G37 do come with nice wheels but there are nicer and lighter wheels which is why people replace them.

 

Well those would fall under the category of higher quality wheels. Not lower quality like a set of replicas.

 

Forged for the win... you just cant go cheap on wheels and suspension mods, period!!!

 

I've had a fair share of forged wheels myself, but am not a snob to good quality cast wheels. In fact that's what i currently have on the car -- Enkei RP03's.

Forged vs. Cast is a misnomer in the way it's pictured in these parts. The biggest reason manufacturers use a forging process is to create certain styles of wheels while keeping it lightweight. The strength provided by forging allows the use of lesser material. Manufacturers went a step further and minimized the design to allow even lesser material and thus lighter weight. Then again, there are manufacturers that use forged aluminum but go crazy on the design which eventually yields wheels that are exponentially heavier.

But there are also some good quality cast wheels that are just as strong and aren't anchors. It's all about balancing design, size, price and what you expect out of the wheels.

 

So you dig the Rota Grid as much as the Volk TE37?

 

This might be a dumb question but...
I haven't gotten around to buying rims yet, but I will. I like Advan, SSR, Volk, and Work Wheels and I think it's safe to assume that they aren't knock offs (but thats only an educated guess on my part)...because I really don't know for sure...but I know that they are high quality "racing" wheels...which is why I safely assume they are high quality.

But herein lies my question: How do you know what are knock offs and what aren't? I know some just from guys outing them on this forum, but I wouldn't know otherwise. And I would def rather have the safety of high quality.

...at the same time...to each his own...more power to the knock-off guys...I support free will and creativity.

 

By "free will and creativity" used in this context I can only assume you mean unoriginality and intellectual property theft. Most people who support or purchase knockoffs seem to completely ignore the fact that the companies making knockoffs are doing it as illegally as if they broke into Volk's warehouse and simply stole their products. I blame it on a generational thing; in the age of digital music and video piracy most (young) people don't even think of intellectual property theft as being theft at all or wrong anymore. Why should you pay for something that you can get for free that someone has stolen? I mean,you didn't personally steal it.

But to answer the question, reputable manufacturers like the ones you named (and many others) have a network of authorized vendors. Buying from them will get you legit product. Buying elsewhere might, but then again you might be paying for real product and buying fake or grey market wheels. None of those companies illegally produce wheels designed by another company. Some companies only make replicas of other popular high quality wheels but at a much cheaper price because they use crappy materials and production methods. In fairness, there are only so many wheel designs in the universe so some similarity is expected. But blatantly making an exact replica and isn't cool at all.

 

Nope, not a fan of that style altogether. It's nice, just not for me.

 

This. Advan makes many flow-formed cast wheels. Excellent quality. Rays Engineering is at the heart of many different motorsports competition series. In fact, motorsports is at the center of Rays identity. GramLights are one of the most popular Rays wheels to be used in these races. GramLights are cast.

There is nothing wrong with a good quality, well-built cast wheel. There is, however, something wrong with stealing. On top of that, I would not consider many of the knock-off wheels out there to be good quality. The owner of ROTA has been caught at Rays Engineering car show booths when they are unveiling new wheels taking pictures of their new designs. No ethics. No morality. No real passion.

 

If there weren't fakes there wouldnt be real wheels either! Ying and Yang, I'm for quality

 

yea, there would just be wheels and they would all be high quality.

Companies like rays, work, ssr, advan, enkei all make good quality wheels. Some forged, some cast but the quality and strength is going to be much better than rota, vars, xxr or whatever new type of te37 rep you can find out there.

 

Some interesting reading on how Rays wheels are made, and how they differ from even other forged wheel companies.

2013 Scion FR-S: A Closer Look At Volk Racing TE37SL Wheels

 

I agree with this. There will always be a market for knock off wheels because many people support it.