Primax Wheel Quality? (lets try again...)

[Valiant100SM]

I searched here and on CC, got squat about this manufacturer. They appear to be out of SoCal, made in USA, but their web site SUCKS, and I can't find anything meaningful about them. That said, their Sport Max series looks nice, pretty simple and sort of generic, just the kind of thing that would look at home on a Plymouth Valiant. I'm needing a 17x9 in the 35mm offset range to sneak 275's under all four corners, and these are cheap enough to play with:

They're pretty much all over ePay for $500/set +/- some shipping, but I just can't find anyone actually USING them. I can hold off and find a used Ford wheel for a bunch less for testing purposes and I know the Ford wheels clear the calipers, but these might look good for keeps if they won't drop a center on the autoX course. That's the only track time Elvira will ever see.

Thoughts? Opinions? Options?

Thanks in advance,

Clair

[Norwoodx55]

That is a descent looking affordable wheel. I would be interested to hear any feedback on it as well. Have you found any place to buy them other than on flea bay?
Brett

[Valiant100SM]

So far, ePay is the only place, but there must be others. I'll be wearing google out for a while on this one, I think.

Clair

[Steve Chryssos]

Never heard of em. I would post their address and see if maybe one of our members can pop in on them--check the wheels out in person. What are they? Cast? Billet? It's hard to tell.

[69Nova]

Those are nice looking wheels. And do you mean 500+ for a whole set?

[Derek69SS]

My dad put a set of Primax's on a '95 bonneville a few years ago. They were a cheap cast aluminum wheel that looked similar to the Grand Prix 5-spoke.

The quality on them seemed good for the price, but they had a powdercoated cast finish so I can't really comment on the finish of their polished or chrome wheels. I also remember the center cap was a cheesy piece of plastic.

[Valiant100SM]

These particular wheels ARE cast, and are available in a silver center, too. A few of their other styles are bronze, black, white, and chrome, IIRC. They're down in the LA area, IIRC, and have the capacity for something like 250K wheels/yr at the plant. I'm trying to find the web site where I read that stuff the other night, it certainly wasn't on their lame "home page."

And yes, that's the price per set, +/-. The widest 17 they have is 9", but they have a good selection of 18's and above, too. They even have some forged wheels, but the widest was a 7" wheel... why even bother?


ON EDIT: Looks like you can find them at Wheelmax.com in their "specials" section, too. 18's up to 9.5" wide or so... Still looking for real tech.

ON EDIT AGAIN: Found the link. Note that not all of the ePay styles are shown, and I think some of them are kind of dated. Not sure what this place is selling...

Clair

[bobbaganoosh]

I have a set of the silver centers, 17x7 and 9's on the back because I wanted the staggered look. It's a good looking wheel but I'd say they were a little on the heavy side. I haven't weighed them but they feel heavier than my old wheels with my "calibrated elbow" I got mine off of ebay about 6 months ago. There's also a guy on lateral-g that has a set of 18" on a rambler. I can post some pics or measurements if you like. I have Wilwood 4 piston forged billet superlites on the front of my mustang and they didn't clear, but I have a home made setup. I am using a redrilled c5 rotor and brackets I machined. I had to make a hubcentric spacer so they would clear but since the 7" wheel has a FWD offset everything fits. I haven't driven on them yet, so I can't say anything about strength issues. They didn't take a lot of weight mounting them.

Aaron

[Valiant100SM]

I think I saw the 17x9" as something like 25# somewhere, which ain't no featherweight, but isn't much worse than the 17x8" Cobra wheels I have now. I COULD live with that, but part of the point of sticking with 17's for me is the lighter wheels... the light weight calipers make up for that, right? Hopefully that weight translates in to some form of strength.

As for where to find these wheels in the wild, this place seems to have decent deals on them, slightly less than the net cost on ePay. I'm still inclined to order one and see how it fits, but there ought to be a cheaper way of doing that...

Clair

[bobbaganoosh]

Where are you in Ft. Worth? I live in Burleson & work in Fort Worth. I can bring one by and let you test fit it if you want. I don't have tires on the 9" s yet. Shoot me a PM if you are interested.

Aaron

[Valiant100SM]

Well, I got a chance to see one of these wheels in person. Bobbaganoosh, AKA, Aaron, brought one by that he's using on his Mustang project, and we tossed it on my Valiant as a test fit. In a nutshell, it's a pretty wheel, and although it's not high tech or very light, it doesn't look poorly made, either. Best of all, it fits my chassis/drivetrain combo really well. Witness:



Plenty of space to the leaf spring:


Fits under the quarter:


A little massage work on the outer wheel well may or may not be required. Note the strange "lip" on this wheel:


Again, I want to say thanks to Aaron who was nice enough to go out of his way to bring the wheel by and let me see what kind of crack I was smoking while sizing everything up.

Clair

[Steve Chryssos]

Nice. Those flat face spokes are a good match for the flat side surfaces of your Valiant.

[Valiant100SM]

Thanks, Steve, I think so, too. I'm still toying with the dark centers, for a tad more understatement, but I'm also having some trouble with the way the wheel has that second lip. Kind of makes the rim protector on the tire a moot point. The wheels on my wife's old Acura had centers that stuck out farther than the tires, and you've only got to curb those once to ruin the wheel. Although I'm "pretty sure" I'm more careful behind the wheel than she is some times schtuff happens. In any event, I'd like to end up with a wheel that's a little more open than the Cobras I have now, even if it means exposing my drum brakes out back...

Clair