Volk Racing/Rays Engineering TE37VSL

[RCMike]

So I have been working with Garm and Jeff at MicroImage for quite a while on this. I decided I wanted to try something different.. I was thinking about doing the standard TE37V, but then one day in June, Jeff pointed out that they were going to do a very limited production run of the TE37VSL.. Ordered.

Because they are special, limited production, you order, then they put it in the queue for production in Japan. Once they are built, they ship it by container.

Mine arrived last week!



Open box!


We test fit them on the car, fit was perfect. My axle is a touch narrower than stock, so the 15x7.5 +6 wheel was just right.


Immediately, ordered tires, in this case, the Toyo Proxes R1R in 195/50-15. Tires arrived today.

[Linda]

Got some nice strong lug nuts in the hubs, Mike? Don't want those nice wheels coming loose--

Linda

[peeeter]

Beautiful! Can you give us more detail on pricing and ordering?

[RCMike]

Peeeter, I got them through Jeff at Micro Image in the San Fernando Valley. I would call him and see if he knows if they are still making this wheel. I know they are still making the TE37V without the hollow spokes, and those are available in various finishes and sizes. Jeff will walk you through everything you need to know.
http://shop.microimageonline.com

[dbrick]

Nice, what will you do for center caps?

[notoptoy]

So are the rubbing noises gone??
More video with that sexy VVL kicking in!

[RCMike]

Dave, what are center caps? lol

Notoptoy, the noises are gone.. The rear tires being cheater 195/50-15 tires, are actually wider than the 205/45-16 that I took off.. So the rubber is still rubbing under hard corners.. Not sure what I can do to fix it except go to smaller tires. But it's now rubber on metal instead of aluminum on steel.. Just some rubber smell when pushing..

Edit:[youtube][/youtube]

[pebbles]

Rubber smell?












Is that a problem?

[RCMike]

I felt the back of the spokes, and I guess it is not hollow/grooved.. It is "shaved" whatever that means.. All I know is it weighs 11 lbs. a wheel..

[garth]

Dave, what are center caps? lol

Notoptoy, the noises are gone.. The rear tires being cheater 195/50-15 tires, are actually wider than the 205/45-16 that I took off.. So the rubber is still rubbing under hard corners.. Not sure what I can do to fix it except go to smaller tires. But it's now rubber on metal instead of aluminum on steel.. Just some rubber smell when pushing..

Edit:[youtube][/youtube]

FWIW:

I had same problem, rubbing outside of the wheel wells on hard cornering. I fixed it by shaving 3/16" off the inside of wheel hub which allows the tires to clear under any cornering conditions so far. Cost $20 per wheel.

[RCMike]

We already talked about this possibility. I was thinking about 4mm.. The one issue is no one wants to work these wheels.

We had to take a few thousandths off the center cap retainers to clear the front hub, which does not bother me, but we told the machinist it was 6061 aluminum, which according to Volk it is, and he said this is so much stronger than any 6061 he has ever seen.. His mill was pissed..lol

[youtube][/youtube]

And of course I had to do all 4 since my spare will not clear the front brakes..

Anyway, after the second, when he asked us for like the 10th time what material these really are, we showed him the web site and he saw the mold forging they use, and

His poor tool was screaming, even lubed with as much as he could slather on..

[Alvin]

Well done Mike!
One of my favorite wheels of all time
And no, not every wheel looks good with a center cap! Leave them as is

ps Mike you are braver than I, I cringed at the video and actually saw $50 bills being turned into confetti with each round of the drill bit

[RCMike]

Thanks Alvin! I was more worried the tool would snap and kill a whole wheel. It should have been an easy fix, but the aluminum is SOOO strong.. Literally his monster Bridgeport was vibrating.

Garth, this shot shows it best.. It's just tire on back edge fender.. But I want to be careful that I don't spin the car at the track and catch that edge with the wheel going the wrong way..

[Alvin]

Mike from these pics it looks like the 15x7.5 +6 could just be too wide for the front?




I agree if you can stomach it maybe shaving some material off the pad could help. Or some other tire brands may run a bit "thinner" in 195/50/15, or even try a 195/45/15 (though not square).

[RCMike]

I believe that picture was taken with the spacers still in there.. I was trying to avoid machining the center bores.

They still poke just a touch..

Well maybe not.. the sunset one was taken today.. I guess I have more poke than I see looking at it in person..lol