I have been researching wheels for the Bricklin and thought y'all might be
interested in the results.
The OEM wheels on Bricklins are sand cast aluminum. Bricklin seems to have
chosen a wheel manufacturer based more on price than quality. A significant
proportion of Bricklin wheels are out of round. That makes them difficult to
balance and leads to vibration at highway speeds and tire wear problems.
Some companies can true the OEM wheels. I have heard varying reports of success
on this and the cost approaches that or a new wheel.
New wheels are available, but none very close to the OEM wheels in appearance.
Few dealers have Bricklins listed in their catalog so you will need the wheel
dimensions. They are 15"x7" wheel with 4.5" offset and 5x4.5" lug spacing.
There is little clearance when front wheels are turned all the way in either
direction so you should stick with the same size wheels and tires as original
or the tires may rub.
You should stick with all aluminum wheels since the Bricklin suspension was
designed for this. Steel wheels are much heavier and will degrade handling.
The 4.5" offset is relatively rare so not many wheels are available in this
size. The best selection is from Centerline Wheels. They are machined from an
aluminum billet and are supposed to be well balanced and high quality. They
have quite a few different designs available.
I have ordered a set and will let you know how they work out. The best price I
found was mail ordering them from Summit Racing. They were $147.50 each with
free shipping and no sales tax.
That's what I know so far. If anyone has anything to add to this, please let us
all know.
Scott Isensee
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