After seeing Kris' beautiful shot of his blue car with the silver ATS wheels I feel a need to get me a set, but had some questions.
What sizes do they come in?
Are they forged or cast? How do the strength and weight compare to Fuchs?
Since the wheels are all old now, are there any modern alternatives to them that would be stronger/lighter? I see Group 4 has one that is pretty close.
1971 911S, 2.7RS spec MFI engine, suspension mods, lightened
Early 911S Registry Member #425
An ATS advertisement from 1975.
Jon B.
Vista, CA
Many Cast Aluminium Wheels are made from an alloy such as LM25 and are solution treated and age hardened.
They are probably stronger than a Fuchs alloy which was forged from 6082-T6 (US equivalent is 6061)
6082-T6 has a typical Tensile strength of about 300 MPa and a ductility of 8-9%.
LM25TF is around 280 MPa but it's ductility is 1-2%.
The section thickness is normally greater for the cast wheel so in absolute terms they are stronger but they are inevitably heavier.
If you use a Fuchs wheel on a hard driven rally car they do tend to lose shape and bend quite easily whilst the cast wheels retain their shape to a much greater extent.
When you hit the cast wheels hard enough to break them it normally trashes the suspension as well.
Max, there are ads in 70s Panorama magazines offering these wheels in 15x6 and 15x7 for the 911, and 15x5½ for the 914/4.Originally Posted by Flieger
Here's an ATS leaflet and price list from 1976 on eBay, if anyone is interested in purchasing it...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ATS-Wheel-Le....c100033.m2042
Jon B.
Vista, CA
Dang, I was hoping for 7 and 8 inch widths. Currently have 16x7+8 Fuchs
1971 911S, 2.7RS spec MFI engine, suspension mods, lightened
Early 911S Registry Member #425
These rims are similar to the Autostrada Modena fitted to the F40 as a split rim.
There is a Company in the UK - close to our premises - making a Replica.
The make them in diameters from 15" to 18" and widths from 5" to 16"
Chris, your first post has some excellent information.
When you say that Fuchs wheels "tend to lose their shape and bend quite easily", are you referring to flexure, or to deformation in a plastic sense?
Jon B.
Vista, CA
The deform permanently and become difficult to balance for Asphalt.
We never balance wheels for gravel - it just isn't worth the time and effort.
We generally use Miniltes for Gravel to avoid the issue.
Nice, is the second one monoblock? I take it they can do 5x130 with 12mm stud (I think that is the size?) for Porsche fitment? How does the backspacing compare to a Fuchs of equivalent size? My fenders are pretty close to the tires. Got a link?These rims are similar to the Autostrada Modena fitted to the F40 as a split rim.
There is a Company in the UK - close to our premises - making a Replica.
The make them in diameters from 15" to 18" and widths from 5" to 16"
1971 911S, 2.7RS spec MFI engine, suspension mods, lightened
Early 911S Registry Member #425
If you are interested, I have a spare set of 1973 ATS 7x15s taken off my 1969 911.
Rich
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