Multipiece Wheels Explained

In general, more than 90% of wheels in the market are either cast or forged single piece (industry term Monoblock) type of wheel. When your local tyre shops or friends are introducing Multipiece wheels to you, he does not mean the wheels comes in packages of 5pieces or the wheels are easily bolted on. Multipiece wheels utilizes two or three components assembled together to produce a finished wheel.

Multi-piece wheels can use many different methods of manufacturing. Centers can be cast in various methods or forged (hot or cold forgings). The rim sections for 3-piece wheels are normally spun from disks of aluminum as spun rim sections offer the ability to custom-tailor wheels for special applications that would not be available otherwise. The rim sections are bolted to the center and normally a sealant is applied in or on the assembly area to seal the wheel. This type of 3-piece construction was originally developed for racing in the early 1970s and has been used on cars ever since. The 3-piece wheels are most popular in the 17" and larger diameters. Enkei Japan produces Gravity casted disc (wheel center), spun outer and Cast Inner Rim. High end manufacturers like O.Z Italy and RAYS Japan have Forged Disc (Wheel center).

There are now many options for 2-piece wheels in the market. The 2-piece wheel design does not offer as wide a range of application that a 3-piece wheel allows, however they are more common in the market and the prices start well below the average 3-piece wheel. Some 2-piece wheels have the center bolted into a cast or cast/spun rim section and other manufacturers press centers into spun rim sections and weld the unit together. When BBS developed a new 2-piece wheel to replace the previous 3-piece street wheel, they used the special rim-rolling technology (originally developed for racing wheels) to give the rim section the weight and strength advantages similar to a forged rim.

On the high-end of the 2-piece wheel market you can find wheels using forged rims and forged centers. Since these are only sold in small volume and due to the high development and production costs associated with the forging process, they tend to be on the high end of the price scale. Recently Japanese manufacturers like RAYS and WORK Wheels have really expanded their 2-piece wheels line up to give high end tuners more options while keeping cost lower than manufacturing 3pc wheels.

When money is not the object, trying forged centers with carbon rim

**Special Note: Don't assume monoblocks are any heavier or less fragile than multipiece wheels, in my experience, multipiece wheels are just great to racing as it is highly serviceable but not as light or any stronger than properly forged monoblocks.

'Old Town' Multipiece Wheels

According to Wiki, The Altstadt (literally "old town") is one of the 49 boroughs of the German city of Düsseldorf, and belongs to City District (District 1). The Düsseldorfer Altstadt is known as the longest bar in the world (»längste Theke der Welt«), because the small Old Town has more than 300 bars and discothèques. Famous is the special beer from Düsseldorf, the Altbier ("old beer"), brewed from an old traditional recipe, which is only brewed in a few places in the world since the end of the 19th century.

Well, RIVERSIDE's ALTSTADT EXE' W150 isn't exactly old town style wheels and if the gorgeous hybrid spokes and aluminium center caps ticks your fancy, it is exactly where this premium JDM company is heading. RIVERSIDE might not be a household name to certain wheel enthusiast, but recently their products have clearly benefited by the VIP culture that has bloomed in North America. Available in 3 finishings being Black Polish, Silver Polish and Black Faced, all wheels has pierced bolts in chrome.

The single most important element besides the spokes pattern is definitely the gorgeous big cap which integrates perfectly with the design. Call it a win-win situation but it can also cost you dearly should one lose it or it could turn out to be a nightmare if you had a puncture and so happen to lost the allen keys! So tuners and wheel lovers beware, if you that sorta simpletons, always ask for a spare key or drive your bosch driller around. But then again, anyone with enuff $$$ to get their hands on these 20's or 22's would probably just call for roadside (or riverside) assistance!

EQUIP My VIP!!

JDM Vee-Eye-Pee culture is the common name most of us Asians would generalized the big wheels, slammed or air-bagged 4 doors, blacked out nature of the Japanese luxury tuning scene. But in fact, it’s actually called VIP (or WHIP) which in Nihon-go, BIPPU is the common non-English slang. Sources says it started way back in the 90’s being labelled as the Yakuza’s daily ride with common cars being Celsior, Crowns, Laurels, Presidents to today’s Lexus, Toyota, Honda MPVs and even a mix of imports with Benzos and Beemers thrown in the mix.

Well, one of fore front VIP wheels manufacturer out there is of course WORK Wheels with their legendary line up of the EQUIP series. E10 is the newly re-launched series with sizes now ranging from 20-22 staggered widths or offsets. Available in 4 distinct colours with black face being my favourite, the EQUIP E10 is set to hit back the classics are goodies feel for a very popular series of WORK Wheels.

Fabulous Jap concept cars

JDM scene has never been livelier since the introduction of the Honda green sports hybrid CRZ. Toyota followed up with a Celica looking FT86 concept which I assume will lead the role of the 21st century AE86/ Celica fans.Take a closer look at their set of wheels and it never seems to amaze me how trick they are compared to predecessors:

Back in the days ol' skool CRX

VS

New school CRZ...love those inverted spokes or Face 3 look

AE86 Levin with classic 13 inch wheels

VS

Love those inserts on those nu' skool Toyota prototypes...

As most consumers are design and colors oriented in the aftermarket segment when choosing a particular wheel, but these prototype wheels are surely some of the tastiest I have seen in recent years (especially for a JDM). My only other encounter with some truly remarkable proto wheels are from the extinct BMW CS concept for a Euro and if I had to pick another JDM it could well be the Mitsu RA (some EVO prototype)

Legend or Myth?- ENKEI

Ever since I got my driving license, ENKEI wheels have always ring a bell in most of my friends and fellow tuners mind. I mean it's such a revered brand in the days that it didn't require much advertising, the product's quality, uniqueness, racing heritage and attractive prices made it the ideal tuner wheel back in the mid 90's, sunny Malaysia (note: back then RAYS and WORK wheels are still struggling coming terms with nice designs and so fort).


Here's some real classics:

Super nasty limited edition RP-F1 in black with red logo.

The evergreen RP-01 with tasty blue ring on black edition.

Fast forward year 2009, ENKEI ideally remains the No.1 Nihon wheels manufacturer (and by a wide margin I must add), however, the aftermarket division have bite the dust. Gone are their best designs  as they are more geared towards the OEM market and privately branded spectacular aftermarket designs to individual companies and large tire makers (think Advan, Lowenhart, Racing Hart...etc).


I mean it has been a while now Enkei have taken off in any aspects aside from OEM manufacturing prowess. One nasty example, from the Japan range of TMW (Techno Motorsports Work) series of wheels, the CE16-1 model available from 15~20inches.

I mean it's not a bad looking wheel, but comparatively it really looks at some resemblance to an old classic (and much overused style) of Carlsson's signature styling:

Monoblock 1pc version

Multi-piece version.

Of course, once would argue there's a slight diff and additional spokes here and there, but the point is, coming off from one of the the world's largest wheel manufacturers, you would have expected some uniqueness and sensible styles that could spark imaginations? I leave it to the consumers and the real tuners to have the final say. Domo arigato.

Can your wheels go 390km/h?

Well this crazy creation by EDO Competition on the legendary Ferrari ENZO can!! Just hold your breath and read these performance loudly in your mind:


Specifications   
Engine:  V12 cylinder 6.3 ltr.  
Power  est: 840 hp 
Max. torque  est:  780 Nm / 5,800per min 

Max Rev: 9,600rpm

Performance 
Top speed:    390 km/h  
0 – 100 km/h (0 – 62 mph)  est. 3.2secs 
0 – 200 km/h (0 – 124 mph)  est. 9.0secs 
0 – 300 km/h (0 – 186 mph)  est. 19.0secs


Seriously, if a customer walks in to any custom wheels manufacturer, the above data would have given the technical team some sweaty palms and armpits. Stare at the specs above and you could imagine the road legal ultimate vehicle which can do 0-200km/h by the time a Jap family saloon does 100!

And so the logical question is, what kinda wheels design would deem fit to match this beast? 


Surprisingly, multi-piece forged mesh wheels measuring 19's front and 20's rear are still the preferred choice for serious machineries. These are of course fitted with TPMS (Tire Pressure Measurement Systems) just in case you're in the mood to go 390km/h and hate to squad down lowwww at the local petrol stations air pumps. To read more check this out.