I thought it would be a interesting thread to talk about wheel brand strenght and pothole stories....it be nice to hear if anyone has any wheel stories and what the strongest wheel brands are.........from my experience. AC snizter..bent on my m5 every hole I hit...d2 forged were also not my favorite...as they seemed weak....on a good note stock turbo rims are built like anvils as multiple forms have ran over building size crates with minimum damage......john

 

I think it'd be tough to gauge strength based on brand. There are so many variables involved that could play a part in wheel bending. Tire pressure, tire/wheel size, speed, depth of pothole, and your suspension setup...to name a few. but I've definitely managed to put a few bubbles in sidewalls.

That being said. I've been fortunate enough to avoid bending just by adjusting driving habits to my surroundings (even on 24" bling bling wheels on a range rover) lol

 

I would think Champion wheels are among the strongest aftermarket wheels.

 

Why would you think that?

 

about a year ago, when I still had my e92 m3, I had lowered the car and had Volk TE37 on the car. One day on the 110N, I ran over a rock or something alike the size of my head... the car lifted on one size cause the object was so big... haha but luckily, the wheels just bent, not crack... that's the good thing about forged quality wheels, they bend, not crack...

 

Good marketing maybe?
They have a compelling description of their manufacturing process that makes them "seem strong".

They get rave reviews from customers, including me:

I've also had great luck with my 22" Champions on my CTTS even in the NE terrible roads. They balance out easily, ride as true/even smoother than factory, and have held up great so far.

It's too early to tell on my .2 TT, but so far my Champions are performing and holding up well on this platform too. Being lighter than my factory wheels in a plus size is an added bonus.

 

Because they are one piece forged wheels.

 

Simple thoughts for you. Schnitzer wheels are basic spun cast wheels in nice shapes. They only look good. If your D2 wheels had forged centers and spun cast barrels like most multi piece HRE wheels, not surprising that they would bend like butter.
Stock turbo wheels are one piece forged wheels. And they're even reasonably light. Little wonder that porsche puts them on their top of the line car. If you don't think porsche uses good wheels on their cars, one might note that the Weissach edition of the 918 has magnesium rims that cost $10,000 EACH!

 

Just to add a bit. I have had several sets of D2Forged wheels and the wheels are quality and well built both from a strength and styling perspective. I have their wheels on my Turbo currently and I drive the car into the city with no problems. I also daily drove my X5 on a set of their 22" MB series and never bent or cracked a wheel.

Their wheels have proven to be durable and NYC strong. Coincidentally, I am considering selling my setup to get into a different wheel design but haven't listed them yet. PM me if you want more details.

 

Had some 19'' HRE 3 piece on my 993 tt which requires very low profile tires kinda like 20" on a 997 tt but got a flat & bent the rim slightly ,not sure what happened 1st the flat or the pot hole to cause it ,but no probs with my HRE p40 ran them for several years 20'' on our SoCal roads which have to be the worst around.

 

3 piece wheels are weaker than monoblock wheels.
the strongest wheels in order of strength would be
forged magnesium monoblock
forged alumunium monoblock
2 piece forged aluminium (think bbs lm)
quality cast wheel (think gt3 rs wheels)
3 piece wheels



champion makes the strongest wheel for porsches (their magnesium MS61 is the strongest wheel available for our cars).
my champion ms61s sit on toyo r888s... i drive a lot... through manhattan, brooklyn , long island (we have craters not potholes), and ive hit a few hard enough that caused my alignment to be screwed up.. no issues... at all..
even with my oem gt3 rs wheels ( i remember hitting a monster pothole this winter and nothing happened).

oh , the OEM 997 turbo wheel is forged and is virtually indestructible.

(quality) three piece forged wheels arent as forgiving. when they bend or crack, its almost always from the inside barrell. the trick is to either run a larger tire and dial out negative camber.
my 3 piece forged wheels... cracked... 19 x 12. i replaced the inner barrel with a narrower one (19 x 11 now) and havent had an issue since.

 

So do vorsteiner ..dpe I've heard there the same ....hre have the same strength how close are they to oem.....

 

theyre all the same. 6061 aluminium the same. step lip vs rolled lip makes a difference.
some manufactures are misleading... they give you a forged center, but a spun barrel and market their wheels as forged.

the best and strongest 3 piece wheels IMO are fikse's...

 

Great info Steve. Thanks!

 

I think the only two manufacturers who make their own wheel drums are OZ and BBS. All others are outsourced!

I run a set of OZ Superforgiata on my turbo and they are the strongest and lightest wheels I could find. These wheels are used quite a bit in racing so I trust them and driving in the North East and hitting potholes with my stiff suspension I personally have had no issues.

The tires are matter a lot and I run Pilot Super Sports which have a forgiving shoulders.