Apex VS-5 (Not VS-5RS) Owners?

[naitsirhc]

Is anyone running the Regular Flow Formed Apex VS-5 on their ITS? I talked to one of their reps and they said the 18x9.5 +58 would clear the calipers. Thinking about moving to 18's but want to keep as close to stock as possible. I prefer the look of the VS-5 over the EC-7 which also comes in 18x9.5 +58.

Curious if anyone on the board actually has these wheels. If so, share some pictures!

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[Victorofhavoc]

I don't have the vs5, but I do have the ec7 in that size. They clear just fine! I like them for my winters and for track wheels.

I also have the vs5rs on another car and I prefer the looks of them. The vs5 are similar but have a bit more metal on the spokes and around the hub.

Sorry no photos of the vs5, but I figured at least I can help with some fitment questions/photos if you have them .

 

[naitsirhc]

Pictures of the EC-7 would be great as well, thanks.

The Apex rep did say the 18x9.5 +58 VS-5 would clear the calipers, the 18x9.5 +58 VS-5RS would not.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Pictures of the EC-7 would be great as well, thanks.

The Apex rep did say the 18x9.5 +58 VS-5 would clear the calipers, the 18x9.5 +58 VS-5RS would not.

Here's a series of photos with a 265 potenza race, and a 255 vredstein wintrac pro.

Let me know if there's a specific angle/gap you're looking for!

 

[naitsirhc]

Thanks for the pictures! Are those EC-7's +58 and the Anthracite color? How is the difference in ride quality?

 

[Gernett]

I say VS5RS looks the best in bronze, especially for red cars! I recomend 18x9.5+45 so it looks the best fitment.
I only have a set of 18x9.5 +45 MF10s right now, but i am thinkning about moving to VS5RS in future.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Thanks for the pictures! Are those EC-7's +58 and the Anthracite color? How is the difference in ride quality?

Yes they are +58 in anthracite.

I agree with the comment above that bronze looks nice. I actually prefer motorsports gold on a red car, but they didn't have that for the ec7.

Hard to compare ride because the tire is not 1 to 1. The ps4s are a moderately stiff/soft 300tw, but the type r/s dt1 is a stiffer sidewall than typical ps4s so it drives more between a typically rough 200tw and somewhat stiff 300tw. The vredstein wintrac pro are a performance winter, so they drive stiffer than a typical ice and snow winter, but still softer than an all season. The potenza race are almost as shockingly comfortable as the yoko a052 for a 200tw. On the 18s they are much more comfy and smooth than the dt1 ps4s. I would even say just as comfy if not more comfy than the standard ps4s, and that's saying a lot since I really love the standard ps4s and have run 3 sets on multiple cars.

18s and a good tire will change ride characteristics and handling quite a bit, but it won't turn the car into a Lexus or anything.

 

[naitsirhc]

The 18x9.5 ET58 VS-5 is finally back in stock. I may pull the trigger on those.

Since you've run the same offset in the EC-7 with a 265/35/18, can you confirm it fills out the wheel well the same as the stock 265/30/19? I know 265/35/18 and 265/30/19 end up being the same diameter but want to make sure I'm not missing something. Are the lug nuts you used for the EC-7's the Apex Open Ended ones or something else?

I'm going to get the DWS06's whether I go 18 or stay at 19. With the same tire, 1 inch smaller wheel and 2mm offset difference, honestly what kind of change in handling will there be? This is a daily driver with kids in the back. I won't be tracking it anytime in the foreseeable future.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

The 18x9.5 ET58 VS-5 is finally back in stock. I may pull the trigger on those.

Since you've run the same offset in the EC-7 with a 265/35/18, can you confirm it fills out the wheel well the same as the stock 265/30/19? I know 265/35/18 and 265/30/19 end up being the same diameter but want to make sure I'm not missing something. Are the lug nuts you used for the EC-7's the Apex Open Ended ones or something else?

I'm going to get the DWS06's whether I go 18 or stay at 19. With the same tire, 1 inch smaller wheel and 2mm offset difference, honestly what kind of change in handling will there be? This is a daily driver with kids in the back. I won't be tracking it anytime in the foreseeable future.

Yes it's the same wheel well fitment with that size tire. I believe I bought mine off Amazon that were some "made in America" advertising since apex was out of theirs at the time.

It depends on how sensitive you are to feel, honestly. Generally you might notice a bit more understeer, more weight transition during braking, and less directness in steering. More of that can be attributed to tire than size difference because the dws is a a bit more understeer prone and a bit more squishy on the sidewall... It will probably be better for you with the kids because it will be quieter and more comfortable overall than the super stiff factory tire.

The appropriate tire pressure goes down as well, so you're running softer for the same balance/wear.

 

[naitsirhc]

Thanks for the response. I'm around the PA/NJ area so Winters here are hit or miss. Roads however are another story. I wonder if the 30 sidewall on the stock wheel is enough for winter and the potholes that seem to open up in my area.

I don't want to have to swap summer and all seasons with 1 set of wheels. There's a $300 difference between DWS06 at 265/30/19 and 265/35/18 for a set.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Thanks for the response. I'm around the PA/NJ area so Winters here are hit or miss. Roads however are another story. I wonder if the 30 sidewall on the stock wheel is enough for winter and the potholes that seem to open up in my area.

I don't want to have to swap summer and all seasons with 1 set of wheels. There's a $300 difference between DWS06 at 265/30/19 and 265/35/18 for a set.

The problem with oem wheel size for me was that virtually no true winter tire options exist. I prefer to run a "performance winter" (in my case the vredstein wintrac pro - which I love for how sporty they are) because we get a lot of ice and transient snows in my area which all seasons just can't handle.

If you want more sidewall but want to keep your oem wheel, you could certainly go up to a 35. Several people have done that. I run a 255/40/18 as well which is between the oem and a 265/35/19. That's plenty of sidewall for me and allows me to run a much lower tire pressure for more pothole absorption.

 

[naitsirhc]

I'd like to keep everything as close to stock as possible. Running a 35 on stock tires would throw off the speedometer and odometer, not interested in that.

The overall selection in tires at 265/30/19 is small and "expensive" compared to 265/35/18. I'd love to run the Mugen FR10's for summer and the VS-5 for winter but I can't justify spending $10k on wheels and tires that I don't need.

Are you happy with the EC-7? You said you've used them for track and winter tires. How did the stock wheels and tires compare to the EC-7 with comparable summer tires?

 

[Victorofhavoc]

I'd like to keep everything as close to stock as possible. Running a 35 on stock tires would throw off the speedometer and odometer, not interested in that.

The overall selection in tires at 265/30/19 is small and "expensive" compared to 265/35/18. I'd love to run the Mugen FR10's for summer and the VS-5 for winter but I can't justify spending $10k on wheels and tires that I don't really need.

Are you happy with the EC-7? You said you've used them for track and winter tires. How did the stock wheels and tires compare to the EC-7 with comparable summer tires?

Believe it or not, your speedo wouldn't be that far off. The oem speedo already reads about 2mph high at 65mph (from what I've seen from those police speed displays) so a 2.5-3mph difference in the other direction brings you a little closer to real speed. Either way though, I get what you're saying... I wish we had the option to change tire diameter in the registry on this car like I can on my audi.

I get not wanting to drop that much on wheels. It can be a big spend and even more annoying to store/track (I'm dealing with about 6+ sets of wheels and tires right now for our cars and my wife is not amused).

I like the ec7. I'm more partial to the vs5 style, but I also have two sets of vs5rs sitting in the garage from two other vehicles and they didn't have the vs5 when I was buying the ec7. On a soft 200tw the 18s feel great. Smoother than stock on the potenza race tires, more comfy, and tremendously more responsive. On a stiffer 200tw they'd be less comfortable and still even sharper. I'll be running a different tire for competition next year and it will be much more filling shattering than oem or the potenza race on the 18s. I wish we could fit 17s if I'm being honest... A 300tw summer I'd expect to be softer but still sharp on center. If you did a ps4s (which wouldn't be the oem custom dt1 spec) you'd have a very comfy tire that's also much quieter than oem. The oem dt1 compound has a very stiff sidewall, but it sacrifices a lot of road noise compared to a standard ps4s. The dt1 affords some "lightness" to how the car responds because of its stiffness.

 

[naitsirhc]

Apex announced that their Black Friday sale starts November 18, annoying timing for my situation. If I wait for the sale and they go out of stock, I won't be able to wait for them to restock again (which was 100+ days last time) before winter.

Last year it was 15% off and free shipping. That comes out to roughly $393 off. Of course what will happen if I wait is they'll sell out. If I order now, they won't sell out and I'll miss the discount because of return shipping and restocking fees.

In your opinion, would you go with DWS06 in 19 (265/30/19) or 18 (265/35/18)? Curious about other peoples input on the same question.

 

[Victorofhavoc]

Apex announced that their Black Friday sale starts November 18, annoying timing for my situation. If I wait for the sale and they go out of stock, I won't be able to wait for them to restock again (which was 100+ days last time) before winter.

Last year it was 15% off and free shipping. That comes out to roughly $393 off. Of course what will happen if I wait is they'll sell out. If I order now, they won't sell out and I'll miss the discount because of return shipping and restocking fees.

In your opinion, would you go with DWS06 in 19 (265/30/19) or 18 (265/35/18)? Curious about other peoples input on the same question.

I recommend calling up Apex. They're great to work with and might be willing to give you a pre-sale discount .

18s all the way for me. The flexibility in choice and lower tire cost is too great to ignore the advantages of. If you decide you hate the dws (not saying you will, but I've known quite a few people that fall out of love with them within 10-15k mi), 18s offer flexibility and performance tire options galore.

@optronix is another great person to ask since he's running 19s and loves the look but has also considered 18s from what I recall.

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