bigbombula

There should be no reason for people to hate on knock offs. My main issue with the top end companies is they purposely price their products in order to weed out the majority of potential consumers. This is what creates "exclusivity" in a brand. In essence top end manufacturers create the market for knock offs inadvertently. If they were to price their products more competitively there would be a much smaller market for fakes. Most manufacturers in any given industry have a very small profit margin. I would suspect that Volk and other such companies operate at a much higher profit margin then the average. This approach to marketing is certainly their prerogative, but people must understand that the free market is quick to punish those that price their product too expensively. I personally don't feel much sympathy for such companies.

I personally believe that most individuals are looking for the best bang for the buck, at the end of the day. This is most likely the reason most of us bought the S2000 in the first place. We are rational individuals who understand the value of money. Most of us probably rationalized the fact that we can buy a car such as the S2000 for the 1/3 price of brand X and have a vehicle that is 8/10 as capable as that car.

With all that being said, there many manufacturers of wheels that make a high quality product for a reasonable price. As already stated Enkei is probably the best bang for the buck out there, and is no wonder that is so popular amongst enthusiasts. At the end of the day each to their own.

newyawkballa

One way around the high initial cost of JDM wheels,is buying them used..Let someone else take the big hit....And with the economy down,there are more low ballaz then ballaz. I have seen Volks for the S2000 for cheap.....I'm talking $1200 for Volk Gt-N 18's, Te-37's for $1500, both with tires,etc. If only we could get u "track racers" from not curbing them getting a Mcdouble from the drive-thur.

-Jordan-

I've personally owned 4-5 pairs of Sportmax/XXR wheels over the years among other taiwanese rims. I personally couldnt tell a difference between these wheels and better ones. Infact I was quite taken back by how "lumpy" the inside of the Volk CE's were when I was powder coating a pair recently. And it wasnt from damage, they were manufactured this way.

I think the last post hit the nail pretty square on the head. Its all about branding. Once you've established a brand and people have decided that you are the quality guy to go to, you have the market cornered and you can charge what you want. Id be pretty confident saying that there are wheels out there, that are as good or BETTER than some of these "high end" brands and are only 1/4 the price. When you concider the manufacturing that goes into a wheel you can see that there isnt a huge investment and at the end of the day you're paying for a name and the marketing costs associated with the brand etc.

The market defines what it wants, Work didnt design 5 spoke wheels, or machined lips. But consumers expressed a great deal of interest in meisters and other rim manufacturers took notice and made similar wheels. They only thing they "stole" from Work was consumer recognition.

-Jordan-

My dad recently picked up a set of 18" CE28's w/ full tread for $1400, so yeah. This is a great option.