My kingdom for Panasport C8-17! (G7-C8S)

[KyleAnderson]

Kyle, your name looks familiar.

I haven't considered exactly that, but it is worth looking into. I'd have to find a suitable center to work from, and the only one I can think of right now might be the Panasport Formula One C8FE? But that wheel is a single casting. I'm not sure what else would work and get me the look I'm after. Maybe you can clarify a bit here on the capabilities.

Maybe the 16" monoblock Panasport FS-16 would be a better starting point? I need to find out if they can work from a 1-piece cast wheel. Time to give them a call I guess.


The existing centers I'd consider are the Panasport C8-15 and C8-16, however the C8-16 is already an up-sized C8-15 where they share the same diameter center. The 16s look pretty bad to me with the up-sized barrels, and I'm afraid 17" would only make things that much worse.

Take a look at what this guy does:

http://www.stanceworks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42940

The first option would be to cut the centers out on a lathe, then weld them to a single piece barrel. This is how many wheels used to be made, like the PS Engineering wheels you posted. The trick is getting a face to match the inside diameter of an existing barrel. MemoryFab could help you with this sizing.

From that link, you can see that people will also convert a 1 piece wheel to 3 piece. As long as there's sufficient bolt flange thickness (~.5") and width, lips/barrels can be made in any size to fit. As rice4life said, the Enkei Compe looks like the best candidate with the thick ring between where the spokes end and the outer rim. The slats would be machined off.

[BenFenner]

Enkei compe faces would be your best bet if you're going to convert them to 3 piece.

You do have a point there. I wonder if taking a cast 1-piece wheel and turning it into a 3-piece (like they did with the Fuchs wheels for the 911) is something anyone wants to tackle for a one-off project.

Have you considered looking for a dealer to perhaps find a set on Yahoo Japan? I'm not sure if these are extremely rare or something, but for a relatively decent price- considering what lengths it seems you'll go to in order to find some, perhaps looking in Japan could yield a better result?

I've only recently started looking at Japanese auction sites. It seems to me the G7-C8R is a much more popular design over there (maybe cheaper than the G7-C8S that I'm looking for?) and finding a 17" Panasport is not likely. I've found much more evidence of 17" Panasports in the US than I have in Japan. However, I might not be looking in the right places. I will certainly try harder, and a dedicated dealer might be the way to go.

Rennstall offers these services, as well as many others- some of which sell wheels on the Stanceworks forum.

Got any more company names? I will look into this for sure. Thank you!



Edit: I've sent an e-mail to Rennstall just now. We'll see what they say. I'd still like to know who else provides this type of service.

[Strawhat]

Have you considered looking for a dealer to perhaps find a set on Yahoo Japan? I'm not sure if these are extremely rare or something, but for a relatively decent price- considering what lengths it seems you'll go to in order to find some, perhaps looking in Japan could yield a better result?
Rennstall offers these services, as well as many others- some of which sell wheels on the Stanceworks forum.

[rice4life]

Enkei compe faces would be your best bet if you're going to convert them to 3 piece.

[BenFenner]

Kyle, your name looks familiar.

Have you considered cutting the faces from a set of wheels and having them re-barreled to make a 2 piece welded wheel?

http://www.memoryfab.com/blog/view/2

I haven't considered exactly that, but it is worth looking into. I'd have to find a suitable center to work from, and the only one I can think of right now might be the Panasport Formula One C8FE? But that wheel is a single casting. I'm not sure what else would work and get me the look I'm after. Maybe you can clarify a bit here on the capabilities.

Maybe the 16" monoblock Panasport FS-16 would be a better starting point? I need to find out if they can work from a 1-piece cast wheel. Time to give them a call I guess.

Or alternatively, custom lips/barrels to upsize an existing 3 piece wheel?

http://www.tunershop.com/Wheel_acces.../custom_built/

The existing centers I'd consider are the Panasport C8-15 and C8-16, however the C8-16 is already an up-sized C8-15 where they share the same diameter center. The 16s look pretty bad to me with the up-sized barrels, and I'm afraid 17" would only make things that much worse.

[KyleAnderson]

Have you considered cutting the faces from a set of wheels and having them re-barreled to make a 2 piece welded wheel?

http://www.memoryfab.com/blog/view/2

Or alternatively, custom lips/barrels to upsize an existing 3 piece wheel?

http://www.tunershop.com/Wheel_accessories/Outer_Lips/custom_built/

[BenFenner]

These are the places that make a Minilite knock-off but that don't come in 17" sizes. For those looking for 16" or smaller these would be worth considering:


Enkei Compe - Odd rim slats but otherwise very good.

Panasport G7-C8R - Very similar to the G7-C8S this thread is about, but the hub face is much more contoured or sunken in versus the spokes. They don't come in 17", and are only sold in Japan.

Rota RB and others - In some offsets and sizes they look okay, and in others they look quite bad. I'm not sure what's worse, an XXR wheel or a Rota wheel. =/

VTO Performace (formerly Pack Racing) Classic 8 - Pretty decent Minilite copy popular for classic 911s.

XXR (formerly Sportmax) 513 "Banana Sport" - Hilariously thick spokes and hilariously poor quality. Somehow, they still look amazing. If they came in 17" I'd consider them.
(These seem to be out of production now.)

XXR (formerly Sportmax) 537 "Nostalgic" - A newer design from XXR and getting close to a good Minilite copy. If they came in 17" I'd consider them even though the quality is probably abysmal.

[BenFenner]

These are the similar options in 17" that I've found in case someone else is willing to settle for less:


Compomotive ML - This may or may not be a Minilite copy as I haven't done the timeline research. If they did copy the Minilite, they copied the uglier smooth-spoked versions that lack a spine to the spoke. Not really my style, but some people can't tell the difference?
Apparently they heard my plea for a 17" version of this wheel on Facebook back in 2012, as this 17" version is very new.

Image Wheels RM2 - More of a Compomotive ML knock-off than a proper Minilite knock-off, but decent. Their RM3 would be perfect, but only comes in 13".

Panasport Formula One C8FE - These are 17" Panasports that look the part, and are monoblock. They even come in Z3 fitment, but only for non-M cars. The offset isn't right for the M Coupe. If only they had a little more dish they would be perfect. These are only sold in Japan.

Performance Alloy Wheels Superlite - The look is perfect, and when you click on the images of their 16" offerings they state they are considering 17" and 18" versions. They are monoblock which has its benefits and drawbacks.
Edit from 2019-12-01: It looks like they offer 17" wheels now, and being shown on Mighty Car Mods seems to have helped them out? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_iQjpn7Pzc
The US distributor is Trans AM Race Engineering

PS Engineering Wheels T/A - II - These border on a Watanabe RS knock-off which make them completely unsuited for my needs. Too bad, they are almost there. It is very weird to see this Minlite/Watanabe hybrid design. Usually wheels are clearly one or the other. These wheels use an awkward older non-tapered lug setup. Better pics.

Rota RB Rear (RB-R, RBR) - Quite ugly convex spoke design and not offered in 5x120 nor in wider sizes. Plus I hatе Rota with a passion.

Rota RB-X - Almost looks the part, and if they had a 5x120 bolt pattern and wider options I might consider them even though I hatе Rota with a passion.

Superlite Wheels Ultralite - Not organic enough of a spoke design for me. But available up to 19" for those who want.

Team Three Wheels LT-III - The company is popular with the Factory Five and general domestic crowd. Sadly they copied a lesser known Minilite wheel with an awkward raised circle where the spokes meet the hub which ruins the look for me. Good fitment options though.

Vintage Wheel Works Vintage 48 - Even uglier than the Team Three Wheels LT-III.

[BenFenner]

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Edit From The Future: I obtained the wheels. Skip to post #30 for the first of MANY pics.

I've been in negotiations with Panasport for two years working on a set of 17" C8 wheels. I've gone so far as to have two different translators try to contact the Panasport president in Japan and the sole distributor in the US (I learned they are brothers). Panasport is notoriously difficult to deal with from the US, and after finally settling on an acceptable fitment and agreeing to their newly insane $800 shipping charge the final word in 2014 seems to be that they are no longer shipping C8 wheels to the US.

I'm not sure if that is the truth, but it is the best info I have to go on. I've been told by someone raised in Japan that they are probably (incorrectly) worried that if the wheels don't fit my application (they have never supplied for my chassis before) then I will sue the crap out of them?!

Needless to say, I've contacted every US reseller and since they all have to go through Mas in California (the brother of the Panasport president) they all have the same story. They can't help me.


I'm not aware of any Panasport C8 wheels in a 5x120 bolt pattern (BMW) so I've given up there. I'd love to find a set of C8-17 in a 5 lug, but I would settle for a set in 4 lug. At this point I realize I'm going to have to have them filled and re-drilled anyway. I don't care what barrels they come with, or if they have none at all. Wheel bore is also of no concern anymore. I will settle for ANYTHING in a 17" configuration.

I'm looking for a used set, or someone who can magically get a new set out of Panasport.
I've considered getting some contacts in Japan to buy me a used set and ship them over, but they don't seem to come up for sale in Japan's auction sites nearly as often as you'd expect. 17" sets seem to be extremely rare. I only know of 4-6 sets in the US.

I'm so desperate I'm willing to offer a $200-$500 finders fee (depending on how well they match my needs) to anyone who can get these wheel centers in my hands.

Any and all advice is welcome. Please do not feel bad if you suggest another brand of wheel that "looks the same" and I find some flaw with the idea. I believe I am aware of the alternatives and they are not adequate for my needs.


I will update this thread with more information as I find it. I feel like I'm a Minilite and Minilite knock-off expert now having researched the topic for the past decade.


And so we can have an idea of what we're talking about here. This is a confirmed C8-17 wheel (originally with a gold center that I photoshopped silver).