Manaray

GSman - While Dronell makes good quality wheels, I don't like many of their wheels because they're knock-off designs. The one in your post is a copy of the Hamann design...while it's a good looking wheel, it's a well known BMW tuner wheel...if that doesn't bother you, then quality wise, they're fine. I'm a big opponent of doing other car brand tuner wheels and doing knock-off looking wheels...no matter how good they look...

Msray - One of reason why the Zenetti's have done well is because they're one piece wheels. Also, just because you've hit a lot of potholes doesn't mean that you hit "the" pothole that will make the difference. Your Volks might have bent due to many factors...speed, angle, depth, etc...you obviously hit "the" pothole with 'em...I've always said that in general, a 1-piece is better at resisting that type of damage...also, it depends on the lip design. If you have deep/huge lips, there is a more likely chance that you'll damage them on a pothole...

Anyways, I've had more than my far share of wheels from 1 to 3-piece wheels and my 1-piece wheels usually hold up well (most have been "lipless" types)...but I say Zenetti's are crap because they are direct knock-offs (which obviously doesn't bother you) and I know their casting quality is NOT top notch...they're the same as any low end wheel...price has nothing to do with it. I don't judge stuff based on priced (otherwise, I would have bought a E420 and I would never recommend Kumhos...) I bought a well built car and I'm only going to put well built parts on it...Just curious, but which Zenetti's did you own?

I have not owned any Zenetti's myself but I have seen many of them in person and I've seen a lot of them come in cracked and/or bent (you have to remember, I have a few friends that own/work at performance shops and such so I see more than a "normal" share of this type of stuff...)

Also, if you don't mind knock offs and such, why bother buying ANYTHING name brand? Why get Greddy's? Why get Akimoto? Why get Eibach? There are cheaper solutions out there....

But what it comes down to is that it's YOUR money and YOUR car. If you ask me for MY opinion, I'm going to give it to you. If I only had $1000 to spend on wheels (or wheels/tires), I would just run stock wheels...I'd rather wear K-Mart shoes with a K-Mart suit rather than spend all my money on a Armani suit and have to buy K-Mart shoes...I believe in if you're going to do it, do it right...of course, maybe I just care more since cars are one of main hobbies rather than phase in my life...eh, I'm just wierd that way...

Mr Johnson

manaray:

Your last two posts have really hit home. Yeah I'm a watch guy who's seen timezone go through several ownerships. Alas having two (three actually) expensive hobbies makes it difficult to afford the "best" in any given one. Someday a Lange will find it's way into my possession though.

I also totally agree with your comment on doing it right or not bothering at all. I too have reached that stage in my life where I'd rather do without something rather than have something I consider to be sub-standard. This doesn't mean that I don't compromise and do tradeoffs based on price but I'll wait to get the HDTV until I can get a decent one rather than buy a cheap crappy one. Same thing with mods to cars, watches or my audio system. I'll save the money until I can afford what I want.

Most people don't get it. They don't get it about the cars, watches, or audio gear. They can't understand why someone would want something so expensive (laserdisc vs VHS) when they can't see a difference (You can pick lot's of analogies). They also can't seem to believe that I don't care what they think.

Strange what happens to you when you get older.

Regards,

Peter

BTW: Any comments on the AV-3? They seem to be popular wheels.

Manaray

Mr. Johnson - I too hope that I will have a Lange...specifically, the Lange 1 Tourbillion (I'm not a gold fan but this is one watch I would make an exception for!)

Lange 1 Tourbillion

And your HDTV comment is also spot on. There are some places where compromise and tradeoffs work to your benefit. I'm glad to see that someone else on here subscribes to the same school of thought as I do. It's ashame that there are so many people that are satisfied with doing things half-assed. This is why the whole "import" market has a bad name (ricers)...now these same people want to bring down the luxury import market...

As for the AV-3's, it is one of the "Classics"...the only bad thing about it is that there are SO MANY knock-offs of it (and REALLY crappy knock-offs to boot!)...

If a nice 5-spoke is what you're after, there are SO MANY out on the market...another classic is the Work Equips. Also, Fikse and HRE make some nice forged 5 spokes...

Sleepyboi

iTrader: (4)

I am personally a volk fan, my brother has the challenges on his SC300, and my friend has the av3's on his GS300. (as u can see we are all lexus enthusiasts ) The rims that i am lookin to buy are the Volk III for my GS300.

Just my 2 cents,
Boris