I'll just switch my Sumitomos from the GT500 wheels over, and put slicks on the GT500's
 

ArizonaBOSS

Because racecar.
Moderator
8,730
2,734
Arizona, USA
You might want to weigh those wheels, I've heard they are significantly heavier than the 22lbs you stated.

Other than that, I've seen a couple S197 guys tracking with them a few years ago. Seem to work OK.
 

dmichaels

Papa Smurf
547
30
CT
ArizonaBOSS said:
You might want to weigh those wheels, I've heard they are significantly heavier than the 22lbs you stated.

Other than that, I've seen a couple S197 guys tracking with them a few years ago. Seem to work OK.

I will weigh them - honestly I don't care about wheel weight at my level, I was actually more concerned with LESS mass per wheel given they are cast and not forged...

Still seriously considering just flipping them and making a profit to fund some nice forged wheels... have to see where the $ trail takes me. Appreciate that feedback though regarding you've seen then out before. Steeda has claimed they have run the wheels as their rain wheels and also have run them on another of their race cars in the dry. Definitely doing my research before slapping on tires and going, but I'm feeling more confident for running street tires at least

Appreciate feedback. Safety first :)
 

dmichaels

Papa Smurf
547
30
CT
Little additional info - max load is stamped as 1580 lbs. For comparison, from what I dug up online, Enkei PF01 18x9.5's are rated at 1530 lbs. I'm really not a wheel expert, and I realize fatigue characteristics of cast vs forged aluminum are different, but is the max load a fair indication of the wheel capabilities? It is a surprisingly hard bit of info to come across for some of the wheels I see commonly used...
 

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