Darth Hemi Reloaded: Custom SRT Wheels and Hot Tires

**MattRobertson** · 03-22-2008, 08:01 PM

I already had a set of track wheels (SRT takeoffs) before I started the Darth Hemi: Reloaded project, but I wanted to make a change and make my SRT track wheels my street wheels, so I could use my forged, chromed 5-spoke Forge-Tec wheels exclusively on the track instead. They are lighter than even the 18" stockers, and about 2 lbs lighter each than the SRT wheels. But before the SRT wheels became my streets, they had to be stepped up a couple of notches, blingwise. I had an idea...

...Actually CoolVanilla had an idea that I stole. His wheels are beyond badass. The spokes are powder-coated black, and so are the edges of the rims, which makes the tires blend visually into the wheels. A very slick and unique look. CV p/c'd the interiors of the wheels the body color of his Magnum -- Cool Vanilla -- and the interior barrels jet black.

What I had in mind was to take the most striking part of that design -- the spokes and rim being black -- and keep that but change up the rest. What I wanted was to match that spoke-and-edge treatment... and chrome everyting else. The one hitch in the giddyup was that CV's powder coater was not a dedicated wheel shop and he wasn't really available anymore. So I hit the internet and the phone book and started talking to custom wheel shops.

After a lot of phone calls, including discussions with what were supposed to be some of the best wheel guys in the LA area, I got back the universal opinion that you cannot powder coat a wheel like that. The detail level is too great and it will run no matter what you do. You absolutely must paint it, and paint would not last... and the general opinion -- even after looking at pics of CV's wheels -- was that CV's were painted. They could not possibly be powdercoated.

Well, thats BS. They are powdercoated. Eventually I was able to beg and plead with CV to talk to his powdercoater to take on another wheel job, and CV went way above and beyond by actually managing the day-to-day direct contact with the guy. I basically dropped my wheels off to him and he dealt with everything. Thank you once again Jason!

Anyway, it turns out its not impossible at all to do the powdercoating. You just have to know enough about what you are doing, and want to do it. As you can see they came out great.

But they are not chromed. Thats another thing everyone said could not be done. And again, it turns out it can be done... but its probably a bad idea. The chrome would stick. Thats do-able. But the powdercoating sticking to the chrome? That was unlikely to last. So the alternative was to get the next best thing: Mirror polishing. I found a local chrome shop that also did wheel polishing and, a couple weeks later, the polishing was done... I don't have pics of that and its too bad I don't because they looked really slick.

A final finishing touch to the wheels was to add wheel center caps from Billet Technology. Skulls are a theme on the car and Heidi found a skull-only design they could use. I decided to use a contrasting silver center cap, and chrome lugs.

The pic above does not do these beauties justice. Billet Technology once again kicks ass.

So much for the wheels. I don't believe too many, if any, people have done an SRT wheel like this and the result is both striking and inexpensive as custom finishes go (about $300 for the polishing and roughly that for the powdercoating, if memory serves).

Now on to the tires

I have done a lot to find the best track tires for these cars. And when I say track tires, I do not mean drag radials. Those won't work on the road courses I drive. In an ideal world you have a dedicated race tire that is uber-sticky (treadwear is around 50 -- as in five-zero -- or so) and known commonly as an 'R' Compound. For 20" wheels... they are not out there. For 18" wheels they ARE out there, but the 18" sizes are so low-profile and small in diameter that they are essentially unusable. I have pigeonholed most of the reps for most of the major performance tire manufacturers and have been a) looked at like I am insane for talking about a 20" track tire and b) told they are just beginning to wrap their heads around 18" track tires... let alone 20's.

Fine. So for the near future at least 20" R compound tires are out. Whats the next best thing? So far as most of us know, its the Goodyear F1 Supercar. 220 treadwear and A traction. Lots of people have issues with it, but when you get those tires on the track they work very well. However, when taking unbanked corners you really are going one hell of a lot slower than you'd like to be... they are just not up to the task of keeping a 4400 lb lead sled on the track like a good track tire could.

I went looking everywhere for something better and -- at the time -- there were no tires better than the Goodyears in a stock size. I decided to look around and found that if I went to a 35-aspect ratio tire all of a sudden I had a lot more options (which have gotten a little broader in the months since I bought what I did). There are many hi performance tires in this size, but generally they are astronomically expensive or ill-suited to track use. I found two stars, and went with the first:

The Bridgestone RE-050A Pole Position tire is extremely well rated in its class (Max Performance Summer) and is a very well-established performance tire. It is well known in track and autocross circles and while expensive at $270 each, its not a $400 tire like a lot of others. The tire is AA traction and has a treadwear of 140. Sticks to the road, and sticky. Sounds like a winner. And so far it has been. I got perfect grip out of them on the SpeedFest autocross, and what little performance driving I have done with them on has shown they do extraordinary things with the car in corners. Put simply I can do stuff I never could do before.

The next tire sounds too good to not at least try: The General Exclaim UHP. This tire leads its class in ratings on Tire Rack (Ultra High Performance Summer) and gets excellent reviews from the tire shop I buy from (but nobody they know does what I want to do with them). It has AA traction and a 380 treadwear. Thats a little high, but it does have that AA rating that beats out even the Goodyears. Why is it in my sights? Because they cost a grand total of $111 each. Compared to the alternatives, I'd be insane not to at least try them. Especially with how fast you go thru track tires.

Worth noting are some side benefits to the 35-aspect ratio tires. I am using 245/35/20 in the front and 255/35/20 in the rear (I am keeping the slightly narrower tires in front for max steering response although they are no longer needed to fit properly, which is why the 245's are used on SRT's). These tires are two inches shorter than the stock sizes. That gives us four advantages.

An effective gear reduction. No need to explain that one, right?
The car is lowered by 1" over and above the lowering done by the suspension. This slams the car down low and further helps cornering by lowering the center of gravity.
The chance of tires rubbing the fender wells in extreme cornering -- which on the track is 100% using standard-height tires -- is significantly reduced thanks to the fact the tires are an additional 1" away from the fenders.
The very, VERY narrow sidewalls have much less chance of rolling over in hard cornering. So far as I can tell -- and I have pushed it REALLY hard up in the mountains -- I'm safe on that score.

And as I said above... the theory has turned out to work 100% in practice. All of the above assumptions turned out to be true, and the car sticks to the ground like glue.

So what are the drawbacks?

My first worry was the smaller tires would look stupid, but as far as I am concerned, they look fine.

My next worry was ride comfort. While 45-aspect ratio tires are perfectly comfortable -- every bit as much as the 225/60/18 stockers -- the same can not be said of the 35's. Its not bad so much as it is less good. And you are a little creeped out going over potholes. For me, this car is not a daily driver anymore, so I can live with that.

Lastly... this car has now been lowered a total of 3" from stock. If I slide my foot under the mudflap, the bottom of the flap touches the top of my foot. Thats freaking low. Its amazing how many places you can go when slammed down like this, but the fact is you have to plan where you are going with a car this low. I can deal with that since its no longer a daily driver, but in my mind this is the biggest price to pay for using these kinds of tires.

But those three worries don't matter one bit if you stick to these tires for track only. Tracks are smooth so ride is not a worry, and neither is height off the ground for the same reason. That leaves looks and the only thing I care about there is how the taillights present themselves.

**bigal470** · 03-22-2008, 08:55 PM

right on the wheels turned out sweet....

**X E Ryder** · 03-22-2008, 09:04 PM

I got to see these in person at SF08 and they looked cool.

It is a little hard to get your head around the mini diameter - Mother Mopar but some big damn wheels wells on these cars tho, it's the wheel wells not the tires to be honest.

Looking forward to seeing how well they do in April - then we will know for sure aye?

(and nice write up as usual bro!)

**MikeE** · 03-22-2008, 10:03 PM

those wheels look killer

**hyperbolic** · 03-22-2008, 10:13 PM

Those wheels do look very good. Congrats on finding a suitable tire.

**NC-SXT** · 03-22-2008, 10:14 PM

Every step you take is amazing Matt. Sweet look on those wheels.

**bruno** · 03-22-2008, 10:33 PM

Matt,
You have done an incredible amount of research for this quest and it looks like it paid off! I was immediately attracted to your wheels at SF and appreciated all the work that went into their creation. You obviously had a great day with them at the Speed Fest as well.

I'm sure lots of trackers here will appreciate your trials and experiences. Those pics in front of the Pacific look outstanding.

bruno

**gameover** · 03-22-2008, 10:45 PM

The wheels turn out very nice!

**CoolVanilla** · 03-22-2008, 11:00 PM

Eh, they look alright I guess.

Great info there Matt. Thanks for the (yet again) very complete and through review.

As for the powder coating... all I can really say is, don't believe it when someone says it can't be done. I've heard at least a dozen times now from various sources that what I (and now Matt) have is "impossible". Obviously, its not. Feel free to shoot me a PM if you want more info/detail.