Wheel experts can chime in but.....my experience....initially flat was more easily bent.....probably that is still the case with some or many.....from the get-go (5-6 yrs ago) step lip was hard to beat for toughness.
Now, step lip is almost tough to find.

 

Thanks. I do notice most 3-piecers are now mostly offered only in flat lip. Maybe their way of getting you to buy more replacement barrels.

 

I had HRE Reverse Lip 19" wheels on my M3 several years ago, and had the same proplem. The water pools in the bottom of the reverse lip, gets spun up as centripital force, and causes an uncontrollable shake. Really scarry when it occurs. HRE has been aware of this for years, and there was a huge thread on the E46 forum "rain proplem" with dozens of posts with similar stories.

In the end it's the lip, not the three piece construciton that is at the root of the problem. My old RG5's 19" on my 355 were also three piece, with a lip but had NO proplem whatsoever in the rain. Go Figure?

 

I agree. These were flat lipped HRE's and yes they are aware of the problem of water retention within the hub.

 

HRE's?

Holy smokes! When a known good vendor has a problem such as that I am stunned!

What gives with that?

 

Almost all reverse-mount 3-piece wheels suffer from water retention to some degree. This is due to the placement of the drop center into the inner rim. This creates a trough that collects water and centrifugal force prevents the water from escaping. This causes moderate to severe wheel vibration when it rains.
There are various aftermarket wheel dams that can be installed that reduce the problem, but do not eliminate it.
Traditional step-lip rims do not have the trough, and so are immune from the problem.
It has nothing to do with one brand of wheels or another, only whether the wheel has a straight lip or stepped lip.

 

I remember seeing this question in another forum, and after some searching I found it. I think it best answers the question, in particular the response by SoCalSC4.

http://www.clublexus.com/forums/show...ip+rain&page=3

 

I remember HRE's having that problem and the barrels ripping apart at the track.

 

This is an astounding revelation indeed and it's a prime issue for a products liability suit.

That thread was dated in 2002. That's a long time to know a problem and to continue selling a known "defective" product.

And, yes, this would under the law be considered a "defective product"! That's the basis of product liability suits.

Holy mackerel!

 

Urban legend. There were no HRE "barrels ripping apart" at the track or anywhere else. Please don't start up that nonsense again. HRE didn't even make a reverse mount wheel in 2002, nor have they ever had a documented track failure. I know, I used to work there.

The water retention issue arose from the consumers desire to have a straight rim lip with the largest center possible. This necessitated moving the drop center to the back of the wheel, otherwise you couldn't mount the tire.
This caused the aforementioned water retention problem. It doesn't damage the wheel or the car but it is annoying as hell.
HRE and other companies still build the stepped lip design that eliminates the issue. One piece wheels are not affected either.
However, most consumers still want that straight lip style and will have to accept the water retention problem in wet climates.

 

Centripetal force would cause the water to move towards the center of the wheel. It is centrifugal force that forces the water into the rim trough and holds it there.

 

I called HRE and I quote the HRE sales guy who boldly stated "all reverse lip wheels vibrate in the rain".

BS.

My OZ Superleggera IIIs never vibrated in the rain at speed and same goes for my current Work Brombacher wheels.

I live in Seattle and y'all know the kind of weather we get here. Belee dat.

 

This reinforce my theory. STAY AWAY OF AFTERMARKET WHEELS.

It does not matter the brand or the reputation, they'll always have an excuse and an explanation. But what if you have an accident and something happen to you or to someone else.

Take those beautiful wheels and brake them in the head of those irresponsibles who sale products that are not safe. The worst part is that they know it and they keep selling them.

 

Frankly, I am aghast at your ignorance of the aftermarket. There are many aftermarket companies who meet or exceed OEM standards for quality and safety. They passionately respond to the wishes of enthusiast consumers who want to personalize and and enhance the performance of their vehicles. Sometimes. these desires require compromises to accomplish. Then, whiners complain about these compromises and suddenly you want to condemn the whole aftermarket. Why not ask for credible test standards?
Why not hold companies accountable.
In my opinion, you are the poster child for "throwing the baby out with the bath water".
Why on earth are you even a member of this forum?

 

Well now with all that said how about a lesson in English!