Anyone running the 458 wheels on their FF?

Weight is the main issue with running wheels made for other models.

 

As Fernando says, the 458 wheels are not rated for the axle loads of the FF. However, that doesn’t stop people fitting them.

In fact, the F12 wheels aren’t rated for the FF either but you see also see a few of those fitted to FFs.

If you’re buying an FF or Lusso with wheels from other Ferraris, have them changed out. If you’re thinking of fitting wheels from other Ferraris to an FF or Lusso, don’t.

While there aren’t any documented cases of anyone breaking the lighter-weight wheels, there is a risk of insurance invalidation or prosecution in some jurisdictions in the event of a crash caused by a broken wheel.

 

The standard F12 wheels arent forged. The optional forged wheels are. And in all cases, the load rating is different between F12 and FF/Lusso. At the end, they do forged wheels not because they are stronger, but because as they are stronger for the same shape, they can be made lighter for the same strength. That's why forged wheels are always lighter.

 

This particular range of 458 wheels are made by BBS in Japan and are of very high quality. I have 35,000 km on them with my 612 and my impression is they are stronger than the standard challenge rims which are quite prone to bending.

I run them mainly with winter tires.

Bill
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This particular range of 458 wheels are made by BBS in Japan and are of very high quality. I have 35,000 km on them with my 612 and my impression is they are stronger than the standard challenge rims which are quite prone to bending.

I run them mainly with winter tires.

Bill
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I believe that pretty much all the stock rims on recent mainstream model Ferraris (including ones which I’ve researched- namely FF, F12, 812, Cali and Lusso) are cast. This is why Ferrari sells a forged wheel upgrade. The 458 rim shown in the photo on the 612 is the stock rim and therefore, likely to be cast as well and probably not rated for the 612 axle loads either.

The photo above shows what looks like a bent rim on a stock FF wheel which is cast. The fact that a cast rim has bent rather than shattered is a testament to the manufacturing quality and strength of that cast rim.

As Max says, the forged rims for the lighter cars are of lighter weight construction. So the higher strength inherent in a forged rim is used to reduce weight and unsprung mass for a given axle load rather than increase axle load and strength for a given weight. This is why the F12 and 812 forged rims are lighter than the FF and Lusso forged rims. Therefore, you cannot infer that the F12 forged rim is stronger than the FF’s cast rim. You can certainly state that the 458 cast rim is weaker than the FF cast rim.

As I mentioned already, don’t put 458 rims on the FF. If you don’t like the fact that potholes damage the FF’s cast rims, you’ll be in a whole world of hurt if the 458 cast rim encounters the same pothole. The FF and 612 weigh 20% more than the 458. If you decide to proceed, you might want to ask yourself the immortal question “do you feel lucky?”

 

Don't feel lucky. I inspect all my rims and tires for damage/cracks every quarter. The 458 have held up well over 35k kms across a wide variety of conditions.

My go to rims for the moment are:

https://photos.app.goo.gl/beT7U2nxdbaNgEiT8

 

Well Bill, there’s no need to be lucky with your go-to rims as they’re the stock Lusso rims so they’ll take the weight of the 612. I hope you don’t mind but I’ve posted the photo directly so that people can see what I’m referring to in the future and aren’t reliant on the link. The colour combo of you car/wheels is really lovely. Do you have more photos of the car and interior?

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There are theoretically two benefits of forged wheels over cast wheels. For the same strength, forged wheels will be;

1 lighter and
2 their failure mode is more ductile and less brittle. So they will bend rather than shatter or break. The photo you showed of the bent cast FF wheel shows that good casting can also bend but it’s unusual.

Based on the above, it is entirely possible for a cast wheel to be stronger than a forged wheel but it will certainly be heavier. This is why (as you correctly surmise) the rated load for the wheel is the ultimate indicator of its strength, not its method of construction.

It’s also why you won’t find me fitting wheels to my Ferrari which aren’t rated for the weight of the car. Others might choose to do so but it’s not a gamble I’m willing to take.