PANASPORT wheels street legal?

[driftgodleo]

I've gone to many sites that sell the Panasport C8 Racing wheel and they always state that the Racing wheels should only be used for track and never for street use. Does this mean its illegal to use them on the street or does company just want seem professional?

[driftgodleo]

Seriously guys, I know it's a silly question, but I really want to know!

[DMan II-40]

i dont think there is such thing as illegal wheels. Tires, yes, wheels no. At leats im pretty sure.

[brizanden]

they might say that cause they might be really light weight and not hold up well to driving on bumpy cracked roads..... idk tho seems weird.

[spooled240]

I know in japan and other countries they have a "safety inspection" where they check little stuff like wheels and such but in the states I don't think that is a problem. By law they probably have to be DOT appoved but I have heard of a law on legal wheels.

[glitched]

I think they are just trying to cover their ***

[tofupowered]

well it's definitely for insurance purposes i would say. it's smart on their end, if you end up buying them and you bend a wheel hittin a massive pothole or something then it's your fault for abusing them on the street. if i made wheels strictly for race use i would do the same thing / and also state the danger in using race wheels for street use.

[driftgodleo]

Thanks guys this helps me a lot. I do plan to put them on my daily driver/track car. I'll get them in 16's or 15's so there's enough rubber to cover the rim.

[Slappy]

Panasport is well known superb quality wheel thats used in TONS of motorsport series. They can also be used on the street , if you have the money.

[nismofly]

i believe if you go to panasports site they list certain wheels as having both street and track models

no real difference in looks, just the track models will trade some strength for weight savings and arent worth it on the street, just get the street version

go to panasports site and check it, then ask the place you buy the wheels from about it just to be sure

[driftgodleo]

The ones I want are the C8's. They have some serious lip, look good, available in 5 lug or 4 lug, and offer a wide range in sizes for the diameter of the wheel and the width.I'd get the wheels in Silver.

[nismofly]

yeah they mean it when they say the C8 is track only

you could look into watanabe for arguably the same wheels in a street application, but theyre a bit more expensive

[driftgodleo]

Yea I looked on the Watanabe website and the wheels are pretty similar to the Panasports(Panasports look better), but the watanabe's only come in 4 lug bolt pattern. However one of their options for the wheels is that they offer a speacial bolt pattern for an extra $20 a wheel. Does that mean I could get the wheels in 5 lug?

[glitched]

Yea I looked on the Watanabe website and the wheels are pretty similar to the Panasports(Panasports look better), but the watanabe's only come in 4 lug bolt pattern. However one of their options for the wheels is that they offer a speacial bolt pattern for an extra $20 a wheel. Does that mean I could get the wheels in 5 lug?

*ahem

ive got 2 whole sets of 5 lug watanabes... so yes, you can get them in 5 lug.

[adrianfromthecastle]

well it's definitely for insurance purposes i would say. it's smart on their end, if you end up buying them and you bend a wheel hittin a massive pothole or something then it's your fault for abusing them on the street. if i made wheels strictly for race use i would do the same thing / and also state the danger in using race wheels for street use.

yep basically. I'd say its for insurance.

[driftgodleo]

What are your measurements for the wheels? How much did a set cost you?

[glitched]

What are your measurements for the wheels? How much did a set cost you?

I got my main set (single piece) 2nd hand off of a R32 skyline for $80016x7 16x8 Offset: +15Here's a pic of the original owner's car.

My spare set (two piece with lip) are also 16x7 16x8 offsets i cant remember. here you can kinda see the lip on the two piece

my 2 piece 16x8 are actually lighter than my single piece 16x8, so for track days I mix the sets...

[driftgodleo]

Thanks. I'll probably consider the watanabe's. Do you know the widest you can go with the watanabe's? I wan to get them in 17x9 front and 17x10 rear if they can go that wide. I like the two piece with lip.

[driftgodleo]

Or maybe 16's. lol

[glitched]

From my experience, its best waiting around to find used watanabe's that match what you want.

From what I understand, watanabes arent really in production anymore, but they can be still ordered from certain places with custom sizes for quite the price. I believe takumi project has a agreement where new wheels can still be special ordered.

Otherwise, set up a ebay watch list, look into yahoo japan auctions, watch various forums, take a look at some of the retailers that specialized in used JDM wheels etc.

I wanted an "old school" look while still having fairly lightweight wheels, and thats what i got, it took patience though.

I could have dropped the dough on new panasports or special order watanabe's, but if i was going to spend that kind of money on wheels, i would have went with one of the more modern day lightweights like volk te's or ce's

[gumby74]

Don't know if this is relevant or even currently the case, but an uncle of mine has an old school set of original Watanabe's on his schweet *** Celica. He eventually learned that the wheels are magnesium.While being quite hard, magnesium is in fact brittle and once the surface coating is compromised, the metal will start to become quite pitted and begin to deteriorate. He spent quite a bit on reconditioning, but damned if that old car doesn't turn some heads.