Are Replica Wheels Acceptable?

"Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)" (6speedhaven)
08/06/2014 at 23:51 • Filed to: None

Inside my circle of tumblr friends, we condemn replica wheels. Somebody !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! to one of my friends who has heavy time attack experience(check out his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and his !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ). "Thoughts on XXRs, Rotas, STRs, etcetc?" His response after the jump.

In case the image comes out too small or if you are viewing this from mobile, the text has been pasted below for easier reading.

This started with just "Industry ruining garbage" then I got a little carried away and addressed the whole replica industry. I apologize for being long winded.

Industry ruining garbage. Not only are they heavy, weak, and poorly made; they're disrespectful to the intellectual property of the manufacturers that spend extensive resources and time designing and engineering these products.

Many of the manufacturers that "enthusiasts" claim to love & support are having trouble surviving because of their designs being immediately copied, poorly reproduced, and sold at half the price. There was a thread on an FRS forum a month or so ago of a company that copied Greddy's turbo kit and the Greddy name could still be seen on this other companies turbo kit. What incentive is there for Greddy to R&D a turbo kit if someone is going to knock it off within months?

I always hear arguments of parts being expensive or over priced. These parts are expensive because reputable manufacturers take the time to properly design and test a product. Additionally these manufacturers have to spend money on advertising and building a reputation. When someone buys a part they're not paying for just the materials to make a kit or wheel set. You're paying for the time and effort of professionals to develop these parts along with differences in quality that make it a superior and safe part.

I don't have a problem with inexpensive wheels or parts that are original designs. There are plenty of aftermarket wheels at affordable prices that are not copies of other manufacturers work. When I had my Turbo Miata I ran TR Motorsports C1's because they were inexpensive, cast by Enkei, and easily replaceable if broken. Every other part on the car was high quality and from a reputable manufacturer. When I built this car I was making very little money, lived on my own, and saved what I could to buy quality used parts if I couldn't afford the new parts.

I personally hold quality in a high regard and have declined sponsorships from companies that copy the work of others. There are many that will disagree with me, however most of them won't be able to put up a better argument than "real wheels/parts are too expensive".

Finally, many car enthusiasts state that their car is part of them or representative of who you are. Do you want your car to say that you have pride and care about quality, or that you're cheap and don't care about quality or performance.

I agree with every point he made. What do you guys think?

DISCUSSION (24)

offroadkarter > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/06/2014 at 23:55

tumblr friends

so, how many of them went to dashcon? did they get extra time in the ball pit?

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > offroadkarter
08/06/2014 at 23:57

I don't know what you're talking about. What's dashcon?

crowmolly > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/06/2014 at 23:57

Edelbrock and Professional Products was/is a big one too. Many people do not care about things like development costs and R&D which is a real shame.

Jeff-God-of-Biscuits > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/06/2014 at 23:59

I worked in a camera shop for a while, and another complaint, in a similar vein is with the people who come to a local shop, pick your brain, look at all the stuff you have in the shop, try it on for size and then run home to make their order on the internet. Yes, it is the same camera, but you took advantage of the expertise and ability of the retail shop to put a product in your hands to see if you like it.

If you want to utilize someone's work, make sure you pay the right people for the time they put in.

offroadkarter > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:00

how the fuck do you have friends on tumblr and not know what that failure was?

its literally all over the internet, google it

I'm getting off topic....

replica wheels for the most part, are for "the poors" IMO.

Kat Callahan > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:01

Kinja'd!!!

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > offroadkarter
08/07/2014 at 00:03

Honestly, all we do on tumblr is blog cool photos of cars we like and share our motoring experiences. Once in a blue moon we even get together on tinychat for those who can get online and watch cool car videos together. I'm also one of the few that posts car gifs (which somehow end up on other areas of the internet) for us via my sub-blog cargifs.tumblr.com.

daender > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:04

I won't roll on Rotas at all, even if they've supposedly improved their quality. I'm dead set on a quad of Konig Helium or Kosei K1 for the Miata, they're some of the lightest 15 inch aftermarket wheels for Miatas. Kosei are used on Spec Miatas fields and Heliums are the lightest 15x6.5 at a few ticks under 13 pounds per rim. Impressive considering my 16x6.5 are weighing close to 17-18 pounds.

offroadkarter > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:06

I thought tumblr was all about calling people racists and being a 14 year old girl who claims to know "the struggle" even though she's being raised in a middle class suburban family.

I think the only tumblr I ever go on is the top gear one when they link it on facebook.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > offroadkarter
08/07/2014 at 00:12

There are some people on there who do deserve better, but for the most part they are underrepresented in terms of the population on tumblr. The rest of the social justice warriors and assholes and dumbasses (aka misogynists, racists, sexists, etc.) are pretty much useless and I don't like seeing that section of the website. The social justice warriors, they type and type, these people type for change but don't seem to be taking any actions.

I like sticking with my car pals on tumblr. We're a group of people working towards enjoying our passion for cars and we ignore most of everything else.

offroadkarter > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:15

See, you know some part of it

now imagine this

take about, I don't know, 3000 SJW's around the ages of 17-25, throw them in a hotel. Now have that hotel get pissed because they weren't paid in full and are demanding $17,000 dollars or they'll kick everyone out. Now add all the SJW's moms calling the hotel staff to check on their kids. On top of all this, the entire event is run by a 17 year old.

Congrats, you have dashcon in a nutshell.

lonestranger > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:23

It depends one's definition of "replica". Many parts including wheels are indeed straight-up counterfeit goods and are of shoddy (if not downright scary) quality. Obviously, anything fraudulently branded as another company's product is a no-go.

On the other hand, there are a fair number of well-known wheels from respected manufacturers that some could consider in the very least "inspired by" other designs. The ones that always come to my mind are Watanabes. One man's perfect classic Japanese wheel is another man's ripoff of Panasports, which are a third man's ripoff of Minilites.

Kinja'd!!!

In other words, I would never buy a cheap Chinese knockoff of a TE37 with fake RAYS VOLK stickers, but if I didn't need or desire high-quality forged wheels, I wouldn't rule out Rota Grids.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > offroadkarter
08/07/2014 at 00:30

Jeez...how do you even end up with the idea of a convention for social justice idiots...

Kat Callahan > offroadkarter
08/07/2014 at 00:37

Kinja'd!!!

Dsscats > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:40

My car is on replica wheels (I don't take offense to any of this) and I totally support them for street use. They look great and have actually been incredibly strong, even on the not-so-well-maintained streets of LA. They work well and aren't that heavy either. If I were ever to do a proper build, I would get real wheels, but for a street car, I think replicas are fine.

Dsscats > lonestranger
08/07/2014 at 00:42

I have knock off Volks, but they don't have stickers nor are they Rota Grids. I do tend to agree with the need for high quality wheels in many applications, however.

TurboSloth > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:47

Here's how I see it. I am a bit drunk too, so if i'm a bit of a tangent, yeah.

Industry ruining garbage. Not only are they heavy, weak, and poorly made;

Simple. Keep it on for show. Don't track it. I don't like the RPF1. They're light, strong, and engineered well. I still don't like it. If you want to track a car, then get the RPF1. However, I don't track my car. I don't mind some extra weight. I'll take my rota Grids.

Many of the manufacturers that "enthusiasts" claim to love & support are having trouble surviving because of their designs being immediately copied, poorly reproduced, and sold at half the price.

When it comes to buying things like wheels, or any exterior modification that would just pertain to looks, hell yeah, I'm guilty of buying the replica. You know why? I have college tuition to pay, bills to pay, and honestly, I can't dump everything into my car. I have a limited bank account. I also am an enthusiast. Don't trivialize my love of cars based on who I buy my shit from.

It's like this, I was on a train with a guy who drove an Evo (I drive a Lancer Ralliart, which has the same 2.0 and Trans as the Evo, but isn't an evo.). He basically shit on me, because I wasn't "enthusiast enough" to get an Evo. Well, fuck that guy. He bought an Evo, and doesn't work on it. It's stock. I work on my car, and am trying to learn how my car works because I'm an enthusiast. Just because he got the Real-Deal Evo, does it make him more of an enthusiast? Nope.

However, when it comes to internal parts (like turbos), and safety equipment, I will buy the more expensive parts only because it pertains to safety.

I always hear arguments of parts being expensive or over priced. These parts are expensive because reputable manufacturers take the time to properly design and test a product

I understand that it's great that they engineered a product so properly, that it comes with a lifetime guarantee. Problem is, I can't buy 4000 dollars in wheels because I have shit to pay. Again, if its not an internal part of safety part, I'll take my chances if I'm not putting my car on the track.

There are plenty of aftermarket wheels at affordable prices that are not copies of other manufacturers work.

I want my damn TE37's. No substitutions.

I truly believe that the car is a representation of who you are. What does my car say about me? "Fuck you." (no, literally). I don't care what another person thinks of my car. You know why? Because I drive it. I'm going to hold my car together with zip ties and door hinges from home depot because it works. Thats the only result that matters to me. And yes, my skidplate, and front bumper are held together by some steel cable, door hinges, door locks, and zipties.

I've linked the famous No Fucks given RX7 because when I see his car, I see someone with the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the driver and how they deal with their car.

To summarize, it really depends on what you do with your car. If your friend tracks his car, which I assume he does, he'll grow up with this mentality of buying the proper parts which are super-engineered. That's fine. He will need it to compete. However, if you're like me, my car has always been a canvas to work on. To see how resourceful I could be on limited resources (which usually means not buying those fancy Greddy parts) I'm never going to be fast on a track or competitive, and I'm okay with that.

tldr: Replica wheels are garbage? yeah, well, that's just, like you're opinion, man. Just do you man. Don't be that condescending asshole who puts other car enthusiasts down because they picked something else. (unless that something else is safety related (like seatbelts and seats), then be a bro, and intervene)

my head hurts.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Dsscats
08/07/2014 at 00:47

Perhaps. I'm still learning a lot about wheels. Also, at the end of the day, I prefer stock wheels for most cars. Even stock Z32 wheels turn me on.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > TurboSloth
08/07/2014 at 00:52

You're drunk, but don't go home.

TurboSloth > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 00:52

I'm home already. I've been home. I'm eating ice cream too.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > TurboSloth
08/07/2014 at 00:55

Mmm. I'm going to have myself some ice cream as well.

Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST) > Kat Callahan
08/07/2014 at 00:57

I'm commenting because this needs to be in the popular discussion or something and not stuck under "All Replies"

bhardoin > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 02:40

Replicas are engineered for a separate purpose: to be a cheap alternative that looks good. Most people that buy wheels don't even know what they weigh or how strong they are, they just want them to look cool - and that's totally fine. High end manufacturers are in an entirely different market.
Now if some company stole the manufacturing processes that were R&Ded and then turned out cheap knock-offs, that'd be a different story. But as is, you're comparing apples to oranges.

JGrabowMSt > Blunion05 drives a pink S2000 (USER WAS BANNED FOR THIS POST)
08/07/2014 at 19:26

I find it acceptable when there are the originals didnt come in the size you need.