Why OEM Rims (wheels) more than aftermarket??

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OEMs also are made to usually take some abuse without a total failure. The same cannot be said for some cheap wheels where I have seen a large pothole peel the bead flange right off becuase the wheel was such a cheap casting.

Looking for the TUV or JWL approvals is your best bet. BBS, Enkei, possibly American Racing should have some wheels meeting such standards since they produce some OEM wheels as well.
 
Originally Posted By: IndyIan
Originally Posted By: gamefoo21
Weight...

My OEM's are forged and weigh 9lbs a piece, they are a 14" rim. The local tire shoppe wants $125 a piece for similar rims that are called "Ultralights" and weigh about 25lbs a piece.

Another is, really high quality rims will have steel inserts where the rim meets the lugnut.

Of course forged lightweight rims with steel inserts aren't cheap... My oems have both those features...
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Do you have a miata? New Mini?
Most OEM alloy wheels are 20lbs+, often heavier than the same size steel wheel, as they are usually cast, not forged.
I'm sure they are decent quality but nothing special for the most part.
I'm very interested in which car you have, I do solo 2 and getting 9lb wheels would be a nice upgrade over my steelies.
Ian


I run a '98 Suzuki Swift. I only know of a few forged lightweight rims but they are all for 114.3x4. What kind of car are you running?

There are even rims made which are a pound lighter than mine for my car, but they are rare compared to my uncommon ones. In 2 years I've seen 3 sets for sale of mine, and I think maybe one of the other. Mazda and the RX series tend to have lots of very light forged rims as well, but useless if you don't have the right bolt pattern.

Lemme know.
 
Originally Posted By: rshunter
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
My aftermarket wheels for the Sunfire are made by ASA. My style also so happens to be used by VW, of which they sell single rim replacements for more than I purchased my set of four!
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The reason for the price disparity is simple. ASA is a Korean company which produces its wheels in the Far-East. The wheels you purchased look like a style used by Volkswagen because ASA has licensed many of BBS' designs.

Volkswagen's wheels are produced by the European companies Ronal, Fundo, Borbet, OZ, Speedline and BBS.

Cheers



Actually, no. ASA owns BBS (or is it the other way around). If you look at the specs, weight, offset, casting, etc... You realize they're exactly the same thing. Can you really be surprised however? The center ASA steel caps run $12. The VW caps, $68... You better have a good load of balony to explain how the cap is worth fives times as much, but the only difference is the center stamping.
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I had some OE AL rims on my ford contour (wierd 4x108 pattern), put some new used tires on them and maybe one needed 1/2 oz of weight, and they rode great.

Bought a used saturn with some offensibly cheap 4x100 aftermarket rims, they did not have the lip around the outer edge for crimp on weights so the dealer used ugly stick on weights in the middle somewhere. Sometimes you even need duct tape to keep those weights from flying! Wheel had a shimmy that might (might!) have been cured with a combo of weights on the inside and outside.

OE rims are also more likely to have curb rash protection, perhaps in the form of that weight mounting flange I mentioned.
 
Originally Posted By: rshunter
because ASA has licensed many of BBS' designs.

I thought ASA stole that design. Thanks for the info. They look nice but it takes me a while to clean them. (That's like 80 spokes between the 4 wheels)

Why wouldn't OEMs cost more, what competition do they have beside used?
 
Originally Posted By: gamefoo21


There are even rims made which are a pound lighter than mine for my car, but they are rare compared to my uncommon ones. In 2 years I've seen 3 sets for sale of mine, and I think maybe one of the other. Mazda and the RX series tend to have lots of very light forged rims as well, but useless if you don't have the right bolt pattern.

Lemme know.

4x100's on my 95 Neon... Oh well, there is still lots of time to find in the driver yet before I need light wheels.
Ian
 
IMO, aftermarket wheels are getting uglier and tackier as time goes on. It gets harder and harder to find a set that doesn't look 'ghetto'. I labored for months to find an aftermarket rim that I thought would look good on my Mazda, and finally settled on a set of Mazda rims off an RX-8. Top quality and they look great.
 
Originally Posted By: firemachine69
Actually, no. ASA owns BBS (or is it the other way around). If you look at the specs, weight, offset, casting, etc... You realize they're exactly the same thing. Can you really be surprised however? The center ASA steel caps run $12. The VW caps, $68... You better have a good load of balony to explain how the cap is worth fives times as much, but the only difference is the center stamping.
LOL.gif



ASA makes a quality wheel, but don't be fooled into believing there is some tie between them and BBS. Of course the ASA wheel will weigh the same and have the same dimensions as the BBS original, it's a direct, licensed, copy. There is no link beyond the licensing of BBS' designs and receiving technical advice in the start-up of ASA's alloy wheel venture. I quote, from both manufacturers...

ASA: "In 1990, ASA started its quality alloy wheel business under technical cooperation agreement with BBS Germany, a world-renowned quality manufacturer. Thanks to this agreement ASA was able to get the most modernized facility suggested by BBS Germany.

In March 1992, the company began production of alloy wheels at its newly built plant equipped with automated facilities and warehouses assuring the best quality and right delivery to customers all over the world. The quality standard was established by ASA's engineers to reach that of BBS."


BBS: 2007 Schiltach, 6th August: "A new chapter in BBS history was written. The Belgium company Punch International NV took over BBS International GmbH. The group, headquartered in Sint Martens Latem, is a diversified industrial holding company that employs more than 3,000 people worldwide. (For more information, please visit http://www.punchinternational.com.) BBS continues to develop and manufacture light alloy wheels for motorsport and general use at its two plants in Germany ensuring that the wheels from the Black Forest remain synonymous with high quality and innovation "made in Germany"."

Upon reviewing their numerous ventures, you'll find that Punch International has absolutely nothing to do with ASA.

Cheers
 
Originally Posted By: Ursae_Majoris
Because they can, and smaller volume. People usually buy OEM rims one at a time to replace a bent/damaged rim. Cheaper to pay $400 for one rim than $1000 for 4 after-market rims.

Some OEM rims, like Toyota FJ TRD Anthracite rims are very popular. Most dealers won't sell them to you (as per Toyota's directive) unless your VIN matches a vehicle that had those from the factory.
People buy and resell them for lot of money.

One of the most popular OEM rims in the resale market was from the 1994-5 Acura Integra GS-R or GS Special Edition - 15" with a factory 195/55R15 tire. They were popular because they could be directly dropped in (same bolt pattern and offset) as a Honda Civic. I've seen quite a few Civics that were modded with these, down to the Acura center caps. There was a replacement after these, but those looked almost like wheel covers.

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My 1995 Integra GS-R was stolen then stripped for parts. It was recovered with all the original wheels gone. All four tires had decent tread. My car was abandoned with three steel wheels with bald tires and the factory spare.
 
Originally Posted By: toytundranator
IMO OEM wheels looks better, even those cruddy steelies you see on work trucks. Way better then those tacky chrome "dub" wheels with "racing" tires, but it varies with peoples tastes.


+10000000
 
Oh and guys, don't bother with "locking" lug nuts, I can drive down to the cheap bargain tool place, basically our version of Harbour Freight, and buy locking lug nut removal tools. Set of 3 for $20...

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OEM wheels just look better for the most part. Though I've seen some OEM wheels that aren't that great. Some of the optional OEM (often larger) wheels can be a bit much.

I'd say 75% of the aftermarket wheels look terrible as far as overall style. Combine it with too large of wheel, wrong offset and you have a fairly tacky outcome. It's also funny to see giant 20" wheels with tiny brake rotors behind them. I've seen some decent hub caps that look better than some of the aftermarket wheels I've seen around.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: toytundranator
IMO OEM wheels looks better, even those cruddy steelies you see on work trucks. Way better then those tacky chrome "dub" wheels with "racing" tires, but it varies with peoples tastes.


+10000000


Most OEM rims are low pressure cast aluminum rims.

Well, excluding the steelies.

They are one step above gravity cast wheels most common in the aftermarket.

And most are *****. So is 99% of the $%#@ advertised in Dub magazine.

I have Enkei Racing Series RP03
SBC w/ MAT tecnlogy wheels. Basically a robot manufactured semi-forged rim. Made in Japan.

It is powder coated with a proprietary paint that looks like a black or dark chrome.

With the right bolt pattern and offset for my Accord.

Much better looking with a higher quality than 99% of OEM rims.
 
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I put OEM Prius wheels on my Corolla. Because I liked the style (I removed those ***** trim rings) and the weight savings. These 15x6 alloy wheels are only 14 pounds each. That compares to about 20 pounds each for the black steel wheels that came on my car (in the same size). Saving 6 pounds per corner is huge in terms of driving dynamics. I could feel the difference immediately. It took me a while to find a set of the Prius wheels at a reasonable price. I ended up finding these for $200 for the set of four.

About the only aftermarket wheel I could find that light were the Gram Lights, at close to $600 for the set (and I didn't like the style near as much as the Prius wheels).

In addition to the weight savings, they're OE quality (which has always been good in my experience), and they fit right, no trim rings required.

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All personal preference. OEM Wheels have many advantages and are completely compatible with your vehicle since they were made by the original manufacture, hence "OEM".

Aftermarket Wheels can be better looking, but are constantly being discontinued for newer wheels being made every day so they are hard to replace without buying an entire set of matching wheels.

I found this article helpful showing the similarities and differences between the two types of wheels:

OEM Vs. Aftermarket Wheels - What You Need to Know
 
Easily found a single OEM wheel on eBay for three of mine and did full size spares TPM and all ...
 
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