bubblerboy

I've been cruising The Tire Rack looking at wheels. They range in price from $100 each to more then $700 each for the same size wheel. Why and what does a guy have to spend to get a quality product? I don't know a thing about this subject but it seems like there must be some justification here. To look at the wheels there is not much to be seen to separate the high priced stuff from the cheaper. I would not want to buy something that would be either unsafe or which would bend break or rapidly deteriorate but golly there seems like there should be some rime or reason to this. JEH

Lexiss_sc430

iTrader: (2)

Hello bubblerboy,

To start from the beginning, most people cannot tell the difference between high quality wheels and cheapo wheels on the market. Some people just do not care and others really would not know what to look for.


Here are a few specifications or qualities, which would set wheels apart from one another

• Material used - Is it aluminum, steel, titanium, carbon fiber, ect ect
• Way wheel was produced – forged, cast, and machined
• Pieces – is it a one piece, two-piece or three-piece wheel. Generally, the more pieces a wheel has the more you are able to customize it to fit your specific application. Also in case the wheel is damaged you are able to replace only the item damaged and not the whole wheel.
• Finish – Whether its polished, brushed, chrome, painted, iodized ect ect Some of these finished need to be maintained and others simply need a wash every so often to bring back their luster.


I would suggest you get into contact someone like derrick at D2-AUTOSPORT, He is a authorized vendor on there and will be able to explain things to you and give you the ins and outs. Or just contact a local rim/tire shop and see if you can make an appointment with them to see wheels at their shop in person and take a look around.

Once you know what to look for you will be able to spot out the quality made pieces from the run of the mill mass produced junk.

Cloud9

iTrader: (2)

it's about quality, fit and finish - same reason why a Lexus is more expensive than a Pinto

tonydt1g3r

also the type of aluminum the barrels are made of

Yes

i've been looking at wheels for a while. you can have two basically identical wheels at vastly different prices, yet see a big difference. for example, i was looking at vossen 078s and autocouture caesars. they're almost identical in design. but you can see a big difference in quality when you compare the two. so right now, i'm looking for high end used wheels in good condition, rather than spending the same amount on new mid-range wheels.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

and of course, sometimes you pay for the brand name too.

to me spending 4k on a set of wheels is reasonable (20s), considering the car you are driving. once you do enough homework, you can see that from around 2500 to 3500, that's about the price you pay for a set of good quality, nice finish, reputable brand wheels