Really cheap rims - what's the catch?

[Lobo1186]

Originally Posted by reluctantmechanic

So, because you drove on a bent rim, it's a fact that it's not life threatening? That's like saying because one drinks and drives, and doesn't get caught or in an accident that it's safe. Lobo, it's not very sound thinking.

It's not safe for you, or the people you share the road with, and just because something didn't happen to you, doesn't make it any less dangerous. Just means you got lucky.

the fact is that I have driven on a bent rim. never once gave advice. this isnt about critical thinking its about reading comprehension.

what makes it not life threatening is the fact that it has a very low probability of causing an accident. does it elevate it sure. does it make it dangerous no.

and i wish it was just luck because that would be one long luck streak.

[Lobo1186]

Originally Posted by reluctantmechanic

it elevates the risk of accident, but doesn't make it dangerous? Wow....

It sure does eleveate the risk of accident, and yes, accidents can cause death - you drive 60mph on a bent rim and have a blow out (which happens on bent rims) you're more than likely to hurt someone.

The fact is, a bent rim could kill some - Lobo, it's common sense.

not ever changing brake fluid elevates chance of accident. having new tires elevates risk of accident. playing music too loud elevates risk. driving at night elevates risk. driving while tired, driving with underinflated tires, driving a car that has an oil leak increases risk. stepping out of your house elevates risk of an accident... see where Im going with this...


an asteroid could kill someone. along with falling coconuts.

moral of the story... wear helmets in hawaii and hope your local bomb shelter is meteor proof.

[blinkwatt]

I'd be willing to bet that many users on this board who actually drive their cars daily have bent rims to a degree,but it's not a big enough deal for them to even notice.

And as for mentioning BBS is track proven...yeah their EXTREME high end stuff is. Most of the available one and two piece wheels aren't professional raced. Like I said,we've actually had two sets of BBS wheels get bent in my house,just regular driving around town,and MOMO.

No one here is saying that the replicas are the bees knees,but last I checked,out of the many people on this board not one has come back to say, 'OMFG my Italian replicas from Wheels Dynamics,Wheels and Caps or eBay snapped in half'.

[landrovered]

Perhaps this boils down to different life attitudes for folks of different ages.

When I was a younger man I didn't really give a **************** about safety, insurance, warranties, liability any of those big boy terms that old farts talked about after dinner.

Get in drive fast, get out and do something more fun than balance your checkbook and pay bills. Life is short and there are hotties to be chased and beers to be drunk.

Then life happens and you experience enough accidents, flukes, hard times, anomolies and plain wierd **************** that you come to the realization that the actuaries are basically correct and that life and your survival of it is largely a game of percentages and you are not in the drivers seat when it comes to what does or does not happen to you and your kin in the big scheme of things.

And oddly enough you begin to become attached to the things that you have in your life and you decide that keeping them might be a good thing.

So you plan a strategy of eliminating as many of the risk factors that you can while not taking all of the fun out of life. You insure stuff, you check things, you fill jars with nails and label them in your garage. You buy things that make you happy, you dont buy the cheapest thing available, you enjoy owning "the best" and you are capable of affording it.

You seek out the well made and the obscure, you covet craftsmanship and exclusivity. These are qualities that you can appreciate, merely knowing that these things are yours makes you happy.

You see folks"hell bent for leather" to hit their heads against the wall of experience and you know that it is going to hurt. You try to warn them but you are accused of being melodramatic and they say things like, bent wheels don't automatically mean a firey death and they are right in a limited perspective and you know they are wrong at the same time.

[ekam]

Reading that makes me feel old, even though physically I'm young.

[Mark_T]

Wow. Sorry folks - I wasn't trying to start something. This took off like a Mobil1 thread!

"Lucky we didn't say anything about the dirty knife. "


Mark

[Mark_T]

I think the middle line here is that the rims are definitely not Porsche quality, but are most likely safe enough for non-racing applications, and at that price you can replace any rim that becomes even slightly damaged.

Will I buy them? Not sure. I think I will keep my eyes open for a good deal on a used set of the real thing for a few months and, if nothing comes up, then I'll give it some further consideration.

I sure appreciate all the peeps who took the time to post their views. There's some really good food for thought in here. Thank you!

Mark

[blinkwatt]

Just to throw this out there,for approval ratings. The Italian made replicas are JWL approved(along with others)....

Japan Light Alloy Wheel. The technical standard for Light Alloy Disc Wheels for Passenger Car
approved by Ministry of Transport (MOT).

Their approval stamps look like this,from inside the wheel



That's just one of the approval ratings the wheels have.