The Fake Wheel Debate

For years now there's been a huge debate over buying real wheels and knockoffs. I suppose this exists in every industry, and while there are similarities in the debates between other industries, I'd like to address this specifically to the automotive wheel industry.

I really do see both sides to the equasion, but what I find funny is that the people who are pointing fingers usually really aren't in the position to be doing so. For the most part, from what I've seen is that the group usually against purchasing knockoff wheels are from the lifestyle/show crowd. Their argument usually consists of how companies that created/designed/RnD'ed are losing money from cheap knockoffs, how you get what you pay for, how the wheels are manufactured with a lower quality control tolerance, etc. All of these statements are true to a degree. The opposition, which encompasses everything from financially challenged "must modify something" kids all the way to serious racers on a budget also have their own reasons for purchasing knock off wheels. The legitimate reasons can include low entry cost (which applies to singular sets as well as multiple), decent level of quality control for intended usage (after all, wheels do have a US standard of quality control unlike Taiwanese made turbo manifolds, BOV's, and other items that aren't street legal to begin with), being able to have the "look" without the price, and availability. All of these reasons are very valid as well.

To people who aren't too familiar with me I may come across as a hypocrite. I am a huge proponent of only using quality parts on your car. By quality I don't mean just anything Japanese, I mean something from a company with racing history, its own research and development branch, and proper products that cater to using them in extreme environments. While I do use mostly American race parts on my car, the Japanese products I do use are of the highest quality (things like TRD, SARD, Tein). However, I don't have anything against knock off wheels, and I do think they have a place. I own both types of wheels, both real and knockoffs, and feel that each individual can decide for themselves which they want to use, as long as they don't point fingers at each other.

From most of the debates I've seen, the opponents to knockoff wheels have one thing in common: they don't often race/track their cars, or never do at all. This is interesting because often times, their criticisms of knockoff wheels are performance based. They say such things as "knock off wheels are heavy and aren't strong because they're not forged". In reality, since their vehicles usually sit in a garage or occasionally make it out to assist them in transportation to the weekly meet spot for boba, are they really taking advantage of the performance benefits of the wheels? Absolutely not. People who modify their vehicles with the only intent to see how long of a modification list they can create are elitists under a totally false pretense. Real deal wheels are that price because of their performance benefits, most of which you will never see on the street.

In addition, I think said elitists invest too much of their property as a relfection of their self worth, as they don't feel as if they "stand out" anymore and that they don't have anything special, when most people can mistake what they've spent a small fortune on looks striking similar to the wheels the 17 year old Taco Bell employee has (No offense to Taco Bell employees, your 7 layer burritos make my world go round). In addition, I believe the opposite is true. Having the real deal among a sea of fakes makes yours even more desireable, and to those who understand what the subtle differences are, they are even more special.

My point? The only people who can really have an opinion are racers who fully utilize the technological capabilities of the wheels. Notice however, that those people are usually never to be found making these arguments, or participating on forums because they're too busy racing to care about anything that trivial.

Get over the fake wheel debate. Graduate towards political debates! :)