RTR Evo6 Off Road Durability?

[tisser07]

All,

Does anyone have off road experience with the RTR Evo6 wheels on the Ranger Raptor? I'm in Arizona and do both high speed desert running but often do more trail driving. Out trails are very rocky and quite sharp. My truck is stock except the ProCal tune. I have the bead lock capable wheels and the idea of dropping 14lbs per wheel is enticing. I really like the looks of the RTRs as well.

I'm confident in the strength in the stock wheels, but have not come across much about the Evo6s in off road environments. If anyone has feedback, I would greatly appreciate it.

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[Lion77]

Personally, I would suggest going with Method over RTR for off-road use. Ford Performance uses their MR207 Forged wheels on the race truck and sells the 703's on their site for the Bronco's (also fits the Ranger). Method's standard wheels have proven to be very druable in off-roading. They are VERY popular with off-roading in general because of the bead grip for both high speed uses and for crawling / trail work.

I ran down to 12 psi in the sand dunes just a few weeks ago, pro cal tuned and used all 455 HP regularly! I even slipped a rear tire on the wheel just a bit (had to get re-balanced) due the low air pressure and tons of full throttle pulls on the drag strip (may run 15 psi next time), but it never lost air and I never de-beaded.

I do think the RTR's look better in some ways, but the Method's, while simple in design, are very easy to clean off, and tend to not hold as much dirt as some of the more complex spoke designs and a very well built for abuse. They are performance wheels first with meaty spokes and rim lips, plus you get the large inner safety hump and bead grip ridges that hold the tire bead at low pressures far better than the RTR will.

The 705's are pretty lightweight, 25.2lbs per wheel, the 703's are more popular and still reasonable weight at 28 lbs per wheel. Here's my take, when going with lightweight wheels, in off-roading you do NOT want to sacrifice strength for a few lbs.

Your not going to notice the difference between 23 to 25 or 28 lb wheels. Sure, you can tell between a 36 lb OE bead-lock that is like a boat anchor, but if you had started with factory alloys at 28~29lbs, it's less dramatic.

The RR race truck runs MR207 Forged wheels that are 30lbs a wheel, about the same weight as OE alloys and due to class rules, that truck cannot run a tune, it's on factory cal at 405 hp. That's the compromise, not ultra lightweight like a car wheel for smooth track, but not a boat anchor either.

The 705's give you a really good balance of weight vs strength, it's the same alloy and size / off-set as the 703, just slightly different spoke design and only two-color options (matt black and titanium).

Go method, if you off-road frequently, you will thank me down the road, especially when aired down!

 

[Lion77]

BTW, I have nothing against RTR, I ran their Tech 7's on my 2016 Mustang GT in a square setup, great wheels, but I think their wheels are more geared toward on-road use than off-road use.

 

[tisser07]

Personally, I would suggest going with Method over RTR for off-road use. Ford Performance uses their MR207 Forged wheels on the race truck and sells the 703's on their site for the Bronco's (also fits the Ranger). Method's standard wheels have proven to be very druable in off-roading. They are VERY popular with off-roading in general because of the bead grip for both high speed uses and for crawling / trail work.

I ran down to 12 psi in the sand dunes just a few weeks ago, pro cal tuned and used all 455 HP regularly! I even slipped a rear tire on the wheel just a bit (had to get re-balanced) due the low air pressure and tons of full throttle pulls on the drag strip (may run 15 psi next time), but it never lost air and I never de-beaded.

I do think the RTR's look better in some ways, but the Method's, while simple in design, are very easy to clean off, and tend to not hold as much dirt as some of the more complex spoke designs and a very well built for abuse. They are performance wheels first with meaty spokes and rim lips, plus you get the large inner safety hump and bead grip ridges that hold the tire bead at low pressures far better than the RTR will.

The 705's are pretty lightweight, 25.2lbs per wheel, the 703's are more popular and still reasonable weight at 28 lbs per wheel. Here's my take, when going with lightweight wheels, in off-roading you do NOT want to sacrifice strength for a few lbs.

Your not going to notice the difference between 23 to 25 or 28 lb wheels. Sure, you can tell between a 36 lb OE bead-lock that is like a boat anchor, but if you had started with factory alloys at 28~29lbs, it's less dramatic.

The RR race truck runs MR207 Forged wheels that are 30lbs a wheel, about the same weight as OE alloys and due to class rules, that truck cannot run a tune, it's on factory cal at 405 hp. That's the compromise, not ultra lightweight like a car wheel for smooth track, but not a boat anchor either.

The 705's give you a really good balance of weight vs strength, it's the same alloy and size / off-set as the 703, just slightly different spoke design and only two-color options (matt black and titanium).

Go method, if you off-road frequently, you will thank me down the road, especially when aired down!

 

[tisser07]

Thanks for your insight. I do prefer the 703s if going the Method route. Did your wheels come with proper hub centric rings? Some people have mentioned it in their posts.

 

[Lion77]

If you buy the Ford Performance versions of the 703's for the Bronco's directly from Ford Performance then you don't need hub centric rings as they are custom made to be hub centric for Ford's hub size (93mm).

I got Method's directly from Method with the universal 106mm hub bore since I wanted the 705's for the weight and preferred the spoke pattern over the 703's, but I did not need hub centric rings and have no balance issues. In fact, they balance better than the OE bead locks which required copious amounts of weights.

Hub centric rings are only for ease of installation in case your tech is careless and doesn't properly torque the lugs in a start pattern when initially tightening (possibly causing the tapered lug to not fully seat centered), so they help with centering, but are not required with proper installation techniques. Hub centric wheels were really an engineering control for lazy techs lol.

Many people think the hub bore fit is required for strength, but it has nothing to do with load bearing of the wheel, that happens entirely via the lugs and lug taper. But it is a nice feature to have if you can get it in a particular wheel of interest.

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