Just wondering how these wheels in 15x3.5 and 15x10 compare to other drag wheels in terms of weight? I can't really seem to find a real concise answer and wonder if they would be worth the money. I want something that I don't have to worry about if I "accidentally" leave them on my car for a week and drive it every day after visiting the track.

 

The Street Lite is More of a Street/ Strip wheel, It is not an All out drag race wheel as some people would say. They were designed To be left on the car and drive it to the track, Make your passes, then Fill up the Slicks or drag radials, and then drive home, then to work the next day. Basically they were made to be left on the car. Our 15x4 weighs in at 10 lbs and the 15x10 weighs in at 16 lbs. It is a Substantial weight savings over stock and or some aftermarkets wheels out there.

If you want something that you can leave on the car, Is a quality wheel, And sfi approved, I think the Street lites will work out best for you. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. And if you are intrested i do have them in stock and ready to ship.

 

I can understand that it isn't an all out drag race wheel...I would imagine an all out race wheel is something like Bogarts or Weld Alumastars? These are not to be driven on the street, correct? Just not durable enough?

 

True.

many people do drive them on the street without issues. Some people pull outta there driveway and go 1 block and there done. The Alumastar is a 1 pc forged wheel, It is alot Stronger of a wheel But soo much material is taken out of it to make it light that that benefit is taken away. The added extra weight we have is in the hoop to make them stronger for street use.

 

Given the weight that Dragwheelz.com posted, they weigh in just about the same as any other greg weld, weld prostar, or weld draglite wheel. Personally, I would see no issue in street driving a car with any of the wheels listed above. Billet Specialties look really nice too! I would be buying a set if I had the spare cash right now.

 

First think to yourself what your goals are and why are you are considering a 15” wheel setup.

Wheel weight is an important area not to overlook. …Probably one reason why you’re asking the question in the first place. Every 1lb of rotational weight is good for ~4lbs of static weight. A weld prostar rear weighs about 14lbs in comparison to the similar sized billet specialty. I think BS’s wheel looks much nicer. Since BS wheels are considered a “safe” street setup, I would consider them a very light street setup, but not compared to a drag wheel setup. Putting into perspective, those few lbs lighter, your car will perform as if you’ve removed 16lbs (comparing the rears to the prostar).

We’ve built on a limited basis street/strip wheels as well for years (some F-bodies are shown in our gallery with them). Since they are in the same weight category as Billet Specialty wheels, they really are a low priority design as we feel 15 inch wheels are best suited for drag racing applications. The only benefits to using a heavy 15” wheel design (like our Street/Strip design or Billet Specialty’s wheel) in my opinion are if you wanted to use them as street wheels… Due to the fact you lose most of the racing benefits, the only benefit of using it as a terrible street driving setup is very small in comparison to what you lose from a performance racing standpoint.

For this reason, the folks that want a street setup that they can race, I suggest our road race wheels whereas the typical F-body 17x11 is 16-17lbs!! A front 17x6 wheel is ~14lbs!! This gives you a light wheel and not compromising so much on handling and normal drivability. Tires are a bit heavier, but at least it is a setup that can be driven as a street/strip setup with far less worries. Such as life, there is a give and take.

From a performance standpoint, the lighter wheel will outperform a heavier wheel. Using a lighter wheel, 60ft times will be faster, your braking distances shorter. Regarding a skinny front runner, I don't think any one used is safe to consider, no matter how durable. Everyday handling is thrown out the door. Come to think of it, using them on the street though BS may be suggested being street safe, from a legality standpoint, I don’t believe it is legal as a skinny wheel setup is far too narrow for the vehicle. Skinnies are outright unsafe to use in any situation other then on the track. If you were to drive any slick/skinny setup on the street, I’d do it at a very limited basis. Many tires used for slick/skinny setups are not highway approved either!!

Our direct fit LS1 Bogart wheels for example, if we are building for a stock LS1 setup, the fronts will be 9lbs, the rears 10lbs. This will be a net difference in almost 60lbs of weight you’re taking off your car (in comparison to our street/strip wheels or Billet Specialty wheels). Once again, 60ft times will be faster and braking distances shorter using our drag wheels.

I can build the front drag wheels down to 6.75lbs and the rears down to 8.5-9lbs…it depends on the customers brake setup. If you wanted an ultimate weight savings which is really worth quite a bit, change to drag brakes and our lightest wheels…You’ll drop an EASY .2-.3 tenths of a second in the 1/4. mile. Your car will also respond MUCH better with less wear and tear on the drivetrain and engine! It would be equivalent of say adding a 150 nitrous shot without worry of damaging the car. There’s a reason why you see many F-bodies racers running fast. Aside from increasing HP, they decreased weight which amplifies their HP/weight ratio. Sometimes folks concentrate on increasing HP too much instead of decreasing weight. If you can decrease weight you’re increasing durability and performance in the car. Go against the guy that has the same HP as you do, but he is 300lbs lighter…you’ll lose just about every time.

It is important to FIRST figure your goals and what you intend to do with any wheel setup you choose. Once you consider your wants/needs regarding goals and usage, your wheel choices should follow.

Let me know if you have any additional questions or concerns.

Good luck!

 

hey dragwheelz, any update on the front BS street-lites for f-bodies..I think i'm gonna get the fbody setup but I need to wait for the fronts and know for sure if they clear C5 brakes, need their extra stopping power lol :p

 

He already mentioned what he intended to do with his wheel setup. Run them on the track and drive them to work.

 

Thank you for the writeup...maybe I should explain my goals a little more in detail. I am building a Procharged 383 (650+ RWHP goals) and I want to make sure everything can handle the power first before I start digging into the motor. This means I am changing out the rear, building a good suspension, making sure the trans can handle the power, and also making sure my wheel/tires will perform.

This is going to be pretty much my daily driver for my 3 mile commute and a weekend cruiser, and of course a semi-track car. After reading so many people disapprove of skinnies on the street, I really don't plan on running them on the street for any extended period of time. I have driven my car with skinnies on the fronts and I can agree that it isn't very safe feeling on the streets, but great on the track.

My main concern really was making sure I have a wheel that would be sufficient for me to drive to the track, race, and drive back home while possibly keeping them on the car for an extra day or two around town. I have my ZR1s for street duty.

 

Just about any drag wheel should work for you. Many use drag wheels on the street...you need to be very careful. Not so much as to damaging them...but just normal driving. It will change dramatically.

I'd stick with a drag setup personally if you're looking to get the most out of your setup. You already have a street setup. I would even go as far as changing to drag brakes. The benefits of better stopping power and weight while lighter (and less epensive) wheel setups is always a plus.

Think of it this way, say to yourself "I'd rather have an all season tire for everyday driving or I'd rather have a summer tire for the summer and a winter tire for winter".

Would you consider using an all season tire when you know that the summer tire will outperform the all season tire during 99% of its use?

I'd also consider if you didn't setup a rear-end yet to shorten the rear-end quite a bit. It next comes down to budget. If you're looking for a budget setup, the prostar combo will be hard to beat. It will perform better then our or any street/strip wheels BUT not at the level of our drag wheels.

Using our wheels over a prostar combo will be like removing 50lbs of weight from your car...which is huge. The additional money invested in our wheels is less then purchasing a K-member and a set of prostars and our setup will be lighter in the end! Obviously both our Bogarts and k-member would be best, I don't know your budget.

 

You will be More then fine with our wheels. I can understand if you were a Motor car Looking to squeek Every Possible millisecond out of your ET Yes a Drag wheel package would benefit you more. Many people run and have run the Street lites Daily with no issues.

I would say The street lites are probably your Best option on what you stated your ultimate goal is.

 

Im working on that, It is on the To do list.

 

I'll have to disagree with dragwheels regarding performance gains. Every little bit does make a difference and does add up.

This has nothing to do with their wheels as we too build street/strip wheels as well (and have done so for many years before billet specialty probably thought of it)...I can offer you the same type of street/strip setup though I suggest otherwise. Ballpark numbers, you're looking at street/strip wheels around 1200-1500. If you’re going to consider spending that kind of cash, you may as well step up to true drag wheels which are in the ballpark as well which alone should drop .05-.1 of second. In addition giving you better stopping distances.

If you only want a street/strip setup, you may as well consider summit/jegs wheels which you’ll drop maybe 500.00 on a setup and be totally fine for a “street” configuration. The summit/jegs rear wheel falls around 15-16lbs. At least you’re not going to invest in wheels that offer you no other performance advantage. Only problem I have with it is it's not made in the USA.

I'd consider the drag wheels a far better choice for overall performance. If you're running over 650hp, you've invested quite a bit of money and time obviously. You have a race car at this point. You already have street wheels, no need for another set that handles terrible in comparison...

Even choosing a company such as weld's prostar would be a better choice if you had chose between our street/strip wheels or other street/strip wheels. Considering drag brakes as I've suggested would be a fantastic improvement. Stopping power is better than stock brakes. In the end, choosing combinations as I've suggested can easily drop .1 of a second or the equivalent of 100hp...These are not small increments trying to "squeak" anything possible out of your setup. These are real quantifiable gains.

I've suggested quite a few products and honest answers suggesting parts that we do not manufacture or design of which I would have no benefit to offer to you. Considering my advice, in the end, you will have a more reliable configuration making your motor and driveline work LESS.

The rest is up to you.

 

And Steve i would have to Disagree with you, We can do this all day long.

You have someone trying to Build a Street car, Well he wants to goto the track on days and drive the car there, back home and maybe around a few days after the track, Maybe to a car show or to the street races. That is exactly what our wheel was designed for. We offer a benefit over stock with weight savings, we offer the performance benefit of running the Sticky tire needed, and we can be durable on the street.

Read the first 3 lines above and tell me your wheel can and will do what i posted it will do without any problems. I know the Street lite does it all the time.

And yes you have mentioned Other wheels in that group. our wheels are a direct fit bolt on rear. And the fronts require minimal modification. i guess with all the grinding your doing with the other wheels, you get an added weight savings also..........

 

Are Bogarts warrantied if they are used on the street?

 

i think i can answer that as a NO..........................

 

Dragwheels, I would put our street/strip wheel up against the street/strip wheels you sell; they would both do equally well, they both would pass equally well regarding testing. I don’t think you’ll find one being really better than the other to be honest. I’m not going to tell you our street/strip is better. I’m not going to sugar coat anything. Both are made similar using a ONE piece barrel and ONE piece forged center. Both come in at around the same price. They will weigh almost the same, they will perform the same. One main difference is we have quite a bit more styles to choose from. I'm not sure you have the background and I know you do not have the history of the wheels durability regarding street use. We’ve been doing this for years. They’ve been used on even large trucks for years without failures. You could probably put the street/strip wheels you sell as well as ours up against many of the other street/strip 15" setups...and all fair about the same performance results on the track OR street. I am being forthright and honest with OUR products and making comparisons to others whereas yours may not come out on top.

…Regarding to the poster asking about warranty. I think you'll have a very difficult time receiving ANY warranty to damage from bending from potholes, curbing a wheel or general street damage. It doesn’t matter if it is called a street wheel or not. People bend so called “street” wheels all the time. There are no guarantees. I’d like to see in writing whereas billet, weld, centerline would consider this. …it won’t happen. Manufacture warranties typically pertain to quality control. No wheel is going to be impervious to damages. For example, billets 17” street wheel compared to our 17" RR wheel, I would bet our RR wheel will come on top regarding strength and durability. It is a higher quality manufactured wheel. Of course, nothing is for free; it does come at a price. Comparing a drag wheel to a street/strip wheel, the drag wheel will come out on top every time regarding racing performance period. If you use a drag wheel as a street wheel…it may not fare as well as a street wheel….BUT that is not what it was designed for.

If you want a street wheel that is in sizes of a drag configuration only wanting to look like a drag racer, you may as well consider summit/jegs wheels as they would see similar results in all areas AND saving you 1000.00 in the process. Personally, I think this is a poor choice as mentioned, not made in USA.

Once again, everything comes down to what the customers desired results as well as their budget.

 

HA! So you personally warranty the wheels you sell against street damages such as potholes etc etc??

You're really digging a hole aren't you? You see, I'm coming in here giving many solutions and considering other manufactures products as alternatives. I've also reasoned why I think the wheels we make being our street/strip designs are not as good of a solution if one is looking for racing benefits. If you only want to look like a racer, for 400.00 you can own a set of summit wheels and have the same benefits you boast about.

You on the other hand only feel that the wheels you sell are "best" don't you? Unfortunately, the wheels you sell, we've been building similar designs for many years ahead of you.

 

Dragwheels, without sounding rude, how old are you and what is your background if I may ask? Your company is only a few months old.

What are your qualifiications regarding discussions. People can hide behind the internet providing false security to the general public rather easily. I'm not saying this is the case for you, but I'm sure others including the original poster as well as myself would like to know who we are speaking with.

 

Feels like this thread is getting a little off track, please just talk about wheels and the original poster's questions.

I drove around on Weld Prostars and Draglites on the street for many years. Over those years I have two friends who both broke a front one. I think they both cracked. Nine Ball was one of those guys.

I've been on the street with the Bogart Bolted RT's for two years, a lot less street driving. I know of 5-6 folks who have had the shells split, but to be honest that's probably proportional to the amount of folks I know running them. One of them was Badhawk51, another one was Dan/Jim @ Speed Inc. on Drag Week.

I would never use Weld Alumastars or Drag Magnums on the streets, nor would I use the equivalent Bogarts, not sure which ones those are.