bruce van

There is no denying there are companies that blatantly copy other companies. There should be some credit to given to originality. Granted if a company takes one design and makes it better than its competitors, that's one thing. But rarely do you have a copy that is better than the original.

The whole point of knock-offs is bringing to market something close to the original at a lower price point and usually quality has to be sacrificed in order to do that.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

it's just like saying body kits knock offs. they are the same, they are "functional", but still, they are fake

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

Actually guys, I chose the wrong title for this thread. I didn't intend to get into as debate about knock-offs. Obviously, no one wants a cheap copy of an original. My real intention is to dissuade people from putting down and/or not appreciating another person because they didn't put 5K wheels on their car.
Again, there are wheels like TSW that resemble high end wheels and cost much, much less....but the quality is just as good or better than many high end wheels. Yet someone will see a pic of that car with TSW and say something dumb like, "that wheel is crap or you should get better wheels." From a quality standpoint, it's hard to get better wheels than a TSW. You can get wheels that look waaay better but it's the quality aspect I refer to.

1sick, I totally agree with you about Diablo wheels. They are or were crap. I've seen too many of them broken. I do believe they have improved their quality but it's their look that would keep me away from them now.

There are a gang of new wheel companies popping up now. Selling wheels in the high end area. Look at the designs. Copies of copies. Can't call them knock-offs because they aren't cheap....but I would still be careful about buying something unknown and untested. Yet, that person is applauded but the TSW owner is not given the same props. That just seems crazy to me.

lexusscturbo

iTrader: (12)

Henry, authentic wheels bend and crack too; For that Rota in page one; it was a bad batch and the owner drove over a curbstop.. I guess for cracked wheels just like the HRE story...there is more to the truth than just the truth, minus the Sevas of course.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

in that sense, i totally agree. price should not be the primary factor in determining the reputation of wheels. some of the work wheels are very affordable, and they are quality stuff

sure, of course, i am not saying authentic wheels don't bend. i have seen plenty, even hre and what not. again, just like body kits, authentic doesn't mean the fiber glass won't crack

my main focus was "copy", "fake", "knock-off"

SoCalSC4

For the record, I will again remind "the internet" that the HRE story that was blown-up all over the 'net a few years ago turned out to NOT be an HRE wheel.

In fact, it was a Kinesis wheel, and the failure was caused by improper heat stripping and re-application of powder coating.

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

How do I change the title?

LexFather

Regg we can change it, what would u like it to be?

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

Low Cost Wheels

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Bam!!!!!!!!!!!!

IS-SV

My preference is for mid-priced decent quality wheels. For example I had Mandrus wheels (made by TSW for Mercedes) on my 06 ML250. And I'm looking at MRR GT1's for my 07 IS350.

rdgdawg

That's why I LOVE Tire Rack... those guys will give you a wheel education, with pleasure, in about 5 minutes, and you can make a wise decision...

BOTTOM LINE- only buy tried and true, long-time manufacturers, not "flavor of the moment" wheels...

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

I really like the Mandrus stuff from TSW.
TSW also has a line of wheels specifically for Vette, BMW, Range Rover, Audi and I think one more. I wish they had stuff for Lexus because it's hard to fit the regular TSW stuff for our cars.
TSW also makes the brand Petrol but their offsets are too conservative for my tastes. Too bad because Petrol has a 5 spoke that I think is really sweet.

LexFather

Well to me its all about doing the research. This goes beyond wheels, to EVERYTHING, furniture, shavers, beer

It also depends on what you use your car for. If you drive hard or the roads are awful, you better buy some quality wheels. If its a 3rd car or so, then maybe you don't need 3 piece forged wheels.

I don't think myself or most here have issues with low cost wheels. Its badly built wheels and as some stated in this thread some EXPENSIVE wheels are built just average.

WHen you watch racing, you do realize the companies that are involved do make some of the highest quality products available b/c that technology on the track goes into the street.

You can also tell what companies and employees are PASSIONATE of the wheels they build. To me that counts for a lot b/c they have more invested than just a paycheck. They want to sell the best wheels possible!

The analogy I always use is LEXUS is like a fine suit and you better get some good shoes with your suit.

Regg how many pairs of wheels have you had? I swear you change them monthly!!!

Ice350

iTrader: (1)

That's my point right there. You're referring to quality as 3 piece forged wheels. Wheels can be cast and be of good quality as well. You're right, research will bear that out. You don't ask dealers. They want to sell the highest priced thing they can. You check the manufacturing process. You check the failure history. Around here, most people associate high cost as the only criteria for quality and that's dead wrong. In my experience, multipiece wheels have more problems than cast. I don't know anyone who drives their car that didn't need their high end wheels refurbished after a year or 2. That's quality?