How do you differentiate quality Aftermarket rims?

android25ua

android25ua

Well-known member
How do you differentiate quality Aftermarket rims?

Like let's take Audi as an example.

OEM rims are great quality.

Say I want to upgrade to something with a different look, I know that if I go for a rim bought at the dealer, I shouldn't have quality issues (easy-to-bend rim, balancing issues, easy-to-crack rim)

Which aftermarket brands can be considered OEM quality or superior?

Where are these placed in the spectrum? example:

- BBS (certainly OEM or better quality depending on model)
- HRE (imo OEM or better quality?)
- FastWheels (imo questionnable quality, maybe just impression)?
- VMR ?
- BRAELIN?
- ROHANA
- VisionForged?
- Vorsteiner?

?
 
I would definitely focus less on brand names and more on fitment and construction characteristics.

In terms of construction: Cast ---> Flow Formed/Rotary Forged ---------------------> Forged.

Properly forged wheels are still the bees knees in everything but cost.

In terms of companies that manufacture wheels for OEMs, most of them are large fabs that wholesale directly. The only fabs that offer wheels for consumer purchase is BBS and Enkei that I can think off.

All of the other wheel companies are mostly marketing companies who outsource production. Flow Formed / Rotary Forged wheels are all the rage these days but in reality they are cast wheels with a "flow formed" barrel. Despite the marketing speak, they don't encroach on forged wheels at all.
 
android25ua said:
How do you differentiate quality Aftermarket rims?

Like let's take Audi as an example.

OEM rims are great quality.

Say I want to upgrade to something with a different look, I know that if I go for a rim bought at the dealer, I shouldn't have quality issues (easy-to-bend rim, balancing issues, easy-to-crack rim)

Which aftermarket brands can be considered OEM quality or superior?

Where are these placed in the spectrum? example:

- BBS (certainly OEM or better quality depending on model)
- HRE (imo OEM or better quality?)
- FastWheels (imo questionnable quality, maybe just impression)?
- VMR ?
- BRAELIN?
- ROHANA
- VisionForged?
- Vorsteiner?

?
Click to expand...

Message me. I can help you out.
 
It's subjective. People who actually drive replica's broke their oem rim's. Obviously they broke their replica's. The biggest question is... If they had oem instead, would they still break it?

You get all sort of peeps on the road.

The rest is common sense
-casted, forged
-how many spoke
-weight
-size(tire profile)
-damper/spring rate
-Usage(racing, offroad use "montreal street", normal road tarmac "everywhere outside montreal")

To be honest, normal peeps can use steelies no problem.
 
My criteria for wheels has been always oem+. Rims off a higher/newer model of your generally fit better with a modded car then the one size fits all generic aftermarket wheels. Some aftermarket wheels are made for everything yet fit nothing properly. Spacing is off, offset off, size, etc.
 
En!vy said:
I would definitely focus less on brand names and more on fitment and construction characteristics.

In terms of construction: Cast ---> Flow Formed/Rotary Forged ---------------------> Forged.

Properly forged wheels are still the bees knees in everything but cost.

In terms of companies that manufacture wheels for OEMs, most of them are large fabs that wholesale directly. The only fabs that offer wheels for consumer purchase is BBS and Enkei that I can think off.

All of the other wheel companies are mostly marketing companies who outsource production. Flow Formed / Rotary Forged wheels are all the rage these days but in reality they are cast wheels with a "flow formed" barrel. Despite the marketing speak, they don't encroach on forged wheels at all.
Click to expand...

You can also add OZ Racing and Rays Engineering (Volk Racing / Gram Light) to the fab list for proper forged wheels. In the UK, there's also Braid Wheels and Team Dynamics who makes their wheel. They do aftermaket, but they are more in the racing wheel business.

KMC wheels' brand Rotiform also makes forged wheel, but I can't comment on those. They do make racing specific wheels for GT3 cars, but they are probably proper Forged Magnesium wheels.
 
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