Originally Posted by
hana166
Just wanted to revive this topic. I posted earlier that the Speedmind were best. I do agree with the above poster, they are almost indestructible and have been my favourite for ages.
But, entirely by accident, I found out something. I ran out of my usual Speedmind rims and had put together a set of Sorex28/Sorex rim/JB insert, and found the level of grip much higher with the stiffer Sorex rim. Night and day different with the 417, and slightly better with the Xray T3. The 417 was definitely more sensitive to the change. Permanent carpet track.
I would have thought there would be more grip with a flexible rim. So while I agree with the above poster, for club meetings and most people the Speedmind rules, there might be something in what RCMarket is saying in that the rim is too soft. I'm not too quick but rarely crash, and certainly I would like to try the Yokomo dish wheels to see if there is an improvement in grip and consistency.
Can anyone tell me the order of hardness of the Yokomo rims, I don't know which ones to buy, there are different model numbers.
There CAN be a difference in grip level with more flexible rims. I'm of the frame of mind that MOST club level racers (hobbiests on a budget) outdoors would be best served with more forgiving rims. Indoors, darn near everyone but the best would, too. Most people would prefer to have a flexible rim that survived a hit into the boards and was 90% as responsive as a stiffer rim, especially with premium (SOREX, etc) tires. That way, you still have a good set of tires/rims for the next meet!
If you're in the top 10-20% of your field, you're probably already in tune with what rim/tire/insert combo works best with your set up, and will choose what fits conditions anyway.
The reason you saw a difference is because you've found the sweet spot in your set up, and the dynamic forces are working your suspension properly instead of being hidden in the slight flex of the rims.
The 417 is a heck of a car, and if your skill level is sufficient that you can tell a difference in rims, then you know which ones to pick for the conditions! Just be aware that most of the rims that fit in the "hard/stiff" category are ABS, and will break where a nylon rim will flex. As a bonus, the ABS rims can be fixed with ABS cement from the plumbing section at any of the box home improvement stores. There are hard/stiff rims made from nylon, too, most notably the hot weather offering from Sweep.
Originally Posted by
bukil
Does anyone know the part# of the AE rims that are identical to the Yoks?
3991 is the current part number for the 24mm Aero Dish Wheels. Good general purpose wheel.