whalesalad
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2016
- Threads
- 38
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- 433
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- Location
- Costa Mesa, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2016 GT PP
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- #1
Many months ago, when I had my blizzak's on and Michigan was still dumping snow... I started to think about the coming spring/summer season and began to plan some of the modifications I was interested in making to my GT.
My good friend Alex operates a full-service wheel customization and refinishing service out of Southern California called Wheelflip. I built his website.
Alex also founded his own bespoke forged wheel brand called Arcane Wheels. This isn't your average fly-by-night wheel shop... these are carefully designed and manufactured - to exact vehicle specifications - here in the USA.
Here's Alex's S2000 [ame="[MEDIA=youtube]dzy8wPPfMW8[/MEDIA]"](featured on the smoking tire)[/ame] rocking his own 3-piece wheels at Auto Club Speedway:
I approached Alex with some questions about other wheels on the market and after a few weeks of considering different options he suggested we design and manufacture his first monoblock design.
I was apprehensive at first. I am a total OCD perfectionist. Alex put my concerns at ease, "I think there will be an element of satisfaction there that you won't get with other wheels - that you had a hand in how it looks."
So we started to walk through some of the characteristics that the wheel should have. Concavity, a deep, open lug design similar to the Forgeline GA1R, windowing detail to add character, and the right balance of masculinity and smooth curves. Alex was adamant from the beginning: we do not want to copy another wheel. We want a cohesive design that can borrow elements from other, successful brands, but it needs to be unique.
I think we accomplished just that.
Here's a look behind the curtain at some of the steps along the way.
Some of my horrible math calculations trying to determine how concave this would look. Turns out a 10" wide wheel is physically wider than 10". The more you know!
After a lot of back and forth and a few phases of renderings, Alex and his engineer reached a final design. I was completely shocked by the final product and couldn't wait to see them machined.
The raw forgings ready to be machined:
After machining:
On the scale:
The center detail:
Window detail:
Another close-up after machining:
The next step was to have them prepped and finished. I tossed and turned about this for days. My first thought was to go for a traditional brushed bronze look, where the wheel is brushed and then powdercoated. I also considered the classic "DDT" finish, or double-dark tint, which is a similar process applying various layers of powdercoat to achieve a tinted/clear finish.
Then Alex pulled a trick out of his sleeve: liquid bronze. It was a more expensive process because it's painted in a booth like a car, but the finished product would be incredible. You can do it over a brushed or a polished finish for completely different effects.
I decided to pull the trigger and go for the liquid bronze look. After all, this is a one of a kind set of forged wheels! Go big or go home.
Seeing them finished for the first time was a jaw-dropping experience:
Alex's racecar and his new Integra make a cameo here:
And in the sunlight, the color takes on an entirely new personality:
I LOVE how wet and dynamic the finish looks. From every angle, time of day, parked or rolling, sunny or cloudy, the wheels come alive.
Final steps were TPMS and tires. I ordered TPMS sensors on eBay and had them sent to Alex's shop.
I also ordered a set of Firestone Indy 500 285/35R19 tires and TireRack got those to him overnight.
We ran into a few issues with TPMS that are worth noting. The stems are a little, ahem, girthy on the OEM units. After looking around on the forum, I found this thread that talks about Dill VS 925B valve stems. I ordered a set from Vampa Tire in Miami and had those rushed to Alex.
Here is a shot of the OEM stem barely fitting into the wheel and then sorta falling apart:
And here is how things came together with the Dill stems:
Now for tire mounting whih was performed right next-door to Alex's shop at R Compound USA.
Getting tagged on the 'gram with a shot of the wheels/tires mounted was exhilarating. We started this process at the beginning of March and it was finally coming down to the finish line!
I was checking for the UPS guy probably once every 2-3 minutes for the entire day. He showed up at 8PM!!!!
I wish I had more photos of the packaging because it was above and beyond. The wheels were shrink wrapped, surrounded by double-walled cardboard as well as foam sheets. I was worried they'd get damaged in shipment but these things were absolutely protected.
My wife couldn't stop petting them because the finish was so smooth
And finally... after building up the courage to mount these fine art pieces on my Mustang... here they are on the car!
I am so incredibly happy with how these turned out. Forged wheels are not cheap, but I would do this again in a heartbeat.
For those interested in the sizing, these are 19x10, +35, on all four corners.
Huge thanks to my bud Alex for putting up with all the non-stop questions on the design, window options, finishing options, colors, tires, TPMS sensors, stems, shipping options, it goes on and on. A lot of work goes into producing something like this.
I hope those of you who are excited about this design (or some of the others will reach out to Alex at Arcane Wheels to discuss a solution for your Mustang!
My good friend Alex operates a full-service wheel customization and refinishing service out of Southern California called Wheelflip. I built his website.
Alex also founded his own bespoke forged wheel brand called Arcane Wheels. This isn't your average fly-by-night wheel shop... these are carefully designed and manufactured - to exact vehicle specifications - here in the USA.
Here's Alex's S2000 [ame="[MEDIA=youtube]dzy8wPPfMW8[/MEDIA]"](featured on the smoking tire)[/ame] rocking his own 3-piece wheels at Auto Club Speedway:
I approached Alex with some questions about other wheels on the market and after a few weeks of considering different options he suggested we design and manufacture his first monoblock design.
I was apprehensive at first. I am a total OCD perfectionist. Alex put my concerns at ease, "I think there will be an element of satisfaction there that you won't get with other wheels - that you had a hand in how it looks."
So we started to walk through some of the characteristics that the wheel should have. Concavity, a deep, open lug design similar to the Forgeline GA1R, windowing detail to add character, and the right balance of masculinity and smooth curves. Alex was adamant from the beginning: we do not want to copy another wheel. We want a cohesive design that can borrow elements from other, successful brands, but it needs to be unique.
I think we accomplished just that.
Here's a look behind the curtain at some of the steps along the way.
Some of my horrible math calculations trying to determine how concave this would look. Turns out a 10" wide wheel is physically wider than 10". The more you know!
After a lot of back and forth and a few phases of renderings, Alex and his engineer reached a final design. I was completely shocked by the final product and couldn't wait to see them machined.
The raw forgings ready to be machined:
After machining:
On the scale:
The center detail:
Window detail:
Another close-up after machining:
The next step was to have them prepped and finished. I tossed and turned about this for days. My first thought was to go for a traditional brushed bronze look, where the wheel is brushed and then powdercoated. I also considered the classic "DDT" finish, or double-dark tint, which is a similar process applying various layers of powdercoat to achieve a tinted/clear finish.
Then Alex pulled a trick out of his sleeve: liquid bronze. It was a more expensive process because it's painted in a booth like a car, but the finished product would be incredible. You can do it over a brushed or a polished finish for completely different effects.
I decided to pull the trigger and go for the liquid bronze look. After all, this is a one of a kind set of forged wheels! Go big or go home.
Seeing them finished for the first time was a jaw-dropping experience:
Alex's racecar and his new Integra make a cameo here:
And in the sunlight, the color takes on an entirely new personality:
I LOVE how wet and dynamic the finish looks. From every angle, time of day, parked or rolling, sunny or cloudy, the wheels come alive.
Final steps were TPMS and tires. I ordered TPMS sensors on eBay and had them sent to Alex's shop.
I also ordered a set of Firestone Indy 500 285/35R19 tires and TireRack got those to him overnight.
We ran into a few issues with TPMS that are worth noting. The stems are a little, ahem, girthy on the OEM units. After looking around on the forum, I found this thread that talks about Dill VS 925B valve stems. I ordered a set from Vampa Tire in Miami and had those rushed to Alex.
Here is a shot of the OEM stem barely fitting into the wheel and then sorta falling apart:
And here is how things came together with the Dill stems:
Now for tire mounting whih was performed right next-door to Alex's shop at R Compound USA.
Getting tagged on the 'gram with a shot of the wheels/tires mounted was exhilarating. We started this process at the beginning of March and it was finally coming down to the finish line!
I was checking for the UPS guy probably once every 2-3 minutes for the entire day. He showed up at 8PM!!!!
I wish I had more photos of the packaging because it was above and beyond. The wheels were shrink wrapped, surrounded by double-walled cardboard as well as foam sheets. I was worried they'd get damaged in shipment but these things were absolutely protected.
My wife couldn't stop petting them because the finish was so smooth
And finally... after building up the courage to mount these fine art pieces on my Mustang... here they are on the car!
I am so incredibly happy with how these turned out. Forged wheels are not cheap, but I would do this again in a heartbeat.
For those interested in the sizing, these are 19x10, +35, on all four corners.
Huge thanks to my bud Alex for putting up with all the non-stop questions on the design, window options, finishing options, colors, tires, TPMS sensors, stems, shipping options, it goes on and on. A lot of work goes into producing something like this.
I hope those of you who are excited about this design (or some of the others will reach out to Alex at Arcane Wheels to discuss a solution for your Mustang!
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