camuman

not for nothing, but volks are not 3k because they have to be, they are becuase they can command the price. if people stopped buying them at 3k, the price would drop until people started to buy them again.

its funny to see everyone fight over this, but if each of us looks at the industry we work in, this practice is prevalent in all of them. i work in the eyeglass industry, there is mega mark up in them. you think those 1k dollar cardier sun glasses really cost 800+ to the optical shop? its a giant hell to the MAJOR NO. they are expensive because they can command the price, not because they are worth it or cost a lot to make.

if someone wants volks, they will pay. we live in a capatalists society, and making money is the goal. the price of an item is typically the price the market will bear, not the price it needs to be for someone to make a menial living.

the only thing i hate about knock offs is when they try to pretend to be the original. i think that is 100% ****ED UP. go to ebay and see VORKS. they look just like volks but they are clearly trying to trick people. rota did it right, hey, heres a te37 look a like, but i call them grids, and i dont ever say this is a te37.

/rant

-Jordan-

There isnt that much R&D in a 1 piece aluminum wheel. Draw up a design, import the material characteristics and run the model through a software simulation. Done. I can draw up a wheel and show simulated deformation, maximum tensile points in less than 5 minutes. "knock offs" are almost always a little different, and if they use different material they have to impliment the structural R&D all over again. No one is taking expensive forged wheels, making a mold and popping out cast copies. This just wouldnt fly.

It has nothing to do with R&D costs.

I can get a set of 3 piece forged wheels, machined from billet aluminum blanks for less than Volks. There is far more labour, R&D and material involved in this and yet they're cheaper and better. What does this tell you?

Hate to be the barer of bad news but there is a pretty good chance companies like Volk are getting a lot of their work done off shore anyways. Id like to know if they're even fully made in Japan anymore. All they have to do is complete 55% + more of the labour cost in Japan and they can say they're made there. That means they can pay $30 for a wheel from Taiwan, spend an hour on QC and call it made in Japan.

gaveup

The only people that bitch about "fake" wheels are the people who buy new "original" wheels and are salty because someone got the same look as they did for WAY cheaper.

Honestly, I think everyone here would love TE37's right? However, they aren't cheap at all. Many say "save up a little bit and get the real wheels because you'll regret it later". Save up a little bit? Seriously?

Let's be honest here, the amount you would need to save up isn't just a "little bit" now is it? I can get a set of rota grids 18x9(2) and 18x10(2) shipped to my door for around $1000.

Are Volk TE37's just a little bit more? Let's go to vivid racing and price it out:
Sub-Total: $3,398.58
-------------------------------------
Handling Fee: $10.00
Sub-Total: $3,398.58
Vivid Racing Shipping (1 x 92.4lbs) (Ground): $90.28
Total: $3,498.86
-------------------------------------

How is $2,500 just saving a little bit more?

I understand where a lot of people are coming from with hating on rotas or xxrs or whatever, but to sit here and say they are "low quality crap wheels" is just someone trying to justify their purchase. Are they better (lighter, higher quality)? Yes. Should you be an elitist ******* and look down on someone who wanted the look for cheaper? No.

I'm only bumping this thread because I can't stand the kids that act all high and mighty because they have "superior" wheels. Some people just can't see dropping 10% of their cars sticker price on wheels (even less for the cost of s2000s now since you can get them for cheap), don't hate them for it.

I'm not here to start any sort of forum argument. I'm just saying, for a daily driven car these cheaper wheels are not bad and give you the look you want for a decent price point. I'd say for what the MAJORITY of people on this site use their cars for these knockoff wheels will work just fine.

My (personal!) main problem with buying $3k+ wheels is this:

They are just as easy to steal as a cheap wheel no one cares about. Wheel locks, alarm, etc...it doesn't matter. A thief will steal volks long LONG LONG before he even considers a brand such as Rota.

When I had rotas on my old WRX, no one tried anything. I had zero worries about someone grabbing them. My roomate has BBS LM's on his S2000 and is terrified to leave it somewhere unmonitored for a while. Same with my other roomate when he bought Advan RG-IIs for his S2000.

Said S2000 on RG-II's was stolen from my driveway a week later and he was out the cost of those shiny new pricey wheels. It happens, I know, but it happens a lot more in South Florida I guess.

In the end it boils down to what a person likes, wants and can afford. I would never look down on anyone for getting knockoff wheels, nor would I call a person rolling around on Volks an idiot for spending so much. If the end result looks good, who gives a ****?

TRD_Celica

I'm not going to lie, I do it for status. Would you rock walmart shoes?

Not Sure

I just get the image in my head that Volk wheels are made by a guy who gets a good salary, takes pride in his work and his company name, and is a car enthusiast who would rock the wheels he makes on his own car any day.

Whereas the cheap Chinese knockoff is made by a guy in a sweatshop trying to crank out as many wheels per day as he can so he can feed his starving family. He doesn't care about well made automotive products, he doesn't even own a car.

I'd rather buy the product made by the guy who knows what he is making. To me that's where the value is. I'm willing to pay more for the comfort of knowing my wheel was made by a pro, not some guy doing anything he can to make a buck.

But then again, I've got cheap Konig knock-offs on my old Prelude and they're perfectly fine. They're heavy and one of the center caps fell off because of bad fitment, but they're round, which is all I need for this car. I only use the Prelude once in awhile. If it were my main ride I'd def get better rims.

gaveup

The difference in the cost of shoes is no where near that of wheels. Not really sure where you are going with that......

(perhaps a better analogy next time?)

TRD_Celica

Sure it is, walmart shoes are cheaper than name brand shoes. Knock off wheels are cheaper than name brand wheels. How hard was that?

gaveup

Ok, with that train of though, why buy an s2000 when you can buy a Carrera GT?

People will spend money on what they think is worth it.

Not Sure

^^^lol speaking of bad analogies....

You are misunderstanding what a cheap knock-off is as defined in this thread. If Honda did absolutely no R&D and just made a car that looked exactly like a Carrera but minus the performance, and called it Currera...then it would be a cheap knock-off.

But Honda did do their own R&D, and the car you call a Carrera knock-off actually has its roots in F1 racing as we all know...so, bad analogy. No one buys an S2k thinking "Everyone will think it's a Porsche".

UCP

Short answer: People got too caught up in what everyone else is doing/sees them doing.

I'm rockin stock they're more than good enough for me, you should see my other car.