If they sold the wheels for 101.00 dollars and only made 1 dollar of profit per wheel, do you honestly believe that you would be able to buy the wheels for 101.00 dollars?

For that low price, someone would buy them all up and just mark them up 499.00 dollars and you would still be paying 600.00 bucks. It doesn't matter if it only cost them .01 cents per wheel to make them....The price you're going to pay depends on supply and demand, not manufacturing cost.

 

In addition all that equipment costs tons of $$$$$$$$$

 

man, i was JUST getting over my economics and u had to ruin it all! LOL

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nice vid! I want Rays even more now! I wonder if this vid can be found in Japanese so that my dad can watch it...

 

If your theory was true, shouldn't all wheels cost the same? Or is it that all the attractive wheels will cost more then the ugly ones?

I don't think S&D explains the difference between the cost of forged and cast wheels. What about aluminum vs magnesium, are material costs ignored? Are HRE wheels so expensive because of the high costs associated manufacturing in Germany or because they're so popular here the demand has driven the price up?

 

I think what Newton is saying is... that even if Rays wanted to sell their stuff cheap, they wouldn't because of the way markets work.

Obviously an HRE or a RAYS rim is significantly more expensive to make than a Konig or an Axis but because of the way markets work, they can put a 200% margin and still sell and enough.

Remember in math / business classes, where you would take different contribution margins and multiply by demand and find the optimal price? That's exactly what they did...

for example, they can either sell 1000 units with $10 profit or 100 units wiht $100 profit... They chose the 100 units route to keep their wheels "exclusive" and "hot". Who'd give a **** about RAY's or HRE's if every other kid had them on a civic?

 

HRE's manufactured in Germany??
Last time I checked, their plant was right here in San Diego... Vista to be exact.

They're expensive because of the forging process, quality and "customization". Oh and the demand inherited by the name and legacy:
"HRE becomes first U.S. wheel company to successfully spin-form 3-piece rims"

You're right: Mostly the name and demand though.

 

Oops, bad example. Replace "Germany" with "US" - it still has the same implication.

 

let's say an HRE rim costs $1000... what Newton is saying is it probably costs 400 to make and 600 is premium they charge CAUSE THEY CAN.

 

One thing that I am curious about is does Rays take their level of making wheels to the same level of Work Wheels Japan, HRE, BBS? I highly doubt it

There are 3 tests and I will have to dig up the names. One is Radial testing where they spin the rim at an extremely high rate of speed.

 

Prices on HRE's, Work, and BBS are high because they go that extra mile in the process. I will get back to this thread in the morning with the 3 specific tests I was referring to in my previous posts. Not all forged wheels are created equal and the lightest wheel is not always the best (ie Axis and Rota), although people are drawn to them because of the price

 

Partly true, but keep in mind that the margin on QUALITY rims is not very high when compared to other automotive car parts. For instance the possible margin that a company makes on a wheel versus say a grounding kit is much less, which is why full sponsorships are easier to obtain on high margin items.

Like the saying goes, you get what you pay for when it comes to rims. ROTA and AXIS for example have some very light wheels and cater to those that are on a budget or do not see the value in more "expensive" wheels due to the lack of performance knowledge or the lack of patience of saving for the better product. James Chen (Owner of Axis) did a great job in marketing his wheels to this group by providing a nice looking rim with lightweight "quality" that cracks on a regular basis. HRE, WORK, and BBS can charge what they can to clientele that know what they are looking for in custom applications that will settle for nothing but the best in R & D, tests, and material used.

 

Are you thinking of the JWL standard that Japanese Lightweight Wheels must meet. It consists of three separate tests:

http://www.jtuned.com/content/templa...=288&zoneid=16

According to the Rays website, their wheels meet the JWL+R standard. The "+R" indicates that they have their own tests that go beyond the JWL requirements.

 

Volk expensive? i thought they are the bang for the buck type.

 

Dealer cost is low enough for some of our sponsors to advertise “Volk Racing wheels at cost.” Oh sure right. The retailers have gone from profit making businesses to charity organizations. Give me a break would you.

 

Great find! Now I know what the JWL stands for! I was always curious as to what it truly meant. Thanks! I stand corrected on the testing that Volk conducts. From what I have heard, there are some companies that basically meet the requirements to a minumim and some exceed it, and a select few go far and beyond the pre-set requirements.

 

I read an article a few years back about wheel standards in the Japnese Gran Touring Championship (known as Super GT now). It mentioned the JWL and why Volks were so popular even with the the big tuning teams that aren't heavily sponsored by Rays. They far surpassed the JWL standard and integrity requirements for the average JGTC wheel by two or three fold.

I'll try to find that article.

 

interesting

 

I guess they didn't inspect my wheel that well after it was made.... out of all the Rota's i've also ran and locals run they have never had any issues at all. also if something does happen you can replace it so easy, I wouldn't even think about replacing my volk wheel because I would most likely have to buy a full set and wait 3 months...

 

I highly doubt that. Material may be cheap, labor may be cheap, but the forging process isn't!

 

Hey Davon!

whoa, your saying that happened at the Rays factory? I kinda find that hard to imagine?