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View Full Version : Aftermarket wheel quality



MR2 Fan
March 21st, 2016, 09:16 PM
So this keeps coming up on different forums I look at. When I owned my various other MR2's, no one said anything about replica or knock-off wheel companies, cheaper wheels, etc.

Obviously there are some fly-by-night companies with questionable quality that can cause accidents and don't do well with hitting curbs, etc and can also be heavier.

Having said that, there are some companies that make similar wheels to other companies but are decent quality anyway, and have been around for a long time.

I don't mind paying more for quality wheels, but some of them are $3,000+.

So, companies like Rota, XXR, Konig, etc. seem to be decent.

Thoughts?

The359
March 21st, 2016, 09:36 PM
XXR seems to be good quality from what I've seen in the 86 community. Subaru owners swear by Rotas but I think their quality depends on the age of the wheel. They're good now but apparently they were shoddy before.

TheBenior
March 21st, 2016, 10:10 PM
I've bent gravity cast wheels (15" Konig Helium on my 1997 Miata) and low pressure cast wheels (17" MSW Type 14s from a Tire rack winter package for my 2008 Mazdaspeed3).

So I guess the moral of the story is, avoid Chicago potholes. My 18"x7" OEM Mazdaspeed3 wheels held up pretty well over 5 years, but they also weigh 25 lbs each.

CudaMan
March 21st, 2016, 10:55 PM
I've had Rotas (15" Slipstreams, 17" Titans, 18" Torques) and had no issues. I didn't like the flat black finish on the Titans, because brake dust embedded itself in the finish within a month and could never be removed (I clean my wheels frequently and thoroughly).

The 350Z came with XXR 531s. I can't believe how little they suck because they cost almost nothing and they're huge. The biggest downside is they're very heavy. I curbed one, and it's probably cheaper to buy a new one than refinish. First time I ever curbed a wheel, good thing it was a $120 wheel. :)

Wheel snobs annoy me a bit. Sure a Volk is a better wheel in many respects, but it's not like anything less is unacceptably useless.

My favorite wheels have been my Volks and WedsSports, no question. Enkeis have been solid, too. Those are usually fairly reasonably priced.

Cam
March 22nd, 2016, 08:13 AM
Face it, if you want quality, you have to pay.

thesameguy
March 22nd, 2016, 08:30 AM
Can we define quality? Are we talking about resistance to damage, paint, fitment or proneness to catastrophic failure?

Jason
March 22nd, 2016, 08:41 AM
So far I've been fairing pretty well with Sparco Assetto Garas, I think they are gravity cast, and I drive in a pothole infested city... I am pretty cautious with the roads around here though.

Freude am Fahren
March 22nd, 2016, 10:22 AM
I've had my XXR's for a year, and they've held up well. I've heard bad thing about their bronze wheels' coating flaking off really quick, which is why I went for black. I've hit some bad potholes and no issues. I have rubbed a couple of curbs lightly with no permanent damage.

I think the biggest things to look out for will be weight and quality of finishes for painted wheels.

Light and cheap may be a warning sign.

Phil_SS
March 22nd, 2016, 10:43 AM
Can we define quality? Are we talking about resistance to damage, paint, fitment or proneness to catastrophic failure?

And by what actions. I don't think I have ever seen a wheel have a catastrophic failure while someone is driving in normal conditions. But I have seen them fail in track videos.

So, how are you planning to use the wheels?

thesameguy
March 22nd, 2016, 10:51 AM
A long time ago I remember some car had what many described as defective wheels that would actually crack over time. One or two you could blame on the driver, but there was a whole bunch of wheels over the entire country with fatigue cracks. I'd consider that a "low quality wheel," but absolutely a very isolated incident. I wish I could remember what wheel it was - may have been a Ford product? I'm just trying to think of cars that have wheels I'd pay attention to. I dunno.

When Saab released the NG900 in 1994 they ended up getting hit by a lawsuit alleging they used substandard wheels that were prone to bending. Conventional wisdom is that they actually used unusually low profile tires (205/50-16) and in the '90s people just weren't prepared for that and ended up killing wheels. Years later, they got attacked again for the wheels on the Viggen, which may have actually been unusually soft and prone to bending - hard to say!

Personally, I have only ever clobbered one set of wheels - some very expensive ones on my Alfa when I encountered unexpected lumber on the road on the middle of the night. It was so scattered I had nowhere to go except over - bent two wheels catastrophically. That's the only problem I have ever had. Of course, no matter how bad our roads are here, they aren't nothing compared to bigger cities back east. I can typically avoid major roadway issues which isn't always an option elsewhere.

Random
March 22nd, 2016, 11:02 AM
My three most relevant data points:

1) Had no issues with a set of Konig Heliums on my 94 Miata, including track day(s) and daily driving. Paint quality was good.
2) Had small issues balancing a set of Kosei K1s on the E36. However, this was before Tirerack paid Kosei to have the K1 molds remade. Wheels were otherwise fine.
3) Had no durability issues with my OZ Ultraleggeras on the E36. However, paint quality was actually kind of lame for such expensive wheels.

Don't have enough of a history with the other sets of aftermarket wheels I've owned to make any sort of worthwhile judgement.

Jason
March 22nd, 2016, 01:18 PM
Re paint, I scuffed one of my wheels up pretty good, but I couldn't expect it to not get scuffed up, I slid up against the curb pretty good (I try to get as tight as possible to the curb, since streets here have little room and there's a lot of construction vehicles going up and down right now, trying to not lose a mirror).

Yw-slayer
March 22nd, 2016, 06:16 PM
Light and cheap may be a warning sign.

Like we say with bicycles: Light, cheap, strong, pick two.

Crazed_Insanity
March 24th, 2016, 12:49 PM
I'm assuming tirerack won't sell any sub-standard products?

I bought a set of cheapest 17" ASA wheels(about $100/ea) in order to fit the cheapest max performing summer tires for my S2k.

It's been more than a decade, no issues.

However, I don't go on the track with them though... I'd revert back to my factory wheels and seemingly OEM melt on the track bridgestone tires.