i just emailed a few questions:
me: "i was wondering if these rims are replicas or oem? and do they meet the same DOT, TUV, JWL, & VIA standards as oem wheels and same strength and integrity as oem wheels?"

them: "Yes, they are replicas of the OE wheels. They are the same casting, size, style and finish as the OE wheel. They are the exact same as the OE wheel, they just do not have the OE stamping codes on the back of the wheels.
Thank you
Jenny"

i'm followed up if they meet the previously mentioned standards but no word yet.

edit: "All of our Oversees suppliers meet ISO9001-2000 standards as they are OEM suppliers in the asian markets. So they do have to meet the DOT(USA), TUV (European), JWL(Asian) standards as set forth by there respective certification standards for the markets they sell into.
Thank you
Jenny"

 

First of all, I think the wheels look great. I wouldn't be surprised if they are indeed equal in every way to the OEM wheels.

Do the wheels actually have the DOT, TUV and/or JWL "Safety/QA"stamps on them? I couldn't tell from some of the other photos.

If they don't have the stamps, and they supposedly meet those standards, what is the company's explanation as to why the wheels aren't stamped?

If they don't stamp their product with any of these "Safety/QA" stamps, then something doesn't add up. It wouldn't make sense to go through the testing process, and then not bear the associated stamp on the final product.

If they do have the safety stamps, then great, sign me up!

Mark

 

[QUOTE=modell,Oct 12 2009, 09:20 AM]First of all, I think the wheels look great.

 

Possible but hard to tell. Could someone that has these wheels post a closeup of any JWL, TUV or DOT stamps on them?

Many thanks,

Mark

 

look at the pics the op posted.. they do have the proper stamps on them

 

Oh you're right, I don't know how I missed that - there is a JWL stamp on that one pic at the 12 o'clock position.

Thanks for pointing that out.

Mark

 

if the wheels meet the applicable standards, there should be records of that. don't just trust the mark on the wheel because marks can be easily counterfeited. contact the applicable certification bodies for certification records for the company that manufactured them. they won't give you the test results but they should be able to provide info that the wheels are indeed certified. if you care to find out more about the testing process, you can ask them what standard # the wheels were tested to.

you can also try to get the documents from the manufacturer but they likely won't give them to you since they paid lots of money for them

 

I purchased a set of these wheels a bit over a year ago to use with a set of all season tires for the colder months. Other than the painted silver finish being slightly different color and texture than the factory wheel set there is nothing to be critical of. These are not third world knock offs of dubious quality. OE quality cast aluminum wheels are designed with substantial safety tolerances to assure a trouble free long life taking into account both manufacturing and real world on car variables. These wheels were manufactured with 'big buck' tooling centers and casting facilities. I was skeptical until I received and inspected the product, but found nothing to criticize then or since.

 

i just looked at scooby's pics of the replica wheels. i could not see any certification marks on the front face (oem honda wheel has the JWL mark directly opposite of the valve stem). i must admit they look really good for replicas, but whoever claimed they were certified, is either wrong or lying.

by the way, i think the VIA and JWL certification mark doesn't mean very much because it appears that certification is a self-declaration process and manufacturers are not likely to be inspected by the certification body that owns the mark. it means that manufacturers can easily get away with misusing/counterfeiting the mark by not performing the tests properly or just outright fudging the numbers.

(not relating to automotive certification)the CE mark is a good example of one that is often misused/counterfeited. you can find counterfeit CE marks on almost anything coming from China. on the other hand, counterfeits and misuse of the CSA, and UL marks are less common because companies have to actually get their products tested (or be acredited to test their own products) before being allowed to put the marks on their products. the companies that own those marks also spend lots of money going after people that infringe on their copyrighted mark. all this helps maintain the value of the mark for consumers that rely on them to make buying decisions.

as for things that look identical to the original, it doesn't mean they are. i've seen lots of things that appear to be the same but behave quite different. i've even seen a product fail certification even though the manufacturer claimed they made a direct copy of another certified product. the ap2 replica wheels actually look so good that i was really tempted to get some, but no certification was a deal killer for me.

 

i have a set of rears only (im cheap and my ap1s up front have some good tread life left) and they seem to be just as quality as my oem wheels, i cant fault the finished product that i can see... thats for sure.