Performance Wheel Test - Volk Racing

RAYS Volk Racing RE30
What’s a wheel test if we didn’t include Volk Racing Wheels. The RE30 is the newest in its line of forged monoblock wheels. Manufactured by RAYS Japan (like all Volk wheels), the RE30 was designed as the premier no-compromise, non-center-lock track wheel for maximum strength and minimal weight.

Performance Wheel Test Volks Rays Re30 Wheel

The patented RM8000 process is unique in that it uses an open die, which allows the aluminum to squish and expand naturally, thus ensuring continuous and dense metal grain flow. During RM8000 forging, the wheel face is simultaneously forged with pressure from the top and bottom, while at the same time spinning the wheel so the hoop is partially extruded out. The voids between spokes are then punched out and the inside of the hoop profile is formed. The wheel is then reheated and quenched for final strength. Machining is kept to a minimum as it increases stress risers and breaks in the metal flow. The wheel’s surface is also shot-blasted to add surface strength.

The RAYS forging process begins with its proprietary version A6061-T6 billet disk of aluminum (an alloy designed specifically for forging) that is first hot-forged into the rough shape of a wheel. This initial forging squishes the disk to create the features on the wheel face as well as the material that will be extruded into the hoop. A second proprietary low-heat forging process called RM8000 further refines the wheel shape and ensures the continuous grain and metal flow throughout the wheel.

The initial hot forging is performed on a 10,000-ton press (the only one in the world used for automotive applications) to rough out the wheel’s shape from a piece of billet.
The initial hot forging is performed on a 10,000-ton press (the only one in the world used
RAYS’ proprietary RM8000 forging process is a unique open die spinning process, where the wheel hoop is extruded while the face is further cold-forged.
RAYS’ proprietary RM8000 forging process is a unique open die spinning process, where the

SSR Type-F
The only multi-piece wheel in our wheel test, the Type-F is SSR’s replacement wheel for the venerable Type-C. The face of the new type is made from SSR’s patented SSF (semi-solid forging) process. SSF starts with an extremely pure aluminum that’s been alloyed and treated through a process called Magneto-Hydro Dynamics (MHD) to have an ideal crystalline structure. The alloy is then heated to a semi-solid state and then forced into a die at high pressures and speed, causing the metal to take the shape of the wheel face while still retaining its original microstructure and continuous grainflow. This is much denser and stronger than conventional casting. The wheel’s hoop is spun and heat-treated to increase hoop strength before it is welded to the Type-F face.

THE TESTS
As much as we wanted to be absolutely scientific about our testing methodology, the secretive nature of wheel manufacturing meant that there was limited data and information that we could get from each manufacturer, so we resorted to our own ad hoc, but real-world garage and track tests

Performance Wheel Test Volks Rays Re30 Water Displacement

First off would be the simple tests that everyone looks for: price and weight, which we’ve listed on page 96. One thing to keep in mind is that lighter doesn’t necessarily mean better or stronger. While a light wheel will have less unsprung weight, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it has less rotational inertia. Much of that has to do with how the material is distributed throughout the wheel. Less weight can also mean less strength if the wheel wasn’t strengthened through forging.

While we’re no metallurgists, the average density of each wheel can also say something about its strength. Each wheel is made of aluminum, and the more densely the metal is compacted together or forged, the stronger the wheel is. But because no one would give us exact material properties or the computer-generated solid model files of each wheel that would allow us to determine wheel volume precisely, we resorted to dunking each wheel inside a tub of water and figuring out how much water it displaces. Divide the wheel volume by its weight, and we have a ballpark density for each wheel, even though this included the paint on the wheel. Either way, the forged wheels should have a higher density than the cast wheels.

One other physical aspect of a wheel is its mass moment of inertia (more commonly referred to as rotational inertia). Rotational inertia basically indicates how hard it will be to start and stop a wheel from spinning.In theory, this will affect braking and acceleration performance. But rotational inertia is affected not only by a wheel’s weight and shape, but more importantly how the weight is distributed throughout the wheel and its overall size. Two same-weight wheels could have vastly different amounts of rotational inertia if the weight or metal in the wheel was distributed differently. A wheel with a heavy hoop will have more rotational inertia than an identically heavy wheel whose weight is mostly in the hub.