Taiwanese Rims?

[Forddie]

I got recommendation from a friend for taiwanese rims. He mentioned that they're relatively cheap and quite lightweight too.

 

But are they prone to damages like bending or surface pitting? I'm considering whether should I spend a little more on Euro brands but times are bad

 

Anyone tried Taiwanese rims? Comments and recommendations pls.

[Fabiaman]

Almost bought a Taiwan rims when I shopped for a set of rims for my Fabia. Base on my knowledge, Taiwanese rims are quite alright. There are generally 3 levels of quality of rim makes. Do correct me if I am wrong:

 

1st grade: Euro makes like OZ or MOMO

2nd grade: Taiwanese

3rd grade: M' sian

 

I understand (dont quote me) that those so called original Toyota or Mazda rims are mostly taken from JRD - ie. Made in Malaysia as it cost very little to the car distributor to give you the sport rims as freebie. Most people do not realise that the nice rims with the Toyota logo is actually made in Malaysia. Yes, these people are very happy with their rims because of its perceived to be original.

 

My perception of Taiwanese rims is that its better than the Msian makes and it offers a good mix of quality versus the price.

 

Momos and OZs are much more expensive and very heavy whereas the Taiwanese types are generally lighter. Unless you are very much into rims as an accessory to show off, the Taiwan ones shld suffice.

 

But you really like a good set of rims, go straight to the Euro makes since you are most likely to get sick of the Taiwanese type shortly. Get a set that you will like for a long long time. Dont be penny wise pound foolish since I doubt the Taiwanese rims has much resale value.

[Sky8807]

[:)]I don't know much abt rims and all the tech names. But I do use sport rims on my present and previous car. To me the 3 kinds of rims are :

1 piece

2 piece

3 piece.

 

most expensive are the 3 piece type which means the rims are made up of three pieces put together and are the lightest.

Edited December 28, 2001 by sky8807

[Forddie]

Yah noticed the "JRD" logo on rims of many Jap "factory standard" cars. Those poor buggers don't even know they kena conned by local agents.

 

I believe those Jap cars that are equipped with factory original sport rims should have been from Enkei or other Jap manufacturers.

 

I'm quite comfortable using Taiwanese rims, thinking now of going 16 or 17". Scared the comfort levels drop too much with 17"

 

btw are rims with screws on the border call two piece rim?

[Neilchua]

Hmm.. Forddie, you know Sky8807's explanation of 1, 2 or 3 piece type of rims?

 

1 and 2 piece rims I can imagine, but 3 piece? Sky8807, pls enlighten man! Thks!

[Sky8807]

For me, can't affort 3 piece rims. How to explain, check with Enkei sport rims catalog or from shop maybe they can explain.

 

Many year back I bought sport rims for my car which is a 2 piece type and the tyre shop told me there are also the 3 piece type. Did not ask to see but it is expensive, maybe one piece 800 -1k, at that time mine was I piece enkei rim costs $220 each.

 

What I think that made up the 3 piece sport rim is the outer rim, main body and the centre hub(inner rim) are all joined together and if one part is damage can be replaced individually. They are joined by interference fit or some cases by bolts and nuts. Interference fit means force to fit in snugly by machine press or heat treatment to expand the metal I suspect.

 

For one piece cast, damage means replaced the whole rim or maybe repair which in actual fact disturbed the strength and originality of the rims itself.

 

My 2 cent comments.

[Turbobrick]

Some of the lightweight Jap rims are very $$$ too! I was quoted $770 per rim for 17" Jap branded ones, claims to be very light (forgot the brand).

 

My current set of ROH from Australia are much cheaper ($320 each for 17") but a tad heavy at 11kgs.

[Sky8807]

Check out this link for info on 3 piece

 

http://www.1stopcustomwheels.com/detail.cfm?ProductID=983

 

http://www.1stopcustomwheels.com/keyword_s...FTOKEN=12887705

 

just type 3 piece in the search box

Edited December 28, 2001 by sky8807

[Forddie]

Sky, one thing I don't get is how is a 3 piece rim lighter than a 1 piece? Since the 1 piece rim don't have so many parts and screws holding them up so it should be lighter right? Just more $$ to repair compared to 3 piece?

[Sky8807]

Oops, I really don't know! But can guess.

 

1 piece, all together complete and strength and material used must not be weak and are in one body, try to miake it light difficult.

 

3 piece can have different strength on different part of the wheel, like aluminuim alloy on the centre, mag alloy on the outer ring or tititnium bolt etc etc. Leave it to the expert to match the light weight on the less stressful part of the wheel and so on and so forth.

 

Ask the tyre expert maybe they can give accurate answers

[Sky8807]

3 piece wheels. For discussion sake, here are my views

 

Another reason was the mould for a single piece rim especially the bigger one, required a big mould and a lot of unwanted areas that are not required is incorporated The solution was to make separate mould and piece it together, that way you save on huge machinery, make pieces that you wanted minus all the extra and reduce weight. Locally many of the luxury car like Merc and BMW are using those 2 piece or 3 piece rims I suspect.

 

When buying sport rims, many go for the looks, then comes the price, then brand. Come to think of it, one of the main objectives of having sport rims was to have the wheel lighter than the original wheel.

 

The suspension system was designed to handle optimally with certain weight it has to handle. Increasing the tyre size automatically increase the weight, not only the rubber but also the metal if the wheel is also changed, one solution is using alloy wheel which is a lot lighter.

 

Alloy wheel being lighter, must also be strong enough to withstand blow and impact. Safety is important, buy a reputable brand which complies to safety requirement. Quality rims don't come cheap. When it is cheap, ensure it is safe. Between the car and the road is the wheel and tyre. You can have all the accessories and power in the car, if the tyre and wheel cannot give you the safety and confidence, you might have nothing. When you are driving, braking or cornering your life, so to speak depends on your tyre and wheel.

 

Have to seriously give it a thought for those who go for cheap wheels that do not conform to safety regulation.

 

My[cool] views

[Myfocus]

My limited info from dim memory. I'm not a tyre exprert nor a metallurgist, so feel

free to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

It's all to do with the manufacturing process. Casting (most common) is cheaper

but leads to heavier wheels. This is due to the mass needed for structural

rigidity and strength. You also have gravity and pressure casted. Pressure

casted material is denser and stronger, depending on the structure, may be

able to give slightly lighter wheels.

 

Forging gives lighter and stronger wheels, but is way more expensive. This is

because the process gives a stronger and more rigid wheel/arm/whatever

which is thinner and lighter.

 

IIRC, 2 and 3 piece wheels tend to be forged or combination of forged/casted,

while 1 piece tends to be casted. 2 or 3 piece wheels allow the optimum shape

and material to be used, to get max strength and lightness.

 

Because casting uses a mould, mass production is easier. Forging is a more

involved process, and is reflected in the price.

 

Check out the prices of 17" or 18" forged wheels for Porsche. That was an

eye-opener for me :-)

 

>Oops, I really don't know! But can guess.

>

>1 piece, all together complete and strength and material used must not be weak

>and are in one body, try to miake it light difficult.

>

>3 piece can have different strength on different part of the wheel, like aluminuim

>alloy on the centre, mag alloy on the outer ring or tititnium bolt etc etc. Leave it to

>the expert to match the light weight on the less stressful part of the wheel and so

>on and so forth.

[Turbobrick]

Wah! U mechanical engineering trained?

 

U're right about casting in one piece being heavier to maintain structure rigidity. Forged wheel are expensive due to the process cost and also many times forged wheels are made of magnesium which is a more expensive material too

 

I saw some HRE forged rims and they cost US$700+ each!!!

[Myfocus]

Would you be surprised if I said yes? Actually, nope, I'm an EE, but am doing

RF marketing now (crossed over to the dark side and became one of "them").

So, I'm all talk but no substance :-)

 

Yup, I forgot to mention about the material too. After the material and

labour/processing, there's the marketing cost to factor in too! (afterall,

if 17" or 18" wheels look kool, then the price must be high even though the

cost may be low - heheh, pays my salary :-P )

[Turbobrick]

I also from EE

 

But now crossed over to the darker side, into medical equipments and having mechanical hobby in cars!

 

Marketing and markup is how the industry survives, imaging slapping on a brand name and markup 300%!!! Pays my salary too

[Myfocus]

So both of us can wear Darth Vader mask :-)

 

(By dark side, I was referring todoing marketing. You know how techies

look down on marketing? when in r&d side, we used to refer to

marketing folks as "them" or "they all" ie not one of us. have to be

careful now what I call other ppl, may end up being one of "them"

again :-) )

 

We refer to the marketing markup as "value added." I can imagine being

bombed by the others who dun like this margin and call it "tax". Now,

where's my nomex suit?

[Turbobrick]

Hee.....me still anakin phase, sometimes go out and BS my customers when I kena stump by tech questions I cannot answer about my equipments

 

Haven't reached the ultimate dark side yet, oh guide me my emperor....

 

btw, U driving Focus I presume? U part of SClub Focus?

[Myfocus]

Me, emperor? Like I said, I'm all talk, no substance :-O

 

Yup, car is Focus, SClub Focus is rather quiet now.