J.P.

I was a victim of knockoffs. Running down to the local tire shop and buying some wheels for 2-3k that they said where “top of the line” Later finding out they are knockoffs and are fake 3pc(I don’t know much about wheels, well until I came across this forum anyway) So I sold them and decided to get some real wheels this spring. I come to this forum for advice and to find out about new wheels. But sometimes it just gets old listening to the cheap wheel people. If you tell me you bought a 95’ Es300 because you wanted to spend your money on something more reliable then a used Sable, then cool I agree you should maybe look at some cheap wheels. But when your rolling a 30k+ car and you have the audacity to come in the forum bragging how buying cheap knock offs is just a matter of style, then you have some issues. It is getting old listening to these people. People buying $45,000 cars and complaining they don’t have $3800 to put the quality wheels on their car. People rolling around with their $45,000 cars and live in a $600 a month apartment. YEAH your rollin hard in that lex, but your living way above the level you should be. You have the sweet ride with the sick chrome 20” knockoffs and you can pick up chicks all night. COOL. Maybe you should buy a house first? Maybe some furniture? Because if you could truly buy the car within your lifestyle means, you would not be complaining about spending a little more money on quality wheels.

GS4Will

jp,

agree 110%.... btw, are you in anyway related to our wheel master manaray

J.P.

Nope. But over and over I see him and others chat about this subject. But every post I go into, I always see this battle. The Zenetti Vagas post by TXSTYLE pushed me over the edge. For the 200th time i seen it again. I respect the 10 second $20,000 1996 civic guys around my area. They own homes and do things right. More then the sat night Lexus rollers with their apts and 20" knock off's. Hum. $45,000 Gs with $2200 chrome 20's and an Apt, or a Camery and down payment on a house? Hum..

Lexus_IS300

why dont you buy my blitz?

Lexus_IS300

btw, maybe some people just cant justify buying expensive wheels. maybe they have other priority? maybe some have their car as their first priority next to their living place. it is all about priorities. yes i maybe able to justify buying a set of $5k wheels, but some can't. just like some people can justify buying a $8k camera lens, can you?

HDDuece

Which Blitz do you have and how much.

Manaray

jpa2400 - are you sure I don't you? Man, I couldn't agree with you more! (as you know!)

These "wannabe players" that JPA2400 described are such looser...it's the same type of guys you see rolling around in some salvaged titled, 5th owner '89 Accord with some cheap *** (chromed, OF COURSE) wheels, not even lowered and they drive around like they're SUCH PIMPS...it's not even what they drive or what they did to their ride, it's the MENTALITY/ATTITUDE...that "I'M SUCH A PIMP!" attitude...when they're nothing but a broke as PIMPLE. I don't understand it....

Lexus_IS300 - I understand and agree with you but if I'm on a Photographic "enthusiast" website and I have a Nikon F5 and I have it all "decked out" with some $30 "no name" lenses and a $10 Target Camera bag, a no name $10 tripod, and I'm running around and saying a $30 lens is "just as good" as a $8000 lens, wouldn't that look just plain STUPID?

Sure, I PERSONALLY wouldn't spend $8000 on a camera lens but then again, I'm not into photography as a hobby...

HDDuece, while I agree that getting "bang for the buck" is great (paying retail sucks for anything and I didn't win the recent $185 Million California Lotto so I don't have money coming out of my ****!), but buying Zenetti's is not "bang for the buck"...getting a set of $6000 wheels for $3000 is a bang for the buck!

I mean do you buy a fake Rolex (Folex) Explorer II because you get the same "look" as a rea Rolex Explorer II but instead of spending $3300, you only spend $150? That's not "bang for the buck"...getting a REAL Rolex Explorer II at 40% off New-In-Box with open papers is "bang for the buck". (and if anyone knows where I can get that price on that watch, please PM me as I'll buy 10 or more...just to resale Mr. Johnson! )

You live in a 1/2 million house, do you have a "clearance/returned items" stereo system in your house? You have a 13" black and white TV made by Emerson? Do you have bottom of the line furniture? Is your kitchen some $1500 "package" special from Uncle Joe's Kitchens and Transmissions? Did you lay in some $0.99/sq ft. retail price carpet in your home? "Marble Looking" vinyl flooring? $uper $aver blinds or curtains made by ???? I mean come on. What's the point of having a 1/2 million dollar house if you're going to put in stuff that belongs in a $575/month 2-bedroom apartment in the "shady" (at BEST) part of Los Angeles?

Now you also said that you don't see the point of spending cash on wheels...so, to me, it seems as if you're not really "into" doing up your car...you just want it to look a little different from stock. That's COMPLETELY understandable, but why do it with KNOCK-OFFS? If you like the Zenetti Mystics, just get the real Weds Kranze Cerberus (the 1-piece 18" version isn't much more than the fake Zenetti's)

I suppose it just depends on your level of involvement in any given hobby or interest. Cars (and firearms and watches) are hobby to me, so maybe I take them more seriously than some other people and I'm willing to put money towards excellent equipment....but when I didn't have much money, I didn't buy a firearm that I couldn't afford to shoot...

D-MAN63

Let me ask you guys this.

About those so called "high quality wheels", how about if you think those designs are butt-ugly but a one-piece wheel that costs less money (I am not talking about knock-offs) that you really think looks nice? Are you going to get the $6000 wheels just because people say they are top quality EVEN THOUGH you think the design of it looks nasty?? Or are you going to get a one-piece wheel that costs $3800-$4200 that you think the design looks off-the-hook.

I'm not talking about knock-offs, I agree with you guys about that, I am talking about what kind of design that you are getting. I've seen alot of top-quality wheels but most of them I think looks just plain ugly.

J.P.

HDDuece I guess we are speaking on the same level in a way. My home when it was built was 550, now valued at 625k. I know what my income looks like and I wouldn’t hesitate to spend an extra $1000 on GOOD wheels for my LEXUS. In reality you don't have to spend $5000 on wheels. You don't need 3pc wheels. But you can buy quality wheels that are not knock off's. Say you seen some knockoffs for $1800 and the real 1pc non-knockoff wheel are $2600, why not spend the extra $800? Because you cannot justify it? You cannot justify an extra $500-1000 for the real deal? Then how do you justify a 500k home and a 56k car? You bought those for a reason right? Quality? I’m not trying to impress anyone. I guess I want to have a little integrity when I drive my Lexus down the street. If you cannot put at least an equal quality of wheel on your car, then don’t replace the stock ones. If you didn’t know any better when you bought your wheels then I understand, but if you went out and bought cheap knockoffs knowing what they where, then damn! And I agree with you, getting a good value\deal is a smart choice. I think everyone on this board agrees. But buying fake anything is not a deal.


Lexus_IS300- I can justify anything I am really into. But why are you buying a Lexus or BMW? If you have the $$$ to buy a new\newer luxury car then you should have the $$ to do things right. You shouldn’t spend 50k on a car then flinch because the good quality wheels are an extra $800. you don’t have to spend 5k. I can because I am really into it. But you can buy original good quality wheels for a decent price. And most of the people around here who prioritized their car first. Well they don’t still have homes or assets. And the 60 month 12k mile lease is up on their car before they know it. All the wannabe ballers put on a nice show. Nice cloths cars, big fake chrome wheels, then you drive by their one bedroom palace. What is even worse is the 500k home owners who should have the coin to do it right, then don’t.

DIESELMAN63- Nothing wrong with 1pc wheels. You don’t have to spend 5k on wheels. Buying a good quality, non-knockoff is the right choice. No one is saying you have to go buy a high end 6k 3pc mesh wheel. It is a matter of taste and style.


This whole thread just reminds me of an associate. My partner went out and bought a boat. 42’. He can afford it all day long. It is one thing to BUY the boat. Sure you can afford the payment. But can you afford to dock it, put gas in it and repairs? Maintaining and using it will cost you more then the boat cost. My associate came out on the boat one day and he had to have one. He now complains how it costs so much dock it and the fact it runs $150 in gas to take it for a small cruise. But hey when we all get together at a conference who is talking about their 42’ boat? Guess who. To bad it only leaves the dock one a year because he is broke. It is about equal to me as the people rolling in their pricey Lexus and their fake wheels with no assets. You’re living above your means. If you can really afford the boat, then you wouldn’t be complaining how much it takes to run it.

Some people are living above their means, some have the money and rather argue how they got a deal on fake wheels. I guess it is a matter of integrity.

biggie27

hey guys you can get quality wheels for less than 6k I mean why spend 4k on bling bling nockoff 20's when you can get a nice set of work wheels for about 2.5k in 19" all you have to do is look for it if you cant afford HRE look or Lowenhart or any of those big names look for some JDM wheels there considrably lower in price and in my opinion look alot nicer than most of the those expensive wheels

GS4Will

when it comes to wheel design, the beauty is in the eyes of whoever the owner is......it is just that many rim co on the market does notthing but take others' design and perform straight copies..and their prices from what i gathered is not that cheap now....personally for me, $5k set of rims is expensive.

the true, genuine JDM, or any original design name brand can be had for ~$2k(18s)-4k(20s, 3pcs forged super chrome by work), in any design that suits your taste, why not...i have on order for several CL guys who were actually going to go to local joes' rim shop for some knok-offs..after i showed them several cars and pics of the REAL thing, now they are looking forward to the day when their new rims arrive from japan......

even the tyre shop owner where i took wei's work equips to asked me where to get them as he, the person in this business want the real thing....

GlobeCLK

iTrader: (5)

yeah good quality wheels are not always expensive..... SSR wheels are very good quality and they are cheap for 1-piece 18s. I agree with all of you, and I think that it doesn't matter if you spend 2000 for 18s for 4000 for 20s. As long as they're good wheels, the only difference is if you paid a good price or paid too much.

I don't mind spending 2000 for TE37s, they're quality 18s. But I wouldn't wanna spend even 1000 for knock-off 20s.

amlin423

wow ...i see this argument here all the time...honestly..i don't think manaray and the like would give a crap about what anyone wants to put on their cars....he's merely telling you what he thinks and knows...honestly i think it's because we are seeing sooooo many of those hideous civics, integras...that are painted green or yellow and those disgusting tail lights and spoilers...etc....now anytime I hear anyone drive a civic or an integra, that's all that comes to mind....so it's understandable why there are people who despises those knock offs cheap *****s...

peronally..i can't justify buying wheels..but i do have over 5k in stereo equip in my car and most people couldn't care less about the imaging and soundstage of system in their car...most people are only impressed with 15in subs with 8 million watt amps.......If i WERE into getting wheels...i'd definitely do some homework and get some quality stuff rather than tarnishing the image of a nice GS....it actually is really really sad when you see a nice car completely "destroyed" by bad taste and quality. (picture a GS with purple tint that's all bubbled up or a GS with some lowrider wheels ..hundreds of gold spokes on the wheel that's sticking out of the car)

Lexus_IS300

Blitz Technospeed z1 19x8 front and 19x10 rear with 235/35zr19 front tires and 265/30zr19 rear tires. basicaly brand new. i have the post in the forsale section.

Manaray

Diesel - NO ONE should EVER buy a wheel that they don't aesthetically like (or love). I wouldn't buy a wheel that was top quality but not good looking. Taste is whole seperate issue...and money does NOT buy taste...

And like JPA2400 said, it's a matter of INTEGRITY.

Amlin - You're absolutely right...if someone wants to ***** up their Lexus, that's their business...but if someone asks questions, I'm going to suggest the "right" way every time....

Putting cheap/knock-off wheels in a GS is like ripping out the stock sound system and putting in a full Jensen "sound system"...talk about lowering the value of the car...

But in the end, I doubt that most of these "low end" Lexus owners will even comprehend this thread...some peope JUST DON'T GET IT!