Real wheels or "fake"wheels?

[OmarGC]

[yoshiharadesign]

Originally Posted by Ro_Ja

I know all that and I've bought up wheel construction in previous posts, but my statement was pretty simplified for the sake of my point that you're more likely to just bend a Rays, SSR, or Work wheel than break it into pieces like you commonly see with Rota, XXR, etc. There are some "high end" wheel manufacturers out that that claim their wheels are forged, but they're really just cast wheels when you start examining their manufacturing process.

Actually, a simplified blanket statement probably would be slightly misleading. From our experience, we have tested and seen forged wheels crack and break. Wheel failure can be stemming from a wide array of factors. To say brand name or forged wheels will crack less then a cast wheel or even replica wheels would not be true. From a manufacturing side, the style, the material, the quality of material all have contributing factors. A "fake" wheel can be as durable or even surpass as some of the "real" wheel counterparts due to the fact that most fake wheels need to accommodate a much wider array of vehicles and weights. And if those wheels come from manufacturing plants that do not skimp on material and quality, then a "fake" wheel structure wise would be on par with brand name wheels. Which leads into an interesting fact that now many of notable brands from Japan have good portions of their wheel production moved from home, often being produced right next to "fake" wheels.... then shipped back to Japan for additional finishing only to be stamped made in Japan.... It's really just a lot of marketing behind it....which a consumer ends up paying in terms of premium.

Which leads to name brand manufacturers touting forged when in reality it's a cast wheel... Forge is a relatively loose term that means a high pressure compression of said material to enhance its density and strength. Today, wheels can be both cast and forged because certain process have come online that mixes the lower cost of casting and forging to require less material and thus lighter wheels. Because less aluminum means less raw material cost for manufacturer... However it almost never means that the lighter wheel will be stronger simply because they all are tested to the same standards. Of course, some brand manufacturers will tout it as forged since there are components during production process that technically qualify as forged... And it is based on that technicality where marketing minds spin the product as a superior item...which again consumers pay a premium for.

So reality is that the premium should rest not on solely the brand, whether its forged or cast but whether you like the style, what the wheel is bought to do, and whether the quality is acceptable to you vs price.

As to design, so many wheels look so similar to each other these days that an original can be slapped with an overtly broad statement that it is a copy of another... It's like Hawaiian shirts, just because its floral pattern shirt doesn't mean one is a copy or fake... There are just many interpretations of a Hawaiian shirt... IMHO there are no fakes out there anymore... Because a fake is something that replicates exactly as the original would be and touting as such... And with today's legal scrutiny on intellectual property, no company in their right mind would want to sell a product decievingly with another brand logo... And if there are companies that still do that, those are the guys you would shy away from...

[Stealth]

Here is a video that helped me decide.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-v1Pyd4bPg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-v1Pyd4bPg[/ame]

[bkblitzed]

i dont see rota's as fake or knock off wheels any more. GST motorsports uses rota wheels in their time attack L, so anyone that knocks on rota for being unreliable is most likely just a hater.

[troek]

Originally Posted by PradiG

just from what ive seen, its the exact opposite. I have alot of people trying to justify why they got replicas / knock offs. I mean everyone has a reason but the people ive met go out of their way to justify why they got the wheels they did. All my friends with "real" wheels dont brag about it, they always tell people to get what they can afford and what suits them best.

Everyone has different priorities and points of interest and different budgets to stay respectful of.

It seems you're hating on "real" wheels :/

nope, not hating. i run stock 16s . i think theres a definant quality difference between the big names and lower, which is why i havnt bought wheels yet. ive just seen alot of people on forums talk trash about lower price wheels for no reason. the best advice ive sean is the cheap, light, strong argument, that you can only have 2 of the 3.

[yoshiharadesign]

Originally Posted by Stealth

Here is a video that helped me decide.

Didn't understand the video too much as Engrish was hard to understand. I think the wheels targeted on video are a 1-1 copy with even their logo in place.. We've seen this fairly rampant in Asia countries. However, stateside, anyone caught selling copies are dealt with much more severely than in Asia. Over in the states, a key question you can ask the brand wheel manufacturer to see if they are willing to stand behind their product is how much product liability insurance they have to protect consumers. That will tell you how much they have vested for not only their products but also to their customers. Because any reputable brand will have a sizable product liability insurance. Often real imitation wheels copying the name of the brand will less likely even have product liability insurance. Not to mention, any reputable distribution channels will not sell their wheels without it...

[utekineir]

what exactly is a fake wheel,

an imaginary wheel,

a square wheel

i mean, not that they are anything more than dogshit, but technically drag and xxr wheels are "real wheels", they can be touched, held, mounted, driven.



strength, weight, low price, choose 2

i'm fine with imitation wheels assuming they're of decent quality for the price.

[executivekoala]

As an owner of real and fakes I can say this. I had a set of Walds that would bend under minor abuse and same with the Lowenharts, it was nice having 2pc wheels and bragging rights but honestly I got over it. I also had a set of MRR HR3's which I loved and would take the abuse when when they did bend they warped and were not able to be saved. Its been a mixed bag but for me I would love to have a nice used set of Gramlights or the like but it hurts my soul to bend them and beat on them, I like my XXR's because if I lunch a wheel its 150$ and I got a brand new one.

[jdmblood]

are work emotions cast or forged?

[yoshiharadesign]

Originally Posted by jdmblood

are work emotions cast or forged?

They are cast....

[yoshiharadesign]

Originally Posted by executivekoala

As an owner of real and fakes I can say this. I had a set of Walds that would bend under minor abuse and same with the Lowenharts, it was nice having 2pc wheels and bragging rights but honestly I got over it. I also had a set of MRR HR3's which I loved and would take the abuse when when they did bend they warped and were not able to be saved. Its been a mixed bag but for me I would love to have a nice used set of Gramlights or the like but it hurts my soul to bend them and beat on them, I like my XXR's because if I lunch a wheel its 150$ and I got a brand new one.

The 2 piece wheel bends because usually the barrels usually are spun but weaker than a cast barrel... We have worked with this material on dai's s13 and it is too weak for track duty IMHO...

As to casted or flow formed name brand wheels, we don't see the point of paying beyond $300 for an 18 since price point for the technology doesn't justify paying over that amount....

[jdmblood]

are work emotions good quality on terms of real wheels?

[yoshiharadesign]

Originally Posted by jdmblood

are work emotions good quality on terms of real wheels?

I think nowadays, most cast wheel technology have reached a level where most wheels are very similar in quality. The key difference being the quality of material used... as long as quality aluminum are used, the work wheels are no exception.. At some point pricing becomes less of a quality issue than brand name premium.

On another note, I did notice on the video the comparison were showing imitation wheels that had a different profile than the original... in addition, it didn't show if the wheels all have the same load rating and if the impact force was identical.. Because if they do differ in specifications, the wheel specified to withstand higher forces would almost always be more impact resistance... That would be the only clarification that would help the video establish more credibility.... Because while it might be convincing to the general public, any manufacturing plant can replicate those results just by putting a 690kg load rated wheel against a 500 kg rated wheel... It would be like comparing a truck wheel against a sports compact wheel... If the video showed those details, it would be more beneficial for the manufacturer in their comparison against copies...

[TylerLieberman]

Ive owned like 12 sets of wheels. Legit companies and knockoff as well:

Work vskf
Ssr sp1
Gram lights 57pro
5zigen fn01r
Xxrs
Jic magic
Rota
Gp sports
Etc

I love nice custom wheels but for a 25k car that sees drift time, i dont wanna see $500+ wheels get destroyed like that. If i destroy a $100 wheel, then oh well. Nowhere near as painful as destroying an $800 wheel.

The other reason is because there stil isn't a wheel in the exact size, fitment, and color available that I would want to spend high dollar amounts on. I'm just waiting for the right wheel for me to spend the money on. Those 18x9.5 velvet blue gram lights 57 extremes might be the ones. They would make killer DD wheels. I'd still probably keep my 17" xxrs just to thrash on the track though.

Some people have the money to throw on expensive wheels, some dont. Some do but would still rather buy cheaper wheels for whatever reason. Whatever works for what their overall goal is, is perfectly fine. I dont think anybody should be hated on for that.

Only thing I cant stand are people who buy knockoff wheels and blatantly try to pass them off as the real thing. (Rota grids with volk and te37 stickers)