Are there any big downsides to XXR/Sportmax Wheels? There are a couple black/red ones I am really liking... the prices seem pretty cheap, which begs the question - are they unworthy?
Are there any other wheels that have a good black/red combo? (not just a tiny pinstripe)

 

XXR/Sportmax are becoming very popular wheels in our company. I've seen a couple of Mini owners on this board with some of their models. They are definitely priced right and I have not seen any claims on bent or broken wheels since we started carrying them about a year ago. If you really like them, go for it.

Leo Barrios
leo@edgeracing.com
800-489-5353 x211
http://www.edgeracing.com

 

Pros? Cheap, cool styles, nice widths on some of them

Cons? Low quality weak wheels. Offsets on the wide wheels aren't really MINI friendly.

Really? I see them all over the place on miata and honda forums. Sportmaxx wheels basically explode when they break on potholes etc. Sportmaxxs are known for the fact that they shatter into pieces rather than bend.

The one picture set I'm looking for is removed now...but a guy in the miata hit a semi-large pothole with the sportmaxx 002's and the wheel broke into like 30 pieces. The spokes broke where they met the barrel, the centers fractured. No good.

More sportmax carnage.





Lip that basically fell to pieces...again not normal for wheel damage. Wheels usually get curb rash or bend when they hit a curb....not fracture.

 

You get what you pay for.

 

Yup....for the most part this REALLY rings true for wheels.

Just think about the price....I've found sportmax's for $87 (some are even in the $70's) at a wheel company's site. The wheel company is probably making a little bit of profit on it...and it's probably safe to assume that sprotmax is making a bit of profit on the wheel too even if they gave the company a wholesale price. So how much did these cost to make? $60 or $50? $60 includes the full cost of the metal material, the paint, the clearcoat, the machining of the lips, the manufacturing? Really?

 

Rally,

I had not seen those images with the obvious wheel failure. The factories that manufacture these wheels adhere to the strictest industry standards. They have been recognized by more than one of largest and most respected Japanese car manufacturers for their quality. Yes, they are OE suppliers (and most of the wheels that they manufacture are OE wheels). No wheel manufacturer is immune 100% to wheel failures. The fact that we have sold several thousand of these wheels since we started carrying them with no cases like the one you posted (that I know of) gives me the confidence to recommend and sell them.

On a side note, failures like the one you attached are almost always covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.

Leo Barrios
leo@edgeracing.com
800-489-5353 x211
http://www.edgeracing.com

 

i wonder if people's lives are covered under manufacturer's warranties....

 

I have seen problems with the most expensive of wheels to the cheapest wheels. I live in an area where people have wheels that cost less than a tank of gas and last forever. Seen HRE look pretty messed up too.

I only purchase wheels that pass certain safety standards, after that - its fair ball.

 

I would more have to agree with leo more here, the things you are showing there are pretty catastrophic, but wheel failure is so dependent on situation. Cheaply made wheels would just mean that they are cast poorly/uses cheaper aluminum and more than likely much softer. I would say that cheaper wheel will get bent much easier under extreme driving, so for tracking and competition stiffness matters more than the road. For the road there are already steels which bend much more.

Regardless of the wheel, its still aluminum and the road and curbs are way harder than it, so its going to fail when a pothole or curb impact goes through your tire. Having a smaller wheel and more tire is always going to prevent damaging a wheel. That rim failure does look a little concerning, but it was likely a pretty nasty pothole anyways. If you are cornering hard and the wheel fractures because of casting imperfections thats a whole lot more concerning that if you run it into a pothole and it breaks apart because.

That said I would still buy something a little more expensive, there are plenty of inexpensive options out there that are pretty high quality anymore.

 

Yah....all wheels can get bent/broken if you hit them on something hard enough. But some wheels (such as rota or sportmax) break at a much lower level of impact.

Have you ever seen an HRE wheel that basically crumbles into little pieces? Those wheels can definitely bend too....but sportmaxes are known for cracking and shattering RATHER than bending.....and this is likely due to casting imperfections. I'd much rather have a wheel bend when I hit something rather than shatter into pieces and come detached from the spokes.

This isn't something I'm just making up or exxagerating because I'm not a fan of cheap wheels....I'm simply passing along the information that I've witnessed in countless threads on JDM forums (where these wheels are very common).

 

And most of those guys on those forums are ricers trying to save a buck with cheaper rims and drive like a bunch of loonies. Stereotype or not, I see their B.S. on the daily. I can't go 2 miles from my house w/o them trying to F with me. There is one white miata in particular with sportmax 006 wheels that drives insane. Sure they'd never put that part on the forum either.

 

i cant speak for any other brand, but my rota so far have not had the 'explosive blow up' like the picture above, im not saying they are great wheels, i certainly think they arent as bad as everyone makes them out to be

i have 5 wheels... one's bent when i hit a curb at about 40km/h at an autox.. by the end of it it still held air, just bent a bit...

 

I've smacked curbs with two sets of Rotas (one set was curbed by the girl that I let drive ), and they merely bent. Still allowed me to drive home safely (although out of balance). I've had a total of 4 sets of Rota wheels (two sets of Subzeros, Tarmacs, and Slipstreams) and never once bent one on the potholed streets around Chicago. A number of years back, Rota had a bad batch go out that had some issues, but the problem was identified and corrected. I can't speak for Sportmaxx, but I think it's ridiculous for someone to throw Rota's name around in this thread as being an unsafe or poor quality wheel.

And as for why you probably hear about more problems with the cheaper brands, there are probably 100 sets of cheap wheels sold for every 1 set of HRE's. And the HRE driver is certainly more likely to take greater care with his pricey set of wheels as opposed to the guy who just spent $400 for the whole set. Just like you hear about more guys with Hondas that get in accidents as opposed to Lamborghinis...

 

Theres a lot of truth in that. Through all the clubs I have been a part of (VW, Mustang, Porsche, Mopar, etc) it would seem 95% of the people I know have "cheap" wheels. I have personally bought at least 20 sets of aftermarket wheels in my life and only 2 that would be considered premium. I have yet to have one that fail. While Im sure it does happen the wheels still have to be tested to a certain standard to be legal.

BTW HRE's arent immune to problems below are photos and links to HRE problems.

http://www.nsxprime.com/forums/showt...threadid=30097
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...p?p=1555493900
http://forums.audiworld.com/tt/msgs/1768596.phtml
http://forums.swedespeed.com/zerothread?id=40476

 

I'm glad you've had no problems....but there is a known fault in the casting process that leads to cracks developing on the thin-spoke styles that Rota offers. I only brought it up because both rota and sportmax share the same issues.

I'm not saying they're awful wheels....I'm not saying don't buy them. All I was saying was that I would consider it one of the Cons to the wheels. Someone mentioned not seeing images....so I shared them. Of course this won't happen to 100% of the wheels out there. I'm not a big fan or believer in HRE specifically (their strength is pretty questionable)....but many of the other higher quality wheels (SSR, BBS, Works, Volk, Image, Schmidt, etc) are in fact a higher quality. Not all wheels are made the same...


http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=308413

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=309119

 

ssr wheels

 

Some dudes with their expensive wheels just have their noses so high in the air that they can't see what else is going on around them sometimes.

 

As I had already acknowledged, "A number of years back, Rota had a bad batch go out that had some issues, but the problem was identified and corrected." Your threads from Nasioc are from over 5 years ago. Incidentally, I had a 2002 WRX and was involved with Nasioc and well aware of those threads, which is why I mentioned it in the first place. Not sure if you realized it, but Rota has replaced any wheels associated with that bad batch from owners who contacted them...

It's common knowledge that forged wheels are stronger than cast, and those willing and able to pay the price premium are certainly happy with the wheels they get. However, you're probably as likely to have a failure on a Rota as you would an OEM alloy wheel.

But I have yet to see a test procedure that takes high quality wheels versus cost effective wheels versus OEM wheels and subjects them to various torture tests that would be encountered by your typical enthusiast to determine if the "higher quality" wheels would fare any better against a curb, a pothole, or other subsequent stresses. There obviously are circumstances where every wheel will bend or fail, regardless of how much someone paid for it or how it was made.

Should we post pictures of EVERY wheel manufacturer that has EVER had a wheel bend or fail?

 

And that's all I was saying....as to why it was turned in to more.... I have no idea.

As I've already said. Sportmax offers some great style wheels with some attractive widths and deep lips. I listed the quality (strength and finish) as a Con because they may not compare as well to some of the other options out there.....this doesn't mean that the wheels aren't worth buying, it's just a simple Pro-Con list where you list both sides for consideration.

 

I have had approx 10 aftermarket wheel sets on different cars over the years including a very expensive set of 19" Volk Racing GTC's which ended up bending on a pot hole.... not a good feeling. After spending that much money I opted to stick with cheaper wheels. I currently own a set of Sportmax 502's and I've got so say I'm very happy with them, they have survived a couple of big pot holes, I ran them though a winter and the finnish is still like new. If I did happen to bend or break one it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg to replace it. I agree with Leo these wheels are priced very well and they have to be to compete in that market. thulewx I'm happy to say I've seen no downside to these wheels. So speaking from experience with these wheels if you find a set you like, go for it.

Anyone can google and find pictures of damaged or broken wheels expensive or cheap even factory:




but there are also many circumstances which may or may not be cuased by the wheel alone.

 

I like the look a lot. What size tires are you running on those?

 

Thanks 18"

http://www.edgeracing.com/2007/Mini/Cooper_S/wheels/18/

 

Just ordered a set of XXR wheels from Mr Barrios. Looking forward to getting them (and my mini).

Jason