Thinking about SP12's

[swanny71]

As the title suggests I'm thinking about fitting SP12's instead of the Ford RS 7 spokes I've got on now.

Upsides - a fresh look and lighter wheels
Downsides - £800 (plus 2 rear tyres which are needed anyway), 18" rear effect the ride quality?

What do you lot reckon? Do they suit the Griff, anyone had them fitted and care to comment?

Thanks,
Swanny

[Groomvroom]

I am very please with mine, no downsides, ride is just as good, turn in is sharper and I think they look great. Mine were not the simple bolt on job they should have been though as I had to trim the drive shaft stubs back to get the rear centre caps on, hopefully they have sorted this with proper sized caps by now.

Edited by Groomvroom on Thursday 29th January 05:48

[Jonny TVR]

swanny I may be interested in buying your fords off you. do you have any images of them and how much would you want. Email me. Jon

[griffith400]

Swanny,

I've had the SP12's for over a year now and have to say very pleased with them. Can't say it caused any handling or ride quality issues although I've also changed my suspension so like it firm anyway

I really like them although it does change the style of the car a little. It does make it look much more updated but I must admit, I preferred the simple, flat face style of the Estorils. Unfortuately, tyres drove the decision to change. However, I'm still very pleased and always wanted to change to a large wheel size so no complaints. One other benefit is you can now get your hand to the inside of the wheel to clean them (if you're sad like many of us) so easier to keep in good shape with a wash and polish

As GroomVroom said, I too had to hacksaw the end of the driveshaft stubs by half an inch or so. The stub sticks out from the centre of the wheel too much for the centre cap to snap onto the wheel. It's not a difficult job, just a bit nerve wracking and needs plenty elbow grease! Not sure if they'll have change this, the only way I cna think would be to increase the centre cap size but that might look odd?

Matt at Silverstone Performance is very helpful so if you have any queries.

Steve.

[Englishman]

I have also been contemplating SP12's due to difficulty in getting new tyres for the front of the correct rating. Everyone talks about the SP12's but I've seen very tittle advice on the tyres to fit though (make, size, rating, cost). Any recommendations?

[Mark_G]

I've also had the SP12's for about a year. The team at Silverstone were great to deal with and offered great adice on tyres. In terms of handling, I asked Matt to check and adjust the alignment when he put the new wheels on - he also offered to adjust the rake, which I didn't do at the time but have subsequently done. Overall my take on it is that the SP12's and lower profile tyres have significantly improved the handling and made low speed manoevering easier (no PS!). Highly recommended.

BTW I think that Matt has moved location recently - there was another chain on this elsewhere in the Griff or general Tiv section.

[Wildwood]

Swanny!
What are you doing!!!??
I always said to you - what was wrong with the first set of wheels you had!?
Now you want to change again!? I think the first set you had on are better than the SP12s

[swanny71]

Thanks for the replies guys.

@Woody - I still prefer my current wheels to the old ones, these are an "upgrade". Are you still selling the Griff mate?

[Wildwood]

swanny71 said:

Woody - I still prefer my current wheels to the old ones, these are an "upgrade". Are you still selling the Griff mate?

Ah right!

I always preferred these ones to the SP12s they have a nice curve on the rim and a bit of a dish to them all a bit reminiscent of the old corvette sting ray wheels I think it was

Difficult question about the griff, could do with the spondoolies tbh, we shall see what fate decides

eta...just googled corvette sting ray, maybe not, must be some other american thing.

Are you going for 18" rim Swaany? Ride would be too hard IMO bit like it is in the Tuscan with an 18 rim, just may opinion of course, they might also rub on the rear arches.
Someone put me wrong if thats not the case

Edited by Wildwood on Friday 30th January 13:24

[Mark_G]

Wildwood said:

....
Are you going for 18" rim Swaany? Ride would be too hard IMO bit like it is in the Tuscan with an 18 rim, just may opinion of course, they might also rub on the rear arches.
Someone put me wrong if thats not the case

I've the 17" front and 18" rear - definitely no wheel arch issues. Also no problem at all with the ride quality - in fact with the fettling the Matt made when the wheels were put on there's been a real improvement in ride and handling

[daveb500]

I've also been looking at SP12's but also considering Spiders. How easy is it to fit the spiders? You obvously have to do a 5 stud coversion. Is that basically it? I assume the spiders are 18" all round. Does this have a negative impact on handling or is it just a "looks" thing?

[Chimjunkie]

Spiders have another big negative IMO, they may deform very easily if you hit a pot hole. The SP12's are very tough!

[HRG]

daveb500 said:

I've also been looking at SP12's but also considering Spiders. How easy is it to fit the spiders? You obvously have to do a 5 stud coversion. Is that basically it? I assume the spiders are 18" all round. Does this have a negative impact on handling or is it just a "looks" thing?

Look at Compomotive MO6's too, they bolt straight on.