I bought a brand new set of Volk GTS's in phantom black from a authorized reseller. I had these mounted on my Z for less than 2 weeks, about 200 miles. Now before you ask if rocks had done the damage...that would be near impossible because 3 of 4 wheels are showing signs of paint flaking. Also a $3000/set of rims shouldn't be so vulnerable to everyday driving conditions. My question is has anyone ever had problems with the Matte Black or Phantom Black flaking on a Rays wheel???

I have hundreds of pin hole sized areas of paint missing and a few larger ones as well. There are no dents in the aluminum where the paint is missing so I can't really believe that rocks are the culprit. Also if rocks are the issue here, what kind of crap paint is Rays using for their flat black finishes. Under the flaked portions I notice that the aluminum is still shinny, as if it were just polished. I am a auto painter by day and cannot believe that they just sprayed right over the top of polished aluminum, but that what's this looks like. I feel they skipped a step in the prep process. The aluminum is not etched or primed, no wonder the paint is falling off.

I have attempted to contact Mackin and they are proving to be useless. One persone tells me that they accepted the warranty and are currently making me a new set of wheel, identical to what I have now. The deal was to switch the rims out when the new ones were made. They even gave me an estimate of when the new wheels would be done. Then 3 days later someone else at Mackin contacts me and says that no new wheels are being made and I must ship my wheels(dismounted from the tires I just mounted) to Mackin at my own expense. So basically I was blatently lied to.

I want to know if anyone has ever had issues with Rays flat/matte black finishes and if they were ever warranted. Keep in mind that I ran these wheels for only 200 miles or less. Mackin is saying that I have to pay for dismounting and shipping so they can send the wheels to Japan to be inspected and this isn't even a gaurantee that they will be warranted. Basically I have to spend about $250.00 to have them make a decision. Then if they don't warranty them, Im still as*ed out because I have to fix the paint myself (at more expense to me) and remount the tires I just pulled off for nothing. Bottom line, even if tiny rocks or sand are creating this flaking issue don't you think that a $900 wheel should hold up to that for longer than 200 miles???...Thanks for the input guys.

These pics are crap but you should get the idea.

 

cant see a thing in those pictures, need to use the macro setting on your P&S camera.


shoulda bought rotas?

 

I just got a set of GT30 Phantom but I put less than 50miles on them.
So far no issues that I can see but will get back to you in a few weeks after I put some more miles on them.

 

wow

 

Thanks for the heads up, I really hope this doesn't happen to you let alone anyone else.

 

take it back and see what they can do for you

 

Zeez, my Phantom barrels have small knicks on them as well but nothing like paint peeling or anything. Mine are obvious from small debri like sand/dirt (ie: when an idiot in front of you goes off the road) hitting it at freeway speeds.

I do have one bigger chip (about 1/4 size of a pencil eraser) caused by the previous owner and it is shinny aluminum underneath like you stated.

 

Farmer, are the inside of your barrels rough as if they are not clear coated? The other problem I have is the inside of the barrel collects a lot dirt, as any wheel would. The problem is that I can't get it clean, I even had washed them off the car...this makes these rims look cheap, being 19's you can see all the way through them. Needless to say I am very upset with the overall quality of their finishes.

 

It's got that matte paint feel if that's what you're asking. It's not a smooth surface. Dirt/grime comes off mine really easily though, simple wash and it looks beautiful

 

Hmm, well mine seems to be un-cleanable...I don't care that the surface is rough, I just want to be able to clean it.

 

I know how you feel. I would be upset if mine were stained and/or unable to be cleaned. Good luck in your quest to get your wheels repaired. I hope Volk comes through for you, it sucks to be pushed around.

 

Talk to Brian aka Volk350z and see if he can help.

 

Is this the same Brain at Mackin?

Nevermind, just looked him up. This is Brian at Mackin, the one who said a new set was being made for me. He won't be able to help anymore since there going back to the seller that sold them to me.

Brian, if you read this...you did help out a lot. Don't take this rant personal, I just want a solution or other's opinions on how to solve my problem.

 

Thanks again, you have helped shed some light on this situation. It seems my wheels were not finished properly - compared to what you have.

 

It would probably be cheaper to just have the barrels repainted correctly by yourself since you are a painter by day. Sorry to hear about your new wheels flaking already though..

 

I know, but what doesn't make sense is how something that costed me $3000.00 is not holding up to its standards. I can't justify spending more money to fix something that's basically brand new, not to mention my time. If I saw this coming I would have picked up a used set and repained them to the color I wanted and saved my self $1000.00 and much time and hassle.

 

No problem, good luck

 

damn, i would be pissed and going crazy if I just dropped 3k on wheels that supposedly everyone on this forum reveres, only to find out they cant even prep it correctly. And you guys make fun of rota owners. Anyways, good luck, hopefully they take responsibility. If not, that wouldnt make sense. It is their fault.

 

take some better pics. To me the lip looks lit was painted with the face on it, at least from what i can tell in the very blurry pics.

 

I should have some better pics up soon..