i was looking at some wheels yesterday and ran across one that i like... anyhow, i showed it to my friend and he says that these are going to warp.

could someone please explain why these are more likely to warp than another set of wheels? what is it that i should be looking for/avoid? thx.

Wheel Details - Discount Tire Direct

in case that url doesn't work the wheels i'm looking at can be found on discounttiredirect.com

they are the the "Konig Again 4" in black with red stripe. the size is 15X6.5 4-100 40BRS

thx.

 

Ive never heard of wheels "warping." I guess if theyre under extreme driving and heat conditions it could happen, but its not likely.

Even cars that are engulfed in flames normally the wheels are still intact after the fire is put out.
I think the wheels will be fine. Try and get his definition of "warped" though.

 

warping... that would need some serious heat or pressure.

wheels bend and crack.

 

those wheels are nice haha

 

i asked him again, he made the distinction a little more clear. basically the thickness of the rim (aka the thickness of the circumference) plus the fact that the spokes are very thin, makes the wheel more susceptible to being damaged when going over potholes and such.

so ok that makes a little more sense to me. he said that his friend has the last generation lexus IS with wheels that look really hot with the thin rims and spokes, but they got damaged. i have another friend who has wheels (which i can't tell if the rims are thin or not, but definitely has more spokes) that were damaged when he went over a large pothole. but, i just chalk that to the pothole, not the wheels themselves.

what bugs me is that it appears that there's really no guide/reference to these things. how does one know if a wheel is too thin or not? nothing in the specs say anything about these things, and "thin" is all pretty relative anyway.

and thx ;-) i think these wheels are hot too.

 

All aftermarket wheels have to meet ISO 9002 and QS 9000 standards. Since a lot of wheels are also sold in Japan, they must meet the Japanese VIA standard of quality testing as well. To achieve these certifications, wheels are subjected to very high testing standards, including impact resistance, load capacity, salt spray, and others. Konigs website should have these specs on there somewhere, as well as stampings on the wheel somewhere, usually on the mounting pad.

 

I think those wheels will be fine. Just about any rim your going to have problems if you drop it into a pot hole, more so I think with low profile tire and high speeds. Just do your best to avoid them and you will be fine.

 

I dont like the center, but the rest of the wheel looks great.

 

I agree, the rims-

Look fine to me for street use.

Sure the spokes are thin- that is the style and to reduce weight.
Konig is a decent wheel company, if they get too many cases of easily damaged wheels they will change the design and beef it up but they've probably done some testing and found it to be "strong enough" for street duty.

Note that some specialized track wheels are not meant for any street use- they are built very light and could be easily dented or damaged by hitting a pothole or curb.

Basically street wheels are built with enough strength to take some road abuse with the average street driver in mind. The more you abuse your wheels the more risk you run of damaging the rim, the tire, the suspension and your chassis (sometimes). Alignment is also affected over time.

The lighter rims will always be at risk with street use. Heavy OEM rims will be OK but even those can be damaged if you hit a pothole deep enough going fast or any curb or railroad track that is uneven enough.

Bottomline is for street use you must be careful and be prepared for anything. If you have poor roads and lots of potholes you just have to slowdown and drive with care.

Any tire you mount with less sidewall or stiffer construction will transmit some shock to your rims and suspension. For this wheel the stock 195/55-15 tire size would work.

As for your original post- warping won't happen with street driving. On the track with lots of heat build up your brakes and tires will likely give out before the rims will. Cracking of the spoke would be something to check for but with the black finish won't be as easy to spot. Look carefully from the insides once the wheel is clean and inspect before each track session or driving school or at least once yearly if only on the street.

For the record I've cracked multiple spokes on a pair of forged 6 spoke wheels used mostly for the street and a little on the track. The wheel design was subsequently changed to beef up the spokes which changed the wheel weight from 14 to 16 lbs each in 17x7. The new design is plenty strong.

A note about wheel design-
There are no strict rules on what to follow for buying strong wheels based on design.
Wheel construction is helpful but not perfect. Gravity cast Alloy wheels are the most common and less expensive way to make aftermarket rims. They are moderately strong for their weight, not very light but usually well priced- competitive. Forged wheels are stronger and lighter in general but less weight can also mean they could be damaged more easily- not overly so but there is some risk.

The combination of all of your suspension parts will be factors on whether you get damage from any road hazzards. A stock suspension with stock sized tires are going to be helpful at absorbing some shock. Going slower will help.

Also before buying- look at the wheel with consideration for how easy it will be to keep clean from brake dust which can ruin the finish. Black doesn't show dust as much but the finish could become marred over time. White shows the most brake dust. Upgrading brake pads to something that dusts less is helpful- usually ceramic pads will work fine for street use. Stock pads tend to dust a lot. Track pads offer more heat resistance to fading with repeated stops but do dust a little more.

 

yah, i refer to that as bending.

also hard to judge a wheel's 'too thin' just by looking at it or
even going by their marketed molding process.

also too thin to protect from wat? this pot hole or that pot hole?
at what speed? too many variables.

i suppose at the end, you'll need to trust that the manufacturer did
some durability tests on real world conditions. some manufacturers
conduct real world durability tests in the field with customer cars.
might be better to see how other folks do before buying it?

 

The only wheels I have EVER heard that deform without hitting a giant pothole or curb or some other obvious reason are some models of SSR rims. I have read about 2 or 3 stories now from people that have had those rims deform into an oval.

Konigs seem like a pretty good choice, lots of people have them (way more than SSR) and I haven't heard any bad things about them.

 

most wheels forged/semi-forged or not will bend if they hit a pot hole
or canyon rock big enough. i have personal experience with bending
2 SSR IntegralA2's long time ago when i ran over a canyon rock swirving
to avoid hitting a geezer that walked right infront of me through a blind
corner. the rock was a size of a kleenex box. (big).

at least it's not like those rota's where the spokes just collapsed while
some guy was racing his car.

 

Wheels don't warp but they will bend and twist when the wheel is pressured sideways as would happen if you 'attack' a curb at a 45 degree angle. Few wheels crack first; they bend. A wheel so rigid that it cracks before deforming would be highly dangerous like the FI wheel that shed its 'lip' today in Spain. I think Kovalenin was the driver. If your wheel deforms first when attacking an immoveable object you can often get home. One that breaks leaves you in bad shape. Not that they don't break just that they deform first. We've lost a couple on track.
Over the years we've used and sold a lot of Konig wheels with no probles. I have no idea why your advisor thinks they 'warp' Let him tell you why and give examples.
Look for the test certificates such as TUV. Any wheel, and all Koenig I'm aware of have the German TUV certification meaning they passed some strenous test standards.

 

Yikes, do you remember what model of Rota's?

 

yah, i was like eerrrrr wat was the name of that wheel??! while i
was posting it.


i finally remembered. they were the subzero's that were once popular
maybe 4-5 yrs ago. the load rating was later revised and structural
rigidity improved. 5x100 PCD version i think it was 17x7's.

 

Great another JDMU thread.......

Buy what you want, anything will break, bend etc....even the high end stuff. And before you bashers say they copy blah blah blah, everything nowadays is a copy including SSR, Work etc......

 

not feelin the center either
but other than that it's good

you get what you pay for though
if i pay for 1500 wheels volk or work brand i know
i'm getting good, reliable quality wheels that are less prone to
breaking than other brands.

-Ricky