APEX | F80 Forged SM-10RS Showcase

[Expert@ApexWheels]

GH Motors left us their M3 for a few hours earlier this year to help us showcase our all new SM-10RS forged wheels. We couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see how both diameters looked on this F80 and jumped at the chance to shoot this car.

Our SM-10RS is an ultralight fully forged version of our already popular SM-10 design. We’re a function-over-form brand, so we took our time and engineered this wheel to be our best. The original SM-10 has been re-engineered with thinner spokes and extra-deep side-milling for maximum weight reduction. The SM-10RS is now our lightest wheel in some fitments and meaningfully stiffer than our popular VS-5RS.

This car featured the steel brakes which gave us the opportunity to showcase multiple diameters at once. The Anthracite 18” setup featured aggressive NT01 tires in our purpose-built F8X staggered fitment while the 19” Brushed Clear SM-10s have a HAS or coilover friendly front 19x9.5 ET22 fitment popular with a huge number of our street customers on Michelin PS4S tires.

Our SM-10RS is launching during our ongoing Group Buys focused on all our 18” and 19” Sprint™ Line wheels. From VS-5RS to EC-7RS, we have 18s and 19s available at deep discounts driven by the community. APEX Group Buys

Specifications

Wheels & Tires:
Anthracite SM-10RS
Front: 18x10" ET25 with 275/35-18
Rear: 18x11" ET44 with 305/35-18
Nitto NT01s

Brushed Clear SM-10RS
Front: 19x9.5" ET22 with 275/30-19
Rear: 19x11" ET44 with 305/30-19
Michelin PS4S

19”

Video Feature

Photos

18”
















Learn More / Group Buy Thread / Meet the SM-10RS

[cfm56d7b]

These wheels look fantastic. What's the weight?

[Original]

The forged SM10s look incredible.

[M_Torx]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

These wheels look fantastic. What's the weight?

+1 what's weight ?

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by cfm56d7b

These wheels look fantastic. What's the weight?

SM-10RS weights:

Size Weight (lbs)

18x10" ET25 18.6

18x11" ET44 19.4

19x9.5" ET22 19.2

19x11" ET44 20.2

VS-5RS Comparison:

18x10" ET25 18.5

18x11" ET44 19.2

19x9.5" ET22 19.2

19x11" ET44 20.3

All weights listed are in our Brushed Clear finish.

Hope this helps compare and contrast versus our popular VS-5RS. The SM-10RS tracks quite closely with the VS-5RS, but is a stiffer design which can pay dividends on track.

-Tom

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by TurboT888

+1 what's weight ?

Full weights broken out by market for these and all our Sprint Line fitments can be found on our site to compare: https://apexwheels.com/wheels/sm-10rs#fitment-table

[jp1984]

is it like an optical illusion or is one of the ///M logos on the caliper the wrong direction?

otherwise looks great!

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by jp1984

is it like an optical illusion or is one of the ///M logos on the caliper the wrong direction?

otherwise looks great!

I believe that is the factory orientation. It's a bit OCD-triggering, but the cars we've shot in the past have the same orientation as the car showcased above:

Driver's side (USDM):



Passenger side:


-Tom

[Blue Angel]

Originally Posted by G80M_GOD

I was expecting so much more- boring wheel guys. Way too much hype and ads for these.

I guess these are just too functional and light weight for you I guess? Not enough bling/stancenation? Lol

[techwhiz1]

Time to make some 20" wheels.
I'd love to get some of these in gunmetal or anthracite for my tanzanite i4 M50.

The SM-10 is a great wheel. I had them on my E90.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by jp1984

is it like an optical illusion or is one of the ///M logos on the caliper the wrong direction?

otherwise looks great!

That’s how BMW orients the Brembo brake caliper stickers from the factory. I’ve never heard an explanation as to why.

[johnung]

Originally Posted by G80M_GOD

I was expecting so much more- boring wheel guys. Way too much hype and ads for these.

The SM-10RS is a beautiful style that is also optimized for light weight and high strength for tracking. If it was made any busier, from an engineering standpoint, it would detract from one of those two goals.

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by G80M_GOD

I was expecting so much more- boring wheel guys. Way too much hype and ads for these.

Sorry to hear you're not in love with the design. It's certainly not the last wheel we have planned for our forged lines, but we're focused on designs that give a variety of specific performance attributes rather than just a focus on changes for the sake of aesthetics. I don't think there is a design out there that would make everyone happy but hopefully something we have planned for the future makes sense for you!

Originally Posted by techwhiz1

Time to make some 20" wheels.
I'd love to get some of these in gunmetal or anthracite for my tanzanite i4 M50.

The SM-10 is a great wheel. I had them on my E90.

Thanks for picking up our SM-10s back in the day! I'm currently looking at the i4 M50 with either existing or future chassis-specific options. We'll work to build out 5x112 options in the other Sprint Line and future designs as time goes on.

-Tom

[johnung]

Originally Posted by G80M_GOD

I am the farthest from bling stance nation bs. I was just expecting more than just a straight spoke lazy design.

I understand what you are saying. The Forged SM-10RS with its straight spoke design isn’t styled as sexy as the Forged VS-5RS or the Forged EC-7RS. But when I read all of their specs, I could kinda see where APEX is going with the SM-10RS.

That simple straight spoke design allowed the APEX engineers to design the SM-10RS to be 10% stiffer than the other two Forged RS wheels (and 25% stiffer than APEX’s other Forged wheels). A stiff lightweight wheel is a big advantage on the track.

My car is only a daily driver and I’m considering the Forged VS-5RS. But if I was tracking my car I would buy the Forged SM-10RS. Without hesitation, the credit card would be out right now!

Hope this helps!

[AlexN]

Any plans to make a 20x11 rear wheel?

[johnung]

Originally Posted by G80M_GOD

Yeah I’m considering the VS-5rs now. I have a set of BC forged wheels I use for track. I like the apex design on those for sure but I can do bespoke monoblock forged wheels for almost half of what apex charges, now if apex was made in the US, hands down I would buy them without a doubt.

These days even high end supercars do their design work in-house but have their wheels built to their specifications at high tech specialty wheel manufacturers in Asia. If they tried to manufacture the same wheel in the US I would expect it to cost much more.

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by AlexN

Any plans to make a 20x11 rear wheel?

No plans that we can reveal for 20" SM-10RS just yet but we do produce our 20x11 ET44 in our VS-5RS design already:

-Tom

[Alpine-F80]

G80M_GOD Show me a "bespoke" forged BC wheel that's half of the cost of an apex forged wheel (so ~$1500). Regardless, BC wheels are not known for track durability, so odd choice IMO.

I find it hilarious someone assumed you were a "stance guy", when in reality the whiniest, most immature people on these forums seem to be the "purists".

I personally like the look of the SM-10, and the forged variation adds more depth with the spokes milled on the side it looks like. Wish the spokes were slightly narrower though, but def a step above the flow formed SM-10.

[m3number86]

At any of these the deep face 4 (or was it 3?) Like on the vs5rs?

[Alpine-F80]

Originally Posted by G80M_GOD

Nowhere did I say the bespoke forged wheels I have access to are BC Forged wheels. They are however produced to the same standard as Apex wheels and BC wheels for about $1700 shipped on 20/19’s to the US. Apex is made in Taiwan, you know that right? Non of these companies like them or titan7 or any of these US companies are manufacturing in the US. And fyi, any monoblock forged wheels that BC makes are absolutely fine for track use- the multi piece wheels they produce on the other hand, are absolutely horribly and had failed. Maybe that’s what you are referring to.

I inferred the "half price forged wheels" were BC since you said you use them at the track the previous sentence. I also didn't assume Apex is manufactured in the US, that's pretty obvious by their competitive price point.

I guess you're saying there's some other no-name brand of wheels you can get for $1700 that is a better deal and the exact same quality as the track tested wheels from Apex? You must have seen the manufacturing and QA process first hand then to make that claim...

In reality I bet you're making assumptions to feel good about saving a few bucks. Nothing wrong with that, but why crap on a quality brand that backs our industry?

Most people would rather pay a few extra bucks to have a reputable brand behind the product. Will those $1700 wheels be replaced at 50% cost if cracked? Because Apex does that. Is there US stock ready to ship quickly? Is there a US based customer service that you can contact if you're unhappy with something? Does that $1700 wheel company provide in-depth specs? Fitment info & advice?

[Expert@ApexWheels]

Originally Posted by m3number86

At any of these the deep face 4 (or was it 3?) Like on the vs5rs?

The SM-10RS currently has a single profile 4 fitment in 5x120 BMW wheels currently, 18x10.5 ET22. All these fitments are shaped individually per design and fitment though so the profiles might not carry over identically from either the EC-7RS or SM-10RS in the same fitments.

-Tom

[M3nmotion18]

Originally Posted by Expert@ApexRaceParts

The SM-10RS currently has a single profile 4 fitment in 5x120 BMW wheels currently, 18x10.5 ET22. All these fitments are shaped individually per design and fitment though so the profiles might not carry over identically from either the EC-7RS or SM-10RS in the same fitments.

-Tom

Tom,

I want the 19... but what will be the recommended ET for front and rear? I have the Brembo GTS front & Rear...

Thanks