Listen to the pod cast and than watch the video. I'm not saying buy a set of HRE's but the CEO explains how a quality wheel is designed.

Part I: (About 45min mark go to the video)
http://hw.libsyn.com/p/1/c/8/1c81a63...a6f58190f709fa

Part II:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=uR6-6Gy-M8A

eGarage and HRE Wheels; http://www.egarage.com/videos/hre-wheels/

Good Article; "Fake Debate;" http://coupekiwi.com/2011/11/21/fake-debate/

Video from Welds Wheels; http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=BJeFB6SRslk

Site that explains different JWL & VIA marking/certifications and much more; http://www.jwtc.jp/open/html/e/situmon1.html

HRE Explains: What is TUV?; http://www.hrewheels.com/blog/hre-explains-what-is-tuv/

Guys there is more to a wheel than looks. Again I'm not saying buy a $4k-$6k+ set of wheels. But there are plenty of manufactures; Enkei, 5Zigen, OZ Racing, Weds Sport, that are inexpensive and are a quality wheel.

 

Here is a site that explains JWL/VIA markings and certifications; http://www.jwtc.jp/open/html/e/situmon1.html It get more in-depth and I recommend reading. However see below on basic standards.

The JWL mark
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism established the quality and performance criteria of light alloy wheels. There are standards “Technical standards for Light Alloy Disc Wheels for Passenger Cars” and “Technical standards for Light Alloy Disc Wheels for Trucks and Buses,” and products that have passed these Standards, by voluntary inspection, should have JWL (for passenger cars) and JWL-T (for tracks and buses) engraved on them.
Incidentally JWL comes from “Japan Light Alloy Wheel”.

VIA mark
As a light alloy wheel is an important safety part for vehicles and its safety quality can affect human lives, any organizations that manufacture and sell light alloy wheels or testing organizations that inspect and check aftermarket wheels need to do so based upon the technical standards approved by MLIT, and to have them registered accordingly. This is known as VIA registration.
Registration is performed by the Japan Light Alloy Automotive Wheel Testing Council (hereafter referred to as “the Council”) and testing and registration are performed by the Japan Vehicle Inspection Association (hereafter referred to as Vehicle Inspection).
VIA is a registered trademark of the Japan Vehicle Inspection Association.

The JWL mark and VIA mark are applied in Japan.
The council is made up of the Nippon Auto Parts Aftermarket Committee (NAPAC) JAWA Division and the Japan Aluminum Association (JAA) along with the Japan Vehicle Inspection Association.

 

Another great article on wheels and certification... And with this information you can see why certain wheels cost a certain amount. It goes back to; "You get what you pay for." There is a reason why a Ferrari is $250k and a Honda is $18k. Anyhow, please read, get a little more educated on wheels than some others and you'll be ready for your next wheel purchase.

HRE Explains: What is TUV?; http://www.hrewheels.com/blog/hre-explains-what-is-tuv/

1) WHAT IS TUV? – In the case of wheels, TUV is a European auditing and certification body that ensures wheels manufactured for sale in Germany, Switzerland and Austria meet international (ECE Regulations), EC (European Community) directives, and German Motor Traffic Agency (KBA) road traffic legislation.

2) HOW DOES TUV WORK? – There are 3 major aspects to receiving TUV certification

a) Manufacturer Certification (Certification of the wheel manufacturer’s quality management system) – If you aren’t an actual manufacturer you can’t be a TUV certified manufacturer. If you’re not a real manufacturer and your supplier isn’t a TUV certified manufacturer you cannot have your wheels TUV approved. This requires that the actual manufacturing facility (in HRE’s case this is our production facility at our headquarters in Vista, CA) passes an audit every 3 years by TUV authorities from Europe. The facility must ensure the manufacture of its wheels meet the standards set by the authorities above in point 1. This is very similar to an ISO 9001 audit and designed to ensure consistent quality of manufacture. TUV wants to ensure that wheels sent to TUV for te sting are not “ringers” and that all wheels manufactured at the approved facility meet the same standards. HRE’s quality management system was originally certified in 2008 by Germany and recertified in 2011 by Austria (which is applicable for Germany).

b) WHEEL TESTING CERTIFICATES (Certification of wheels as conforming to geometric standards and having passed structural fatigue and impact requirements for specific vehicle and load rating requirements) – Once a manufacturer’s facility is certified they are then able to send wheels to Europe to pass TUV geometric tolerance analysis and testing for fatigue and impact. This is not a generic style-based test, but vehicle-based with each style being tested with the proper widths and offsets and load rating for the appropriate vehicle targets. This is a very time consuming and costly endeavor for any manufacturer to TUV certify their entire wheel offering, particularly a brand like HRE that makes custom fitments and offers dozens of styles for any particular vehicle. Given this fact, HRE does not certify every style and fitment, however we do have multiple styles in several fitments tested, approved and certified for sale in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Regardless of certification, ALL HRE wheels are designed to pass TUV structural specifications (with varying load ratings depending on vehicle targets) and are sent for certification when the demand for them in Europe meets a minimum threshold.

c) VEHICLE OWNER CERTIFICATION (Certificates ensuring wheels installed on an owner’s vehicle are TUV certified for that vehicle) – This is a certificate that the owner of the vehicle receives from TUV authorities showing his wheels are TUV certified so he can legally register his vehicle and pass annual inspections in Germany. The wheel manufacturer does not supply this document.

 

Good post! I really wish more people understood all of the work these companies put into design, manufacturing, etc. Not just on wheels but aero parts, interior parts, etc.

I have not and will not ever buy a fake or replica part based on many of these facts. Now granted I understand there are companies like Shine that reproduce parts with a limited availibilty, etc, still wont buy one but they have more ethical business practices than most others. Plus the replica / knock off industry has done nothing but hurt the original companies, JDM or not.

Varrs are disgusting, fake Brides are disgusting, and so are the people that buy and make them.

 

another one of these threads?? really

 

I have nothing to say but fck knock offs.

 

understanding the process in which Manufacturing forged wheels undergoes is extremely important. Wheels like Volk Te's and the like are designed with weight reduction in certain areas to make the overall wheel weigh less. Now when CAST wheels copy the design without the forging process to enhance the strength where weight was shaved then you have a compromised wheel. Not rocket science. Now with that said some cast wheels are just fine but i'd stay away from blatant replica's where forging is a must for the wheel to be structurally sound. People really need to understand what the differences are before saying who cares!

 

Yes. Don't like it... Don't read.

 

That's an excellent point. Basic structural engineering:

Stress = Force / Area

So for the same Force applied to two geometrically identical wheels, the stress will be the same. Problems (i.e. yielding or fracture) occur when the Stress exceeds the material Strength.

 

Oh god, just read the links and thank the guy, no need to bring up this childish debate over and over and over, its been discussed so many times.

 

Thanks for the links.

 

Wow that is a lot of great info. You never really think about all that is involved in processes of rating things. It is very similar in the electrical industry with new products and codes.

I understand the differences and if I was looking for a wheel to go to the track with and beat the crap out of I would buy authentic all day.

But for what I can afford and what I use it for a replica wheel is going to be fine. I have a set of the Sportline TE.6 and they are rotary forged which is a better process of casting from what I understand. They are lighter then my stock wheels and look nice. They are not as customizable as Volks and not as strong or maybe even as light but for a quarter of the price and no wait time for a wheel that is going to do everything I need it for to me it's a no brainer.

Now if money or time wasn't an issue I would be all about a set of Authentic wheels.

That's just my opinion flame me if you want.

 

I've heard of Enkei RPF1 18's go for $1k new if you shop around. That's cheaper than a replica wheel.

 

you must be rolling on some varrstoens.

now a question though. are generic OEM wheels like the 03-05 17 inch wheels any stronger than knock off wheels?

 

Closer to $1200 for a 9.5 and 10.5 combo. Still a great price.

Volk needs to offer a TE37 in cast, same process as Enkei and market that for around the Enkei price. That would end Vars pretty quick.

 

^ not a bad idea. Rays uses casting on most of their Gram Light wheels anyway. Wouldn't be hard.

 

I would say the knock offs are more likely to deform based on the logic mentioned above; replicas are wheels made with an inferior method manufacturing using geometries meant for wheels produced with a superior method of manufacturing. Stock wheels on the other hand are cast wheels designed specifically with the casting process in mind.

I think some detailed analysis to compare the two would be very interesting though.

 

Sticky and close thread.

 

Am all for that as long as I can update it as I find more info. I'm researching the subject and finding a lot of good info.

 

It's going to turn into a debate thread and get closed otherwise.