Searching for the best wheel manufacturers with which to do business with.

[tyoneal]

Hello:


I am looking for the best wheel manufacturer(s) I can find for a new product I want to bring to market in the near future. I have worked a number of years and have been Granted a Utility Patent on this wheel.


Specifically, I want to find out:


What wheel manufacturers do you think, as end users, are the best at what they do?


Since the end users are the people who have plucked their hard earned money down for the best set of wheels they can find for their personal dream cars, and who are in a position to determine what they have received for their money, and learned along the way, I consider these people to be experts in the field, and the ones who I really seek honest sincere answers from.


Manufacturers are also welcome, as in the end I hope to hire, or partner with one or more to help me bring a quality product to a segment of the wheel market I think has been over looked. My goal is to forge (No pun intended) a connection first, and a strong working relationship second, that has at its core a fair and equitable business arrangement for each of us, as well as the end user.


You can list different manufacturers, because in many cases some companies are better at specific applications than others.


Please consider the following categories in your answers:


What Manufacturer Builds the best Forged Wheels?


What Manufacturer Builds the best Cast Wheels?


What Manufacturer can produce the best Billet Wheels?


What wheel Manufacturer do you think offers the most options, or has the capability of building the most unique Wheels?


What Manufacturer Builds the best Carbon Graphite Wheels?


What Wheel Manufacturer gives the customer the best, "Bang for the Buck?


What Wheel Manufacturer has the highest quality control?


What Wheel manufacturer is best capable of offering a Custom Wheel at a fair price?


What Wheel Manufacturer has the best Customer Service?


Is being built in the USA an important factor in your buying decision even if it means you have to spent a bit more money?


All input is greatly appreciated.


I am trying to find out what peoples perspective and experiences, have been with the different Wheel manufacturers, and what do they wish had been different?


Please list only positive experiences one has had if they are current sponsors of
this Forum.


I don't want in anyway to cause any detrimental discussions about any vendor who has spent money to advertise on this site. If you have a problem with any of them, please report your problem to the website administrator, if you want to email me, and that is allowed by the owners of this forum, then I would certainly appreciate that as well.


If you have thoughts not otherwise mentioned above, please feel free to express these thoughts.


Thank again for your time and opinions.


Sincerely,


Ty O'Neal

[Yukon Cornelius]

A great American wheel manufacturer of a decent size is Weld. Why don't you hit Greg up for a conversation.

[dontlifttoshift]

Greg Weld died a while back.


24-7PressRelease/ - KANSAS CITY, MO, August 05, 2008 - Greg Weld, the creative visionary who took racing and custom wheels to a new level dies at 64. Weld died from undisclosed complications.Welds' revolutionary view and his unconditional desire allowed him to create the finest quality forged wheels in the industry. "Greg Weld was a visionary in the motorsports industry. He raced his way into the record books and into the hearts of many, but more than anything else, Greg Weld was a great friend and will be missed by everyone", said Bob Baker, President of the Sprint Car Hall of Fame.

Greg's racing career was phenomenal. He won over 100 sprint car races including the 1963 Knoxville Nationals, the premiere event in sprint car racing and won the USAC National Sprint Car Championship at the age of 23. Weld raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1965-1972 seasons, with 36 career starts, including the 1970 Indianapolis 500 and qualified as the fastest rookie qualifier. He finished in the top ten 11 times, with his best finish in 4th position in 1970 at Sacramento. He was also the 1967 USAC Sprint Car Series champion.

Greg Weld was also an entrepreneur with a driven desire to build his company and see his goals become reality. In 1970, Greg retired as a professional racer and founded Weld Wheel Industries. Greg started Weld Wheels with $2300 he'd saved from racing and the simple idea of making Sprint Car wheels that performed better. Greg manufactured forged alloy wheels for various vehicles, including racecars, and was an active sponsor of the United States Auto Club series, NHRA and IHRA. In January 2007, Greg started a new company, Greg Weld Competition Wheels. His continuous investments in technology, research and development and talented people positioned Weld to be a pioneer and undisputed leader in the aftermarket industry.

Greg Weld was honored during his life as was inducted into numerous Hall's of Fame including the National Sprint Car Hall of Fame in 1998.

[nokones]

Forgeline

[dbackse350]

Forgeline

[TheJDMan]

Forgeline, but don't count out Rushforth or Weld Wheel.

[FirstGenZq8]

I am looking for the best wheel manufacturer(s) I can find for a new product I want to bring to market in the near future. I have worked a number of years and have been Granted a Utility Patent on this wheel.

Click the link in my sig to see a list of them to consider. Keep in mind that many are private labels manufactured by MHT, Schott, etc.


What wheel manufacturers do you think, as end users, are the best at what they do?

In the past, I've owned Advan, BBS, Boyds, Enkei and HRE. I currently have a set of Rays wheels and Stern wheels (defunct) on my daily drivers. I currently have a set of GMR wheels on my v8 s10 project. All of the above are a mix of fully forged, billet, and flow formed/semi-solid forged. All of the above run the gamut from 1 PC, 2 PC bolted, 2 PC welded, and 3 PC.

I've talked with Ryan Dettling at Jongbloed at length - super knowledgeable and will answer any and all questions. Tony at Deviate Motoring might be someone to try; maybe even set up a visit (Conroe)?


You can list different manufacturers, because in many cases some companies are better at specific applications than others.

The best wheel manufacturer in the world is of course BBS (Germany). JMO. Close second would be RAYS/Volk (Japan). I think the best in America is HRE, followed closely by Forgeline. I think Forgeline has done a wonderful job of rising up the ranks. OZ (Italy) rounds out my personal top 5. I might as well do my top 10. CCW, Weld, Billet Specialties/B Forged, SSR, and Fikse. Honorable mentions are Advan, Boze and Schott. My ranking is based foremost on quality, then weight, followed by design capabilities (BBS mills holes in some of their wheel spokes for godsakes).


What Wheel Manufacturer gives the customer the best, "Bang for the Buck?

CCW, GMR, Weld and BC Forged ($3,000-$3,500) offer a lot of the same details that competitor's charge 2K more for. I think Fikse's prices are reasonable since they were bought out by Kodiak. Least expensive 2 PC welded wheels are probably PROwheels, Centerline, and Rushforth.


What Wheel Manufacturer has the best Customer Service?

I will say that companies that have been in business since the year 2000 and earlier are still in business because of one reason - customer service. Companies I never thought would fail like Kinesis, Iforged, Fikse and SSR started showing signs of doom because of poor service. Since Fikse was acquired by Kodiak and SSR by ? (I think a japanese suspension manufacturer) they're both back in most people's good graces.


Is being built in the USA an important factor in your buying decision even if it means you have to spent a bit more money?

I'm pretty sure the only quality wheels coming out of China are BC Forged. I've never owned them, so I can't say anything about them except of what I've seen at shows. They looked good :dunno:.

Closest to you would be Weld in KC.

[andrewb70]

Centerline is out of business.

Andrew

[FirstGenZq8]

Centerline is out of business.

eww. that sucks. and it looks like now they're only importing chinese cast crap :( ... http://www.centerlinealloywheels.com/

[JayR]

We're probably one of the smallest wheel brands in the business but we work hard and have some happy clients with great cars all over the world including a bunch on here where we got our start. Having said that, I may as well say THANK YOU to Larry and every single person here who has even glanced at our product or website much less been a consumer of our product.

This summer marks our ten year anniversary so we survived the dark days in our infancy and are stronger every year. We will be launching a handful of new designs, monoblocks and some billet accessories this year to mark this milestone too.

[oleyeller]

I would like to thank Jason for his outstanding customer service, great wheels at a good price. I talked to everyone I could find that sold wheels, Jason won me over, and did not disappoint in any way.
Thanks Jason,
John in AZ

[tyoneal]

Thank you for the immense amount of information you posted and your link.

I sincerely appraicfte it.

Ty O'Neal

Check pm/

[tyoneal]

Jason:

Thanks for posting on this page, I am glad to know there are some quality wheel manufacturers that are taking the time to interact with the market they serve, and reach out to people who are trying/hoping to become a part of the Automotive Aftermarket themselves. I really do appreciate it.

I hope visit you and others to see if we can help each other further our existing business goals.

Any advise, thoughts, or ideas you want to add, I would be very open to hearing from you.

I look forward to communicating with you in the near future.

Thanks again,

Ty O'Neal

[SD67]

Forgeline, solid product great customer service

[kimosabi]

Alot of different companies make great wheels but not all of them knows how to be professional. Never ignore word of mouth.

[medbali76]

I am changing my wheels soon for a new set of Work Meister M1R 2pc wheels. Should be good quality coming directly from Japan.

[JayR]

Jason:

Thanks for posting on this page, I am glad to know there are some quality wheel manufacturers that are taking the time to interact with the market they serve, and reach out to people who are trying/hoping to become a part of the Automotive Aftermarket themselves. I really do appreciate it.

I hope visit you and others to see if we can help each other further our existing business goals.

Any advise, thoughts, or ideas you want to add, I would be very open to hearing from you.

I look forward to communicating with you in the near future.

Thanks again,

Ty O'Neal

You're very welcome, Ty. Thanks for inviting us to take part in this thread. Without this very tight knit community, I wouldn't be where I am so I'm more than happy to give back.

[tyoneal]

Alot of different companies make great wheels but not all of them knows how to be professional. Never ignore word of mouth.

I believe this to be exactly right.

That is exactly why I really wanted the input from the customers/Users of the products.

If I am fortunate enough that this idea is commercially viable, I want very strong relationship with the manufacturers(s).

Thanks for your feedback.

Regards,

Ty O'Neal

[tyoneal]

I am changing my wheels soon for a new set of Work Meister M1R 2pc wheels. Should be good quality coming directly from Japan.


I checked out your wheels.

Very nice, they should look great. When you get them on, post us a nice picture.

Thanks,

Ty O'Neal

[tyoneal]

You're very welcome, Ty. Thanks for inviting us to take part in this thread. Without this very tight knit community, I wouldn't be where I am so I'm more than happy to give back.


Thanks Jason.

I will be in touch, and at the very least I look forward to having a nice time visiting with you and getting to know you and your business better.

Sincerely,

Ty O'Neal

[CW4L]

We have utilized many wheel manufacturers over the years giving these private labels a chance and all I can say thru thousands of sets sold Ive never seen more educated and better wheels on the pro touring vehicles than Forgeline. We are very proud to utilize them on so many builds and with the most knowledge I am a huge advocate of Forgeline thru and thru! Give us a chance and you'll never buy anything else!

[CSG]

I am no wheel expert but both sets of 3 piece wheels I have owned had wheels that did not run even close to true. One is a sponsor so per your post I will not name names.

[tyoneal]

We have utilized many wheel manufacturers over the years giving these private labels a chance and all I can say thru thousands of sets sold Ive never seen more educated and better wheels on the pro touring vehicles than Forgeline. We are very proud to utilize them on so many builds and with the most knowledge I am a huge advocate of Forgeline thru and thru! Give us a chance and you'll never buy anything else!

I think I have seen more than an trend, thankfully.

Are there any other suppliers who you have used on your builds that have satisfied your expectations?

or are at least honorable mentions?

Thanks again.

Best Regards,

Ty O'Neal

I hope someday to meet you.

[CW4L]

Of course we have used HRE and several others but as far as quality, technical knowledge and price point I think Forgeline takes the cake.

[tyoneal]

Of course we have used HRE and several others but as far as quality, technical knowledge and price point I think Forgeline takes the cake.

Given your product line, that is a nice endorsement.

Thanks,

Ty O'Neal

[tyoneal]

Of course we have used HRE and several others but as far as quality, technical knowledge and price point I think Forgeline takes the cake.

Given your product line, that is a nice endorsement.

Thanks,

Ty O'Neal

[CW4L]

Yeah well we cant say enough about Forgeline. They put their all into making the best wheels and all is done right from load rating to fatigue and stress testing and the price comparatively to whats out there is second to none. They have my 100% endorsement.

Im available 24/7 via text at 440-915-6166 with any questions and will help anyone get into a set of these beauties!

Thanks so much

Gerry
CW4L, Owner
www.cw4L.com
[email protected]