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Which is better quality --- Enkei Raijin or O.Z. Superturismo LM?
I'm shopping for a winter wheel/tire setup and have narrowed it down between the Enkei and OZ. I realize that the O.Z. is more expensive, but does anybody have experience with the two?
Are the O.Z. wheels worth the price premium?
I'm assuming Enkei is made in Japan and the OZ is make in Italy?
Both wheel manufactures are some of our best wheels we offer here at Tire Rack. Having put hands on both wheels, the finish quality is nearly identical. They are great looking wheels.
The difference between the two will be the actual construction / manufacturing process of the wheel. Lets first say that both will be more than adequate for street and light track use, as most of the wheels we offer.
So a little more in-depth info:
The Enkei Raijin is a gravity cast with MAT technology manufactured wheel. This is a fancy term for flow forming wheels. This technology produces a strength that is close to a forged wheel without actually being a forged wheel. Also, another benefit is that the cost is significantly reduced when considering it next to the forging process. Enkei is actually supplying McLaren/Mercedes this year in Formula 1 with a gravity cast with MAT technology wheel, the same manufacturing process found in the Raijin wheel.
OZ Racing uses a similar flow forming process which they refer to this process as HLT, which will likely be used next year in F1. The last I knew they are still using forged wheels in F1 and Indy/Dallara. Unfortunately, this technology is not found in this particular Superturismo LM wheel. In this wheel, they are using a low pressure cast with shot peen manufacturing process. What this means is that as they pour the mold, they are putting pressure into the mold, making a more dense finished product. After that, they are shot peening the wheel which adds some strength. -not to the level of a flow formed wheel at all, but still better than most original equipment wheels because of the shot peening. The low pressure cast alone is the process which most OE wheels are formed.
So which wheel is for you? Well, at the end of the day, I think it will purely come down to styling. Unless you are doing something more than street driving/light track use, either will be more than suitable, as will just about any wheel we offer. You might ask why the great cost difference? That will purely relate to the amount of wheels produced. The more produced, the less it costs to manufacture. If you want to the lone guy on the block with a fantastic wheel no one else has, the OZ wheel is the way to go.
I'm running the Enkei Raijin rims (staggered) and they are very high quality.
I've hit some serious pot holes living here in PA before I switched over to my winter wheels, and being as light as they are, they are really sturdy, and turn heads very easily.
09-19-14, 09:40 AM
Which is better quality --- Enkei Raijin or O.Z. Superturismo LM?
