Sweatshop

iTrader: (11)

Lemme reiterate, I AM NOT KNOCKING REPLICAS. And I am sure not convinced of a strength difference between authentic wheels and replicas either. I will say that my WORK wheels died HARD. The crater that bent them needed a ladder to get out of-just couldn't avoid it. And even then, they didn't crack. There is just a presence to authentics that makes me happy when looking at them. There are arguments to both sides certainly.

Studiogeek

iTrader: (6)

Ha,
I considered selling my Weds Kranze Cerberus so I could purchase Varrstoens. The Weds need a rebuild for the proper fitment and the Varrstoens were the perfect size. I almost did but they sold the Varrstoens.

Still sitting on expensive wheels that need even more money thrown at them today. They are a bit too thin for me at 9" rear.

Flogrown

iTrader: (1)

Run what you want. Not to sound like a dbag but I'm a wheel ***** and run authentic wheels.

mikef

iTrader: (3)

I can understand spending 350 a wheel or 400 max but some just get out of control with price just to get lighter, 18lbs or less is the goal if u upgrade

empringham

for real. i agree with this dude 100%. everyone has their reasons for buying the parts they do even if other think its silly. personally ill always buy authentic. but thats just me. just dont try to make them look like something theyre not.

myLEXsc400

Hahaha, funny thing is that I had BBS LM reps that I bought used with BBS center caps, really nice reps, and they got stolen 3 months ago, so now I have 350Z wheels. Yes, my car was left on bricks, so the loss was much less then if they were authentic.

I still have XXR's on my SC400 that i dont really take care of, and they hold up wonderful. Great quality, so what exactly am I losing by not having "authentic wheels"? I really don't get it.

Amen to this! People will be wheel *****s about "real wheels" and then put some Nankangs or other Chinese tires on them.... The tires are one of the most important things on a car.

3L4jzz31

iTrader: (2)

Dw, I fall in the same boat.

The justification for fake wheels if they crack is valid to a degree, but there's actually a benefit on buying multi piece wheels called REBARRELING!!!!! My friend cracked his inner barrel cuz he runs a 225 on a 11" wheel and like -6 degrees (he's into hellaflush) and hit a big pothole. Cost of new inner barrel was around $200 and I rebuilt the wheel for him so about the same price as a knocker.

As far as "real" single piece wheels I frankly don't deal with them cuz of the benefits of 3 piece wheels and not being able to "easily repair" single piece wheels in a manner that's not going to likely lead to further issues.

And as far as cost to buy wheels, they can be very expensive for "real wheels" but if you have patience you can get a good deal.
Bought my VSXX 18" F8.5 +28 R9.5 +44 with new "cheap" tires on them for $800,
My work VSMX 18" F9.5+28 R10.5+25 for $800 no tires.
OZ futuras 16"/17" stagger setup for my old 240sx for $800 with new tires.

and those are just the ones I bought... I've seen countless deals but havne't purchased them because there's only 3 wheels that I want right now.

Now just time to wait for people to say there's only good deals in california

sunny416

i think at the end of the day not everyone can purchase a set of 3pc rim and to even try to justify spending 3k on a set of rims that can potentially be stolen is a little hard to swallow. and its even worst if your car is a DD. i personally think for a DD car a set of reps is ok if thats all you can afford. the car is 20 years old not everyone is able to baby their car and keep it show conditions. if you can hats off to you if you cant oh well. maybe next time.

1997Soarer

iTrader: (1)

There are 5 types of aluminum wheels you can buy:

1. Gravity cast - Aluminum is poured into a mold and left to cool until it is solid then it is cooled in water.
2. Low pressure cast - cast but the aluminum is poured into the mold under pressure and then sealed.
3. Flow-forming (rotary forged) - Low pressure cast with a forged barrel
4. Machine forging (billet) - Wheel machined from a solid block of forged aluminum with a barrel that is flow-formed
5. Mold-form forging - A block of aluminum subjected to high heat and pressure which is first formed into the face and then the barrel. Then the barrel is flow-formed. After this the wheel is subject to high heat in an oven and then rapid cooling. This can happen more than once depending on the brand.

Here's an example of each

1. Gravity cast - the video posted by ISFFUN is an example of this

2. Low pressure cast

3. Flow-formed

4. Machine forging


5. Mold-form forging as done by HRE

5. Mold-form forging as done by RAYS (complex)

The reason I show 2 videos for mold-form forging is because there's the basic way of doing it and more complex ways. HRE cuts the designs out of a forged blank face while RAYS uses forged faces that are shaped into designs in the first part of the mold-form forging process.

Examples of each type of wheel:

1. Gravity cast - Most oem wheels, XXR, basically all "replica" wheel brands.

2. Low pressure cast - Work cast wheels (Emotion, Seeker), higher end OEM wheels

3. Flow-formed - Enkei MAT wheels (RPF1, NT03, PF01 etc)

4. Machine forged - Centerline

5. Mold-form forged - HRE (3pc and monoblock)

5. Mold-form forged [complex] - RAYS forged wheels (Volk TE37, CE28, RE30; Nismo LMGT4)

1997Soarer

iTrader: (1)

Pick wheels that fit your needs and your budget.

Joey-E

iTrader: (1)

Forget this debate, Im too old for this...still riding on OEM wheels and its fine could careless what others think. Eventually I will get wheels, they wont be cheap "knockoffs" and for sure wont be "real" wheels that cost thousands honestly wouldn't even mind riding on Supra TT wheels again. There are plenty of good quality wheels that are not considered "Real wheels"