One Piece wheels VS. Three Piece wheels.... Help Please

[Steve1968LS2]

Most manufacturers don't want to sell direct, they would much rather have a dealer network to sell and avoid the hassles.



For this reason they typically sell stuff at an MSRP price which is higher than you can get at a dealer. Go look at the prices at a company like COMP Cams and they shop around and you will see what I mean. It's the same thing as most wheel companies.

Billet is an often misused term. I only means that the item was made out of one single piece of metal. It has nothing to do with strength, except to say that it's not a "cast" wheel. The term "forged" does have strength implied, but it's important to see what the wheel is forged from in regards to the metal used. Not all "forged" wheels are created equal.

Personally, I change offsets so much that, for me, a three-piece wheel only makes sense. For example I will be sending in my 18x9 fronts soon to have them made into 18x10s. This means they only have to swap out the inner hoops. Sure cheaper than buying a whole new wheel.

[Steve1968LS2]

Because there's too big of a differential between the 255 fronts and the 335 rears I'm running. Generally you want the rears just a touch bigger than the fronts (example, 285 and 315)

The smaller fronts contribute to understeer. A little more front tire will help and will the give the car a more balanced look.

The three piecer WC3s I run cost well under $1000 a wheel.. not cheap but not an insane price for the quality.

[Vegas69]

Because there's too big of a differential between the 255 fronts and the 335 rears I'm running. Generally you want the rears just a touch bigger than the fronts (example, 285 and 315)

The smaller fronts contribute to understeer. A little more front tire will help and will the give the car a more balanced look.

The three piecer WC3s I run cost well under $1000 a wheel.. not cheap but not an insane price for the quality.

Steve, I am in the same boat as you. I have a 255 on a 8.5 rim and will end up sending them out for a 9.5-10. Haven't decided on right away or waiting to put some miles on her. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the difference in feel on the street and track.
This probably isn't my business, but I'm going to give you my opinion from the other side of the fence. Having a pissing match between wheel manufacturers and dealers isn't going to earn you business. You guys should call it a day before you turn off some potential customers. When I bought my wheels, I was looking for my favorite design. It's not all about price and who has the hardest wheel hoops. One thing that needs to be considered when choosing who you buy your wheels from is their experience. I knew with my custom set up I couldn't call Boze. I called Frank at Prodigy since he knows the Pro-touring cars as well as anyone. I am sure the other dealers are competent as well.

[TonyL]

Did anyone say it's the cost of three piece wheels yet? For me, Three piece wheels are the "brass ring" of wheels. Most choose one piece cast wheels because they are around 800 to 1200 a set. As I've said before, I'd run three piece wheels if I could afford them. I think we all would.

[Boesch]

They are 6061 T6.

[ProdigyCustoms]

They are 6061 T6.

On the 2 piece?

[Boesch]

On the 2 piece?

Yes they are.

[ProdigyCustoms]

Yes they are.

Awesome, did not know that. Thank You.

[gmjj13]

i started my search for wheels with finding a design i liked. there are so many different designs out there, it'll make your head spin. then came the price...i found out quick that 3 piece wheels were well out of my budget, but was lucky enough to find that the same design could be had in a 2 piece wheel. the 2 piece were still more expensive than i had hoped, but i got hooked up with a good deal. if i could afford it, i would have bought the 3 piece wheels, but i'm still happy with what i have. basically for me, it all boiled down to price.

just my .02

[TonyL]

This has to be one of our more interesting threads in a while. I don't recall a time when as many sponsors were debating as heavily in a thread.
In the interest of keeping things on topic though, Im going to insist we keep this thread from deteriorating.

So vendors:

The consensus has been that the price has to come down. Is that possible? Is there a way to get these rims competitive with 2 and 1 piece wheels? One of you vendors will find out a way. When you do, the buyers will line up.

[The WidowMaker]

i guess i still dont understand why a 3 piece is more than a 2 piece. i dont care about the advantages of the 3 piece, but rather just what makes it cost so much more. a 2 piece requires the labor of welding, and a 3 piece the labor to assemble. wheres my money going?

[ProdigyCustoms]

i guess i still dont understand why a 3 piece is more than a 2 piece. i dont care about the advantages of the 3 piece, but rather just what makes it cost so much more. a 2 piece requires the labor of welding, and a 3 piece the labor to assemble. wheres my money going?

Materials are higher quality = more money
Labor is more to build = more money

[ProdigyCustoms]

I agree Tony. I only want to be sure we compare apples to apples, oranges to oranges. If there is a difference in wheels (and there is), the members here need to know this. I think Feslers original intention for the thread is well intended, and I appoligze for even touching the price subject, and I personally have jumped off that subject .

I still do not know though if the 2 piece wheels by Intro use the same 6061-T6 material as the 3 piece wheels? And I think members should know since it was said they were the same material. I might be wrong but I am fairly certain they are different materials.

At the end of the day, comparing a forged 3 piece wheel to a welded billet 2 piece wheel is like comparing a Volkswagon to a Mercedes because they are both made in Germany! While both are cars and will get you where your going, there is a HUGE difference in quality!

[TonyL]

Good analogy Frank.

[PRRC]

Tony, Your right. I was the first to respond in a negative manner. A I apologize to Fesler for jacking up his thread. We usually don't get caught up in the my Dads better than your Dad threads. But that statement about buying direct was a cheap shot at all other sponsors on the board. So with that said we now direct you back to your regular programming.LOL.
Tim

[TonyL]

No prob guys. Everyone's passion about what they offer is what makes this a great industry to be a part of. When you have as many sponsors as we do, you're bound to have a few debates now and then.

[MarkM66]

"With that being said, how are some of the billet companies staying in business with how long they take to get people wheels? "

Because people buy what looks good, and what they like. If they have their mind set on a certain wheel, they're willing to wait for it.

[Boesch]

Sorry to the vendors on here....didn't mean to speak bad about them when referring to the middle man. That wasn't my intention. We've taken the decision to not have dealers after having them in the past. Clearly I can see it was taken that way by some forum vendors and I'm sorry and apologize to them.



To 430 hp 70, here's why our three piece are more expensive than a two piece:

Two piece = Single rim hoop and single forged center that are welded together. welding is a pretty simple process and doesn't take long.

Three piece = Two rim hoops, forged center, and many titanium bolts. The assembly process is done by hand and is very time consuming. Each rivet is hand torqued in a specific pattern. Once the three pieces are together they are sealed around the outside to ensure no air leakage.

So at the end of the day, there are more parts and pieces in a 3 piece that requires more manual labor time. Therefore a higher price.

[aray327]

All this debate is great! But it looks to me like all the dealers and manufactuers have very carefully avoided dealing with the issue. Price, Price, Price.

I can't believe there is sooo little profit in a $3,000 set of wheels that you can't bring that price down.

If the profit were so little, why is the manufacuter selling for the full retail price? Why can't consumers take advantage of that savings?

Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't make it right! Set the new trend in price. I'm betting there is $1,000 in true profit in a set of each of these high dollar wheels.

Quit the debates amongst other dealers and deal with us, THE CONSUMER. Remember we are the reason each of you is in business.

I am looking for wheels right at this moment. I have high hopes of purchasing a set of wheels this week. All of you guys have wheels I would like to own, but each of you has been tip-toeing around the price issue. I would bet there are several others in my same boat.

[Fesler built]

Actually there is not that much room in them that is why they are so hard to sale. For example a set of 19-inch Fesler FS 901 wheels will retail for $1100 each in a standard gloss black, silver or gun metal. I will sale this wheel for just about $900.00 each so as you can see I am passing the savings along to you guys. I am lucky to make a few hundred dollars on a set of wheels after all the BS of ordering and shipping.....

There are some guys that can buy more so they get a better deal on parts, so that is why they can sometimes beat other prices out there. I can only afford to buy so much so I cant get the huge discounts like larger companies can.

I did not start this thread to cause a problem but to only find out why someone will pay the same amount for a Billet wheel that is softer and will take up to 8-10 weeks to get or longer I have waiting 14 weeks for wheels. I can do anything in the wide ranges fast and I know that not all can afford the three piece stuff but if you are having something custom built from Budnik, Boze or others you can.

Jon from Drivers Inc should jump in here and help explain what is going on with all the wheel companies, he sales alot of wheels and worked at Budnik for years.

All this debate is great! But it looks to me like all the dealers and manufactuers have very carefully avoided dealing with the issue. Price, Price, Price.

I can't believe there is sooo little profit in a $3,000 set of wheels that you can't bring that price down.

If the profit were so little, why is the manufacuter selling for the full retail price? Why can't consumers take advantage of that savings?

Just because everyone else is doing it doesn't make it right! Set the new trend in price. I'm betting there is $1,000 in true profit in a set of each of these high dollar wheels.

Quit the debates amongst other dealers and deal with us, THE CONSUMER. Remember we are the reason each of you is in business.

I am looking for wheels right at this moment. I have high hopes of purchasing a set of wheels this week. All of you guys have wheels I would like to own, but each of you has been tip-toeing around the price issue. I would bet there are several others in my same boat.