BarryG Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 My R400 is in the final stages of build at the factory (yipeeee!) - yesterday I got a phone call from the factory telling me that the R500 Magnesium wheels are now out of production, and that I'd have to make do with the standard 15" wheels. Caterham will be producing some new 13" 8-spoke wheels, but not until next year. Only after putting the phone down did I wonder what they are going to be fitting to any new R500's. Whilst I am sure that there's nothing wrong with the 15's per se, it seems to be the consensus on here that the 13's provide better handling on the track. Anyone have any opinions on what I should do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Ohh eck I hope they stick with Mike Barnby wheels , the alternatives are not pleasant , super or light . This is Hoopys fault for telling everyone dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tight fart Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 whose wheels were collapsing? T.F@O.F. A7 RDP Pics here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Every manufacturers 3 piece wheels have broken at some point , the photos are on the web . The MB wheels are good quality , round and straight . Which cant be said for others ..... But its fair to say that we have only seen 1 incident in goodness knows how many races and tests with the MB wheels . Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying kiwi Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Barry, This is a concern, as my R400 kit hasn`t arrived yet and i ordered the R500 mags to go with the kit, i will call Caterham and check out what I`m getting. Maybe Mick B is selling up if Caterham can no longer get them? Kiwi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarryG Posted October 28, 2003 Author Share Posted October 28, 2003 Kiwi, Let me know how you get on. Cheers, B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Caterham will have no doubt found somewhere else to copy MB's wheels for half the price. They'll then try and sell them to us mug punters for 90% of the MB price. They've done the same with carbon and it would appear also with Pace radiators recently. Think positive, if Caterham are no longer buying from MB then he'll hopefully be much easier to deal with as he'll have no longer have any pressure from Caterham to not sell direct. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eric Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 sorry for the hi jack Does someone know the website e-mail of MB wheels eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Yes maybe you are right Graham , but there are only a few other 3 piece wheel manufacturers in the UK - Superlight , Compomotive and Image . The prices for 3 piece wheels from these companies for a private punter is the same as that direct from Mike B . But they are not with mag centers .But what is their quality like ?? dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Plato Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 MB hasnt got a website . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Image do mag centres, machined from billet though rather than cast, not sure of the weight difference (plus or minus). Image wheels are excellent quality. I just prefer the style of the Barnby ones which is why I choose them rather than Image. http://www.imagewheels.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Or they used to, can't actually see magnesium on their website now though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Mike Barnby is not reliable . i think you will find caterham are sick of waiting for deliveries, at the begining of the year caterham were watting for months for sets of wheels. that never arrived, i tried for months to get a set from caterham . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dino ferrana Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Although a lot of people seem to rate the MB mags everyone has had to wait ages for them. That is workable if you are a private individual but not if you are a company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 i think we a go for the m.b wheels as we know them as part of caterham, And light they are but they are ugly compared with what wheel companies can produce today . i think caterham have lost a lot of sales this year on wheels if you look at the posts on blat chat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F355GTS Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 I was very happy with my Compomotive wheels, £200 odd cheaper than MB too here Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Now thats a nice wheel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisG Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Same as what I got Mark, Compomotive ML spliit rims. I did look at Barmby Mags but couldnt justify the extra £50 or so per wheel on top, although they arent quite as light (IIRC approx 0.7kg heavier than an equivalent Barmby). Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Gillet Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 and here Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Molloy Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Does nobody like Dymags? They get my vote in the "sexy" stakes... (How sad am I?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tight fart Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Any one got a pic of the MB wheels? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flying kiwi Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Barry, I spoke with Caterham today [Midlands], and they are going to get back to me either Thursday or Friday this week with an answer. The thing is, after i test drove the R400 that had R500 mags i was sold on them as not only did they look fantastic but I`m told the car handles much better on 13" wheels as opposed to the standard 15". I will be a little annoyed at Caterham if they turn around and say sorry can`t do the wheels. Surely once i paid my first and second deposits they would have organised all the parts for the car. I will have to wat until Thurday/Friday, i will let you know the outcome Mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbell Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Superlight do mag centres if I`m not mistaken...... Called then re. wheels for the new Birkin. Unfortunatley they don`t do the one piece in the required offset so it looks like I`ll have to go 3 piece. They come with the aded bonus of lightening the car.......and the wallet FOR SALE Birkin S3 2.0 Zetec 170bhp FOR SALE I`ve seen the future.....and it`s powered by duratec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiF Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 I had no problems dealing with MB. Service was excellent. Ordered, arranged collection and collected. Mike a really nice chap. Give him a ring, sure he will help. Richard in France Flying fast in my very bright yellow 226bhp Duratec 7, with internal kevlar/carbon panels and pushrod suspension 😬 😬 😬.for pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelspeed Posted October 28, 2003 Share Posted October 28, 2003 Me too Richard. Bought two sets at different times, then had one set widened to take slicks then had two repaired. Excellent service from Mike everytime for me. > And light they are but they are ugly compared with what wheel companies can produce today . That may be your opinion Fred, and no doubt other's will agree, but not all. I for one disagree, I find all of Image's wheels to be too Max Power looking for example. Barnby's wheel design is simple and elegant to me. So please don't make sweeping generalisations without considering other's opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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