I have been posting about some wheeels that I bought. They are cheaper and available now from Ak tires, but Dan at Tireshack seems to take offence that there is any competition to a wheel he is touting that is not even made yet!!! I have posted twice today and each time they have been deleted. They maybes should of been moved or used to start my own thread but not deleted.
Here is the PM he sent me, is he out of line? I have not interfered with his customers or products!!
QUOTE...
"Limey
I am sorry I have to bring this up to you. I feel that I am extending a professional courtesy and its not being reciprocated . I have seen several posts on this wheel named by distributor, and name. I have done great research on this wheel, and know its different is width, weight, and offset. I have not deleted the threads on this wheel, nor have I posted in desendance. If I had done either I feel that would be misusing my authority, and for those reasons I have not. I believe that everyone deserves their fair floor on this forum. The reason you can find the thread on the AK wheel is that it is not a popular as the SSR comp thread . Here it is

(https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...pic=5199&4 )

I would ask that you display the same courtesy to my Comp R thread as I have every other product post that I dont happen to handle. I am hoping that you create your own post, or add to the ongoing AK post, please do not attempt to interfere with the information my customers are seeing on my products, on threads I start specific to my products. Please feel free to call me and discuss this further.

Dan
800 428 8355 xt 294 " UN QUOTE

 

Seems out of line to me, or maybe I'm just misinterpreting his tone.
Frankly, I know Tire Rack provides a lot of good information on this board and appreciate that.
But why buy from Tire Rack if by the time you buy the tire, have it shipped, find a local installer who is willing to balance, install, etc. you are paying as much or more than from your local dealer? I tried the Tire Rack route but found it would cost me MORE $$ than buying and installing at a local shop.

 

sounds like you have issues with the moderators. He may be direct, but sounds polite. I would call him. Try and resolve your difference. If you can't take it to the moderators. No need to see the dirty undies here.
JMHO

 

I don't need to waste my time calling him. If he is deleting posts about wheels that tirerack does not sell then that his prerogative I guess. I just wanted to let other mini owners that there is an alternative. I don't work for AK Tires and so have no interest in the company other than one of the owners is my friend and plugging his wheels aint illegal. Ak Tires did a great amount of legwork to get their manufacturer to modify a mold and make the stock size 16x6.5 when every other wheel company just makes the 16x7. He pays for advertising over on Mini2.com and so he can rightly advertise his products over there. He does not post over here on this website as Tirerack is the sole sponsor which is fine and well but I am not the only person who has bought a set of his wheels and so when they post about their purchases, will their posts be deleted as well, if they havnt already?
If this is how this board is operated then that's fine as mini2 suits my needs. Nuff said.

 

Did you make your post in response to an already existing thread discussing Tire Rack products or did you create a new thread in the Wheel and Tire Forum? If the latter, I would agree with you that it was inappropriate to delete the thread. If it was in a thread where the sponsors products were already being discussed, I can understand his point.

From the sound of his message to you, it was the first example. If so, create a new thread in the forum. It seems that he is saying that would not be a problem with him.

Keith Hamburger

 

....and tell us more about the wheel while you are at it....

 

since AK is apparently legally "Off-topic", Rant away, and let's see some of the stuff too, like 2minis said!

btw, sounds like Dan got pissed you hijacked his thread with a quasi-advertisement, which would be a no-no on your part, IMO.

Cheers,
Ryan

 

I read your second deleted post and found it to be an attack on Dan personally. In so much as you are questioning his responsibilities as a moderator. You posted under the SSR Comp R Update thread that Dan started.
The wheels are cheaper, heavier (how much depends on which batch they are from) and have cheap stickers that say 'SSP' & 'Type C'.
As for the wheel being an alternative to a real SSR, its like walking out of an authorized Rolex dealer and having someone on the street want to sell you a fake Rolex. But that's not all the seller of the fake posts an ad on the shops door telling them they can get a cheaper Rolex from him.

 

>>....and tell us more about the wheel while you are at it....


NZO Superlight

 

I agree the original posts should not have been deleted. The thread is called "Tire & Wheel Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack" not "The Tire Rack Forum". Sounds like a conflict of interest that the moderator is also the sponser. If this kind of stuff continues MCO should make a "Tire Rack Forum" and a separate "Tire & Wheel Forum" that is NOT moderated by Tire Rack. You may want to post a complaint in site feedback.

 

>>I read your second deleted post and found it to be an attack on Dan personally. In so much as you are questioning his responsibilities as a moderator. You posted under the SSR Comp R Update thread that Dan started.
>>The wheels are cheaper, heavier (how much depends on which batch they are from) and have cheap stickers that say 'SSP' & 'Type C'.
>>As for the wheel being an alternative to a real SSR, its like walking out of an authorized Rolex dealer and having someone on the street want to sell you a fake Rolex. But that's not all the seller of the fake posts an ad on the shops door telling them they can get a cheaper Rolex from him.


I did not 'attack' Dan personally as I don't know him. I was pissed that he deleted my posts and gets away with it coz he is a moderator?!
Anyways I now realize that he thinks that I 'hi-jacked' his thread. I obviously didn't think I was doing that because the topic was about a product that is not available yet?! I don't need this to go any further so I apologize to Dan for posting on his thread and in the future I will start my own threads.
FWD-MX5, Cheap stickers? Who cares, they are stickers and they come off. I don't like the stickers myself, its corny to have SSP but some kids like that, whatever works I guess. I just know that these wheels are excellent value for money and I cant see blasting around a coned parking lot or even at a track like Sebring is going to do any damage to these wheels. Like I said before, pot holes and curbs do more damage.
Limey.
AK Tires USA

 

>>....and tell us more about the wheel while you are at it....

2MINIs,

They are a 44mm offset, weigh in at 13.9 lbs, are 16x6.5", and run $155 per wheel.

I don't have issue with them being "off-brand", and some of those Rolex knock-offs are great watches !

You can view them at the website - http://www.mini-motorsport.com .

Randy

 

>>I agree the original posts should not have been deleted. The thread is called "Tire & Wheel Forum sponsored by The Tire Rack" not "The Tire Rack Forum". Sounds like a conflict of interest that the moderator is also the sponser. If this kind of stuff continues MCO should make a "Tire Rack Forum" and a separate "Tire & Wheel Forum" that is NOT moderated by Tire Rack. You may want to post a complaint in site feedback.


** AMEN ** If I have a wheel or tire question, I'm not sure I want it answered by a Tire and Wheel saleman. I can ask my local tire salesman my technical questions and get costs estimates. I may just want to hear comments from the members here who own and drive MINIs.

 

Moving to Site Feedback

 

Everyone,
I ran across this thread and wanted to provide my input as I would like to clarify the policies related to any sponsored forum. First, while we work closely with many vendors, the discussions in a sponsored forum are by no means exclusive to a given vendor. In this case Tire Rack has no issue with threads discussing other alternative wheels, tires, and suppliers. With the SSR thread, the posts made relative to the new wheel from AK Tire are not something that Dan can address since he doesn't carry the wheel...not to mention that it would not be a good business practice for Tire Rack to discuss the positive and/or negative aspects of another vendor's product. Given this I feel that it was fair to request that Limey create a separate thread (or add to a current offering) to discuss the AK offering (or any other wheels/tires). Let's keep the threads focused on the original subject and create new threads when necessary.

As a side note I have spoken to AK about joining the site as a sponsor and they may do so in the future. If you speak with the team there encourage them to come to the site and get involved. This site, at the end of the day, is all about everything MINI in North America.

Thanks!

Mark

 

As I am not an active sponsor here I would like to point everyone who might be interested in these wheels to Randy at Mini-Motorsport. He is an active sponsor and very good guy. He is handling the wheel and I do not want there to be a conflict of interest.

From what I have seen he is a very technical person with great attention for detail. If you have any questions please give him a call. You can find his banner in the Sponnsor directory.

As for the quality of the product, this has nothing to do with some stickers. When we first brought out the wheel, it was in 15" for all the civic guys. They like all the JDM stuff and we wanted to target that market. Now that we have made the wheel in 16" for this speacialized market, we did not want the stickers either. The plant were we have them made, accidently had them put on. They peel right off. The new shippment will not have them.

I put our wheel up against any lightweight cast wheel offering. Of course they are not Real SSR's, this is obvious from the price. You do get what you pay for. If you want forged then you have to pay more. This is the case with all wheels. Many other companies make Knock-offs (Rota, 5zeigen, and others) They offer a quality cast product, as do we. And lets be frank about one thing. Just because a wheel is forged does not mean it is better. I have seen many articles complaining that the SSR's themselves are too soft and that they bend easy. I personally do not know this for a fact because I have never raced on them. I have only read post on other boards to this point. Just do some searching here or at Mini2 or Miata.net. There is plenty of info out there.

One thing is for certain. All wheel companies have wheels that have problems. Forged wheels are no exception.

 

Thanks Mike!

Mike makes some very good points (the one about me being a good guy was one of my favorites ).

The AK wheel is a quality, lightweight, cast wheel, and is a screaming deal. It is what it is. For those of you who are brand conscious, or want bragging rights (other than podiums), these wheels might not be for you. If you want a light wheel at a very good price, then these are right on target.

Some of you have been asking if the wheel will be available in a 17". That is a possibility in the future, but as of now, they only come in 15 and 16". The 17s will have to wait for some room in the AK line to open up.

Again, feel free to call if you have any other questions about these - I have two sets here that I've been very happy with - silver and white.

Randy
720-841-1002

 

I saw a set of wheels yesterday on a very fast MINI and the thing that sticks out is the 'Speedy Star' cast on the wheel. (SSR stands for Speed Star Racing) I can accept a wheel style copied i.e Rota and Panasports, but to try to pass it off as the original shows poor market research. The SSP is lighter than the stockers, one advantage, is the only show in town for off the shelf wheels for SCCA Legal Stock wheels, another advantage, and are dirt cheap a third advantage so why does the manufacturer feel the need to so closely copy the SSR? SSP=Speed Star Poseur? Randy and Mike seem like great guys, but the company producing these wheels have forced me to vote with my wallet and wait for SSRs. I do tout the SSPs to my Miata friends who have sticker shock on SSRs.