Just had some Vossen Cv3 in matte graphite installed the other day and it came out sick. Picked the car up at night and drove home. The next morning I was looking at them and noticed both rear wheels had half inch or so scratches on the lip. I contacted my install shop, sent pictures and the owner said it might have been from the alignment machine. He told me he would get some touch up paint from vossen to correct the issue.. was that the right move? So after driving the car for a couple of days I noticed that there are now little chips on both rear wheels all along the lip. Ive been driving the car on fairly decent roads with no pot holes or debris. My acura isn't my DD either. Am I just getting unlucky with road debris or is something rubbing.. or is the paint vossen uses on their wheels that cheap!? Im running 20x9 in the front and 20x10 in the rear with k sport coil overs. Has anyone else had this issue with these wheels?

 

yup that is pretty much what happens when you pay premium for cheap cast wheels..


oh and yea, its road debris that is chipping your paint... paint on those rims are not very strong.

 

Sorry to hear that, man. Return them and get better wheels at that price.

Next ditch the K Sports. I had those on my E34 and found out those are cheap ass Chinese knock offs.

 

FIFY

 

Really? i was under the impression that they were some what made in Gilbert AZ?.. So far I don't have any issues with them they ride pretty nice.

 

^^^^^

Agree. Stretched tires will expose the wheel lips to all kinds of chips and scratches.

 

K Sport, D2, and Megan all come from the same Taiwanese factory. Just different color combination. I think you're the first to try these on a 4G tho

 

Sounds to me like you went to a shop with wore out or no plastic no mar covers on their tire machine clamps. Most normal tire shops only deal with OEM wheels and don't take care of their machines and they will kill a set of wheels if not taken care of or used properly. They could kiss my ass on touch up paint on my new wheels... replace the wheels period. and the alignment machine doesn't screw up anything if used right... if some idiot slides it around on the lip it'll scratch... if it's put on and tightened down with no movement no damage

 

Just PLEASE dont repaint them purple. That would look like shit.

 

I have cv3's as well. Im also running a stretched tire.
This kind of damage is normal when you run a stretched tire, it doesn't matter what wheel you are running. If you stretch the tire there is no rubber there to protect the outer part of the rim.

On the plus side this is VERY easy to fix. The paint code for those specific wheels is TY1600, if you call Vossen that is what they will give you. I personally found this color to be too dark so I used NH91M. You can get it in a duplicolor can almost anywhere

This is a pic of one of my customers CV3 that I fixed.

Here is how I did it.

1) sand the damaged part of the wheel. I used a 220 then a 600 grit sandpaper.

2) clean the wheel with paint thinner. Make sure its really really really clean lol seriously i cleaned mine 4 times just to make sure there wasn't any remaining dust from sanding.

3) tape off the wheel so only the areas exposed are being painted. I used business cards around the part of the lip that meets the tire and I put a plastic tire bag on the middle of the wheel. Place the painters tape on the inside of the lip or the wheel if you can just in case you get a paint line it will be harder to notice.

4) this is where you would want to use the bondo and sand repeatedly (if the repair requires bondo)

5) Prime and paint! You want a very thin coat of primer and a couple very thin coats of paint. If you spray either of these on too think you are going to get a line where the tape was. Only use enough primer for the paint to stick and only use enough paint to get the desired color. You do not need 57 coats.

If you need any help just shoot me a message

 

Had my cv3s for a summer now no scratches no chips and is a daily driver paint has kept up good no problems here

 

Had my CV3's for about a year now and no chipping issues. I pay premium for my cast wheels because I'm a baller!!!!!!!! Hahahahahaha!!!!! JK

 

so are Vossens good wheels? i was under the impression that they were $$ and high end.... maybe they are just expensive..but not high end...

 

Some users on here refer to all cast wheels as cheap, no matter the quality. IMO Vossens are overpriced but are still a quality wheel. They're not some $100/wheel replicas that will split in half when you hit a pothole, but they're also not forged.

 

^^^^^

What constitute a "quality" CAST wheel, and what a "will-split-in-half" CAST wheel ?

I thought CAST wheels are cast wheels (= lower quality), and FORGED wheels are forged wheels (= higher quality).

 

there is no such thing as a quality low pressure cast wheel.. that is just ridiculous. wheels should bend, not shatter on impact. vossens come from china.. just think about that for a min.. it comes from CHINA!

there are so many stores about vossen wheels cracking it isnt even funny. more about the craftmanship of the wheel and their customer service.

i feel bad for whoever spent 2k on cast wheels.

 

This was taken from another forum,it is a long read but very informative and mirrors what Potmilkz try to explain Azine members.I do not have forged wheels but low pressure cast and would never say that they are as good as forged wheels even though i have not had any issues thus far.


Crash Course on Wheel Types (Manufacturing methods)
I posted this on e90post, I think it helps to have it here too.

Cast, forged, flow formed, Multi-piece
By Setian, A.K.A. e90post member: DTMrack.com

It’s easy to get confused when shopping for new wheels. There are so many different styles, fitments. Do I buy forged, three piece, flow formed, cast? If it is cast will it be gravity or low pressure.

For some of us, all those words have clear meaning. But there are a lot of prospective enthusiasts who struggle with the lingo. This is for all of you =)

Manufacturing

Unlike us, all wheels were not created equal. Inside their aluminum metallic surface lays a world of micro-structural difference. This world is a result of the manufacturing process of the wheel. There are essentially two ways to manufacture a wheel: forged, and cast. The latter has a couple of subcategories.

Forged:

Forged is definitely the king of manufacturing when it comes to wheels. Top-notch quality. The forging process uses immense amounts of compressive force to shape the metal.

Let me give you an example to make this easy to understand. Have you ever wrinkled aluminum foil and then tightened it as much as possible by hitting it with a spoon to shape a ball? If you have, this is essentially what forging is. Once that little ball is as small as possible it is extremely hard. This is virtually what happens during forging, to an infinite power. The piece is pressed between a Ram and an Anvil. (see diagram above)

Forging can produce a wheel that is stronger than an equivalent cast or machined part. During the process the internal grain is deformed and rearranged to the shape of the part. This deformation due to compressive force improves the strength uniformly throughout the entire structure of the wheel. As a result you have a stronger, lighter wheel.

There are different types of forging processes that offer subtle differences, but I will write about them in another article, specifically targeting Forged Wheels.

Cast: Casting is the most popular way wheels are manufactured today. And all cast wheels are also not created equal. Casting is basically taking metal, heating it to achieve liquid form, and then pouring it into a mould with a specific shape. This process is very cost-effective as it takes very little time to produce one wheel. Hence it’s popularity. However, there are three ways, essentially, to cast a wheel: flow formed, low pressure cast, and gravity cast.

Gravity Casting-

Gravity casting is the simplest form of casting. As it’s title suggests, this form of production allows gravity to do the work. To start, the molten metal is poured into the mould. Once the mould is full it is cooled down and the wheel is then retrieved. This is an excellent alternative if you are looking to purchase wheels on a budget or with cosmetics as a priority. Because of its low cost, it is the most common form of production for aftermarket companies.

Low Pressure Casting-

Low pressure casting is a step up in quality from gravity casting. The process is the same but the molten metal is injected into the mould. By applying pressure, the molten (liquid) aluminum enters the mold quicker. This allows the mechanical structure of the wheel to be denser because of the pressure, denser is better. The end properties result in a lighter and stronger wheel than those that are gravity cast. Most wheels produced by O.E.M. companies, such as BMW, are created using this manufacturing system due to its advantages in cost and higher quality.

Flow-forming-

Flow forming is the superior over its two other cast brothers. It is done by taking a piece that is cast using low-pressure casting, the piece is then spun. The outer area of the cast wheel is heated and pressed by the use of steel rollers to achieve its final shape. By combining heat, pressure and circular rotation of the piece, flow forming rearranges the mechanical characteristics of the wheel, creating a kind of hybrid wheel with properties similar to those of forged wheels.

What about multi-piece wheels?- Three piece wheels were originally designed for track use. The purpose behind the wheels was to have the capability of interchanging the barrel of the wheel incase it bent or cracked while racing. Nowadays, you are most likely to run into the ‘three piece look’ then the real thing. Some companies even weld their wheels because their products have air leaks which defies the purpose of having them entirely. Multi-piece wheels can be a combination of forged barrels and cast faces, vice versa, or any combination yielded by the two. If you are set on purchasing multi-piece wheels make sure the company is a legit multi-piece manufacturer, you WILL regret it if you don’t.

So Why does this all matter? For starters, the way the wheel was manufactured will most likely determine how much your wheel will weigh. For motor-sport enthusiasts like us, this is a huge deal. In the vehicle, there are essentially two ways of measuring weight: sprung weight, and unsprung weight. The suspension in your vehicle divides the mass distribution in your car to sprung mass and unsprung weight. The section of your car above the suspension is the sprung mass, this means the frame of the car, engine, etc…even you. The unsprung weight is whatever is below the suspension, such as the wheels, rotors, calipers, etc… A pound of unsprung weight can translate into as much as 4-20lbs of sprung weight depending on your vehicle. The less weight, the better. The ratio between sprung weight/unsprung weight affects the smoothness and handling of your car. The general rule of thumb is that the higher the ratio, the better.

There is one VERY important thing to consider. Most wheels are engineered to withstand a specific weight load. This means that if you are choosing between a set of forged wheels, and a set of cast wheels, and they were both have the same weight load capacity, they will likely share the same damage resistance when it comes to force impact. In other words, they may be equally strong. So in this case, don’t buy the forged wheels because you think they will be stronger. The difference will be that IF you hit a pothole at high speeds, the forged wheel will most likely bend, where the cast wheel will crack. This goes back to the wheel structure yielded by the manufacturing method.

I hope this humble crash course in wheel manufacturing methods will help you when shopping around for wheels. Always find out if the company you are purchasing from meets JWL, TUV, and other standards and certifications. And remember to ask questions about the wheels before you purchase them.

All the best
Setian.

 

I think KarKraze's post answered your question.

I'm not saying cast wheels are in any way comparable to forged, but that there are different levels of quality due to the varying manufacturing processes.