The clearest form of conspicuous consumption: Radurra Clear Wheels
We reported on Radurra's Clear Wheels at the 2006 SEMA Show in Las Vegas where they debuted, but at the time we could only show you live pics of these transparant polycarbonate wheels because Radurra didn't come prepared with a media kit. After checking back with the company's website, we found a new, large gallery of pics that better show off the wheels in their natural state of invisible glory. To recap, they are composed of a hub and outer rings made out of forged aluminum that hold in place a 1.5- or 2-inch think polycarbonate disc that's chemically hard coated. They come in 20- and 22-inch sizes, the former weighing 27 lbs. and the latter 38 lbs. Each wheel costs approximately $5,000, which means the total price to outfit your car will be in excess of $20,000 when all is said and done. Hey, maybe your red-painted Brembo's really are that pretty.[Source: Radurra via BenzInsider]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Web Begole 6:36PM (1/30/2007)
Yeah, but what about brake dust?
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Fabulo 6:44PM (1/30/2007)
Polycarbonate, is that a fancy name for plastic, plexiglass or something?
Recap: $20,000 for plastic/aluminium wheels. Wow.
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mike 8:36PM (1/30/2007)
What about brake cooling? They gotta creat major fading.
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J Net 7:01PM (1/30/2007)
20k deal is absurd, you can get 38" spinners for that price lol.
But all joking aside I like the concept of clear "plastic" wheels but the execution of the idea leaves the car lacking in the looks category IMHO.
Maybe bigger brakes? Anyone else think the rear brake pad looks awfully insignificant?
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vectorbug 9:14PM (1/30/2007)
well, the weight it sucks from your wallet will help your car handle better, too bad it goes straight into the weight of the wheels. One of those weighs more than three of my 15" konigs.
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jscro 7:09PM (1/30/2007)
I think these are ridiculously stupid, but they don't look half bad.
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James 7:20PM (1/30/2007)
Do these things affect brake cooling? Just curious.
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Marc 9:54PM (1/30/2007)
"Show off your high performance brakes.." yes... with heavy non-performance wheels. What happens when they get chipped by stones, dirty and full of brake dust? Crystal clear? Not so much....
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marin 7:29PM (1/30/2007)
These wheels will look nice for about a month until you realize that you have to completely remove the wheel to clean all the brake dust off the inside because your plastic isn't clear any more. That's gonna get old real fast. Did they not field test these or what??
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Quattrofan 8:53AM (1/31/2007)
Don't frett my fellow Autoblog readers. There will be plenty of hip-hop artists and NBA players willing to splurge on them clear wheels.
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Doede 7:39PM (1/30/2007)
People who spend 20000 on wheels either have personnel to clean them for them, or are autistic enough to actually accept that in return for this "image getter".
There are plenty of airheads out there that spend more time cleaning their motor than actually driving it.
So tell me punk... "Do you have a fetisch for clean surfaces?" :-)
Looking at the pics it seems they are actually aiming at Dubai Sjeiks. Yeah, this will hold pretty well in that Sahara dusty environment...
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Sean Morris 7:38PM (1/30/2007)
I said the same thing about cleaning them.... but if you can afford them, then you can afford the guy to take the wheels off and clean them every week.
I wouldn't want to try them in any kind of "performance" application.
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Russell S. 8:06AM (1/31/2007)
are these even DOT/TUV worthy, or are they considered "off-road-use" only?
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Thunder 8:25PM (1/30/2007)
Unless they've made some advances in polycarbonate these things would scratch like crazy. Kinda like holding a pair of glasses out the window of a moving car.
Very creative, though the melting point of polycarbonate being 374-500 degrees F should make for an exhilarating ride.
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leo 7:17AM (2/04/2007)
Polycarbonate, which is called transparent steel in some area, is usually seen as bulletproof glass. Metal isn't always stronger than other materials
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jm 12:08AM (1/31/2007)
They are for SHOW use, not for the racing so everybody stop bitching. To address other points:
Brake fade: If you can afford $20k wheels you will certainly have great brakes with excellent heat capacity. Everyday driving should be fine in these
Scratching: They are coated with a scratch resistant layer, so no scratching.
Brake dust: Again, for show use. If some does build up clean it off before the show.
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Dustin 5:46AM (1/31/2007)
All (valid) points aside, these do definitely have that "Wow, cool!" factor
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Scott 10:39AM (1/31/2007)
Can't Wait to see the 80's caddy's and 90's GM B Platform rolling these. With TINY drums in the back!
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hitbyastick 6:02PM (1/31/2007)
'Don't frett my fellow Autoblog readers. There will be plenty of hip-hop artists and NBA players willing to splurge on them clear wheels.'
Those types of individuals drop so much coin on useless crap!
I should be so clever as to devise such a way to exploit their microscopic brains/huge wallets
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