HRE rant...
#26
MBWorld Fanatic!
Good to hear Matt, crap happens but it's all about how the company handles the after sale service. And I knew HRE is a reputable company who stands behind their product. So hope I get a good experience as well if I ever needs to service my wheels in the future.
Now if only they could send me the HRE catalogue I requested a year ago from Lon. *I'm a cry baby* lol
Now if only they could send me the HRE catalogue I requested a year ago from Lon. *I'm a cry baby* lol
#27
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2012 CLS63
I can't wait to get my set of wheels like you have
#28
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As I mentioned on the first page I'm sure that because HRE chimed in here he would get an appropriate HRE treatment. I seriously wouldn't be surprised if that included a new replacement wheel on the house, I've see it happen before...
#30
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2013 C63 AMG, 2013 B250
As opposed to ADV.1, 360 Forged, and all those other sham wheel companies more focused on design/marketing than engineering/certifications. More than enough background on many of the so called 'high end' forged wheel companies from M3post and elsewhere, surprised people still give them any business. To each their own I guess.
#31
Good to hear Matt, crap happens but it's all about how the company handles the after sale service. And I knew HRE is a reputable company who stands behind their product. So hope I get a good experience as well if I ever needs to service my wheels in the future.
Now if only they could send me the HRE catalogue I requested a year ago from Lon. *I'm a cry baby* lol
Now if only they could send me the HRE catalogue I requested a year ago from Lon. *I'm a cry baby* lol
#33
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If you'd like, please email me regarding your catalogue request: jorgem@hrewheels.com
#34
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the catalogs are like 10 bux or something right?
#35
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I'm sure they cost something that's why Lon never sent them, but too bad he didn't tell me in the 2 emails he sent me about the cost. I could've easily paypal him, he only replied that he will take care of it. Not the end of the world.. my brother ISF is in need of wheels, I just wanted to convince him to get a set of HRE so we can match. Lol
Sorry Matt for going off topic, keep us posted on the outcome.
Sorry Matt for going off topic, keep us posted on the outcome.
#36
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I have HRE wheels among others, and I love them, but they're not exactly the strongest wheel there is. As a matter of fact, a few years ago there was some talk by the PCA about banning them from track events due to some pretty spectacular failures. Having said that, they are usually at least as strong as decent OEM wheels and they look sexy as hell, but for the record if you want the ultimate in hardness and durability you should get a set of BBS wheels. The HREs are not any worse strength-wise than other reputable companies making "forged" wheels (like Kinesis, Fikse or DPE, and there are others (360 Forged comes to mind) that are absolute crap, but they're not quite as strong as they would like you to believe. They do bend relatively easily. I had to replace HRE barrels a couple of times and I don't recall hitting any potholes, but at least their customer service was excellent, at least in my case.
I am not bashing HRE in any way, but if they're still reading this thread, I would like to know if they could clarify if "made in San Diego" means they are ASSEMBLED in San Diego but from outsourced components, or that all components of the wheel are MANUFACTURED in-house? I am really inquiring about the barrels on the 3-piece wheels here, not the fasteners or center caps. HRE, where and by whom are the barrels produced, please, and are the barrels also forged or just spun? Never been able to get a clear answer on this before.
I am not bashing HRE in any way, but if they're still reading this thread, I would like to know if they could clarify if "made in San Diego" means they are ASSEMBLED in San Diego but from outsourced components, or that all components of the wheel are MANUFACTURED in-house? I am really inquiring about the barrels on the 3-piece wheels here, not the fasteners or center caps. HRE, where and by whom are the barrels produced, please, and are the barrels also forged or just spun? Never been able to get a clear answer on this before.
Last edited by Diabolis; 06-26-2013 at 12:35 PM.
#37
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Not necessarily - they just go fast
The PCA event fall-out is untrue - please read the following, posted by current HRE Wheels President Alan Peltier in 2009/2010 on 6speedonline, for clarification:
In regards to our 3-piece wheels, all components, whether sourced or not, are American, center forgings and assembly are taken care-of, in-house, in San Diego, California. All forgings are supplied by an American company, which also happens to provide forgings to Boeing and Ferrari, for instance.
Spun aluminum barrels are also sourced with in the United States.
If you have anymore questions, please let me know!
Regards,
Jorge
P.S. Matt's issue is just about resolved. Matt, once again, we apologize for the inconvenience
Not necessarily - they just go fast
I have HRE wheels among others, and I love them, but they're not exactly the strongest wheel there is. As a matter of fact, a few years ago there was some talk by the PCA about banning them from track events due to some pretty spectacular failures. Having said that, they are usually at least as strong as decent OEM wheels and they look sexy as hell, but for the record if you want the ultimate in hardness and durability you should get a set of BBS wheels. The HREs are not any worse strength-wise than other reputable companies making "forged" wheels (like Kinesis, Fikse or DPE, and there are others (360 Forged comes to mind) that are absolute crap, but they're not quite as strong as they would like you to believe. They do bend relatively easily. I had to replace HRE barrels a couple of times and I don't recall hitting any potholes, but at least their customer service was excellent, at least in my case.
It is troubling to be continually dealing with this wheel failure rumor. Once and for all, it wasn't true. Below is a response I wrote a few months ago to this same topic but here is a bit more.
This started on an Audi forum. It was a disgruntled boyfriend of a customer (now husband). I tried to contact him several times to discuss why he was saying this about us. He wouldn't talk to me. I contacted VRL (Viper Racing League) personally and discussed the weekend event where several failures supposedly occurred. I was told it was completely untrue. They did feel our wheels were not track wheels, but they hadn't seen an HRE wheel in years or heard of our Comp series or anything about us in recent memory. I educated them to the facts about us and our wheels. They then posted on their website that the rumor was untrue. It didn't help. We contacted PCA and IMSA and got that there was absolutely no ban on HRE or any other brand.
I did discuss wheel failures and racing with VRL and they admitted that they've seen all brands fail on the track, including the famed BBS. This is to be expected and is why continuous inspection is absolutely necessary and is what all professional teams do. They also throw the wheels away once the life is run out of them. I also told them their policy at the time of recertifying wheels for 2 years after the manufacturer inspected them was flawed and that regular inspection was absolutely required. I'm not sure if they changed their policy.
There was also a photo of a cracked wheel shown on the thread. The wheel shown in the pictures was a Kinesis wheel. That failure was attributed to their powdercoater overheating the wheel. This event pretty much killed Kinesis as we all know it. Too bad because they were one of the good guys.
Basically, if anything, HRE is guilty of not taking care of this guy's girlfriend's issue properly. If we had handled her problem to her satisfaction (I don't even know what the problem was because he wouldn't speak to me about it) we would not have been slandered in this way. The internet is a powerful thing and one customer has done serious damage to our reputation and cost us many customers. All based on untruths. Am I upset with him? Nope. I'm upset with us for making him feel that he needed to do this to us and I'm upset at us for not being able to combat the rumor effectively.
The lesson I have learned is that we need to have the absolute highest level of customer service in the industry. Today if you do experience a problem with an HRE wheel, our goal is to fix it as quickly as possible and to win your business for life. It is a rare time that we get to interact with the customer directly, but we want you to know why buying an HRE is a different experience. We stand behind our wheels, our service and most of all our customers.
So this is my response a couple months ago elsewhere on 6Speed. Pretty much similar to above but please read it as well.
-----------
First of all, I agree whole heartedly with the sentiment that you should definitely not do any modifications to your HRE or any other wheel for that matter. If you have a fitment request, call us and we'll see if we can accomodate you by making a change.
As for HRE's reputation, I assume people might be referring to the Audi Forum post from a few years ago. I'm sure you can find our official response by searching as well, but basically after spending significant amounts of time researching supposed track failures and speaking to the track organizations named, we came to find that the information was simply false and apparently posted for personal reasons. The wheel shown in photos was a competitor's wheel and their failure was due to overheating by their powdercoater. This is one of the reasons why HRE powdercoats and strips our wheels in-house. Unfortunately this rumor did and still does horrible damage to our reputation; evident by the fact that I have to respond to it still today.
If you have any concerns at all about the quality of an HRE wheel, please never hesitate to call or email me directly. As the head of design, engineering, and production at HRE, I am intimately aware of the details regarding our wheel quality and design and can easily explain or show you how we do it and why we do it the way that we do.
Better yet, if you want to attend one of our open houses like we're having this weekend, I give several tours and can answer any questions regarding our design, engineering or production. If after that and you still have any doubts about our commitment to quality, you should know that we recently received TUV verification of our engineering, manufacturing and quality control processes at our facility here in Vista, CA by passing an audit by German TUV officials. This allows us to send our wheels to Germany for structural testing and TUV certification.
We are in the process of doing just that and the M40 and P40s have already rec'd their TUV certifications. This is not inexpensive to do and unlike others, we're really doing it, not just saying it. Basically if you don't see the TUV logo w/ the serial number, it isn't real and TUV is going to have an issue with any company that falsely claims to have TUV certified products.
I'm honestly disappointed with the level of quality that American based manufacturers are supplying to the market. It is frankly shameful and irresponsible, not to mention the safety and liability concerns. It simply doesn't do any of us any good. Companies like BBS and Champion are not included in this group of course. They do it the right way and we're proud to compete against companies that share a philosophy for providing high quality products. It keeps all of us pushing forward.
So I can only ask that you contact us directly. I've seen a lot of "experts" cropping up on 6-speed lately and while they may sound like they know what they're talking about, they should leave the engineering talk to real engineers. The challenge for all of you is to figure out how to decipher fact from fiction and technical talk from sales talk. Anyone that has met us here at HRE, knows how we do business and our commitment to our team, partners, product and most of all our customers. It isn't just marketing BS here. It is simply how we operate. Let's also be very clear. I'm not saying we're perfect and we haven't struggled at times, but I think we'll all agree that HRE goes above and beyond to take care of any issues that do arise and our direction has always been to be moving forward; doing it the right way, doing it the hard way.
In the end, all you need to do is talk to us before you make up your mind about us. You'll find us refreshingly different.
Sincerely,
Alan Peltier
COO, HRE Performance Wheels
760-598-1960
alanp@hrewheels.com
This started on an Audi forum. It was a disgruntled boyfriend of a customer (now husband). I tried to contact him several times to discuss why he was saying this about us. He wouldn't talk to me. I contacted VRL (Viper Racing League) personally and discussed the weekend event where several failures supposedly occurred. I was told it was completely untrue. They did feel our wheels were not track wheels, but they hadn't seen an HRE wheel in years or heard of our Comp series or anything about us in recent memory. I educated them to the facts about us and our wheels. They then posted on their website that the rumor was untrue. It didn't help. We contacted PCA and IMSA and got that there was absolutely no ban on HRE or any other brand.
I did discuss wheel failures and racing with VRL and they admitted that they've seen all brands fail on the track, including the famed BBS. This is to be expected and is why continuous inspection is absolutely necessary and is what all professional teams do. They also throw the wheels away once the life is run out of them. I also told them their policy at the time of recertifying wheels for 2 years after the manufacturer inspected them was flawed and that regular inspection was absolutely required. I'm not sure if they changed their policy.
There was also a photo of a cracked wheel shown on the thread. The wheel shown in the pictures was a Kinesis wheel. That failure was attributed to their powdercoater overheating the wheel. This event pretty much killed Kinesis as we all know it. Too bad because they were one of the good guys.
Basically, if anything, HRE is guilty of not taking care of this guy's girlfriend's issue properly. If we had handled her problem to her satisfaction (I don't even know what the problem was because he wouldn't speak to me about it) we would not have been slandered in this way. The internet is a powerful thing and one customer has done serious damage to our reputation and cost us many customers. All based on untruths. Am I upset with him? Nope. I'm upset with us for making him feel that he needed to do this to us and I'm upset at us for not being able to combat the rumor effectively.
The lesson I have learned is that we need to have the absolute highest level of customer service in the industry. Today if you do experience a problem with an HRE wheel, our goal is to fix it as quickly as possible and to win your business for life. It is a rare time that we get to interact with the customer directly, but we want you to know why buying an HRE is a different experience. We stand behind our wheels, our service and most of all our customers.
So this is my response a couple months ago elsewhere on 6Speed. Pretty much similar to above but please read it as well.
-----------
First of all, I agree whole heartedly with the sentiment that you should definitely not do any modifications to your HRE or any other wheel for that matter. If you have a fitment request, call us and we'll see if we can accomodate you by making a change.
As for HRE's reputation, I assume people might be referring to the Audi Forum post from a few years ago. I'm sure you can find our official response by searching as well, but basically after spending significant amounts of time researching supposed track failures and speaking to the track organizations named, we came to find that the information was simply false and apparently posted for personal reasons. The wheel shown in photos was a competitor's wheel and their failure was due to overheating by their powdercoater. This is one of the reasons why HRE powdercoats and strips our wheels in-house. Unfortunately this rumor did and still does horrible damage to our reputation; evident by the fact that I have to respond to it still today.
If you have any concerns at all about the quality of an HRE wheel, please never hesitate to call or email me directly. As the head of design, engineering, and production at HRE, I am intimately aware of the details regarding our wheel quality and design and can easily explain or show you how we do it and why we do it the way that we do.
Better yet, if you want to attend one of our open houses like we're having this weekend, I give several tours and can answer any questions regarding our design, engineering or production. If after that and you still have any doubts about our commitment to quality, you should know that we recently received TUV verification of our engineering, manufacturing and quality control processes at our facility here in Vista, CA by passing an audit by German TUV officials. This allows us to send our wheels to Germany for structural testing and TUV certification.
We are in the process of doing just that and the M40 and P40s have already rec'd their TUV certifications. This is not inexpensive to do and unlike others, we're really doing it, not just saying it. Basically if you don't see the TUV logo w/ the serial number, it isn't real and TUV is going to have an issue with any company that falsely claims to have TUV certified products.
I'm honestly disappointed with the level of quality that American based manufacturers are supplying to the market. It is frankly shameful and irresponsible, not to mention the safety and liability concerns. It simply doesn't do any of us any good. Companies like BBS and Champion are not included in this group of course. They do it the right way and we're proud to compete against companies that share a philosophy for providing high quality products. It keeps all of us pushing forward.
So I can only ask that you contact us directly. I've seen a lot of "experts" cropping up on 6-speed lately and while they may sound like they know what they're talking about, they should leave the engineering talk to real engineers. The challenge for all of you is to figure out how to decipher fact from fiction and technical talk from sales talk. Anyone that has met us here at HRE, knows how we do business and our commitment to our team, partners, product and most of all our customers. It isn't just marketing BS here. It is simply how we operate. Let's also be very clear. I'm not saying we're perfect and we haven't struggled at times, but I think we'll all agree that HRE goes above and beyond to take care of any issues that do arise and our direction has always been to be moving forward; doing it the right way, doing it the hard way.
In the end, all you need to do is talk to us before you make up your mind about us. You'll find us refreshingly different.
Sincerely,
Alan Peltier
COO, HRE Performance Wheels
760-598-1960
alanp@hrewheels.com
I am not bashing HRE in any way, but if they're still reading this thread, I would like to know if they could clarify if "made in San Diego" means they are ASSEMBLED in San Diego but from outsourced components, or that all components of the wheel are MANUFACTURED in-house?
If you have anymore questions, please let me know!
Regards,
Jorge
P.S. Matt's issue is just about resolved. Matt, once again, we apologize for the inconvenience
#38
MBWorld Fanatic!
You've got mail!
Not necessarily - they just go fast
The PCA event fall-out is untrue - please read the following, posted by current HRE Wheels President Alan Peltier in 2009/2010 on 6speedonline, for clarification:
In regards to our 3-piece wheels, all components, whether sourced or not, are American, center forgings and assembly are taken care-of, in-house, in San Diego, California. All forgings are supplied by an American company, which also happens to provide forgings to Boeing and Ferrari, for instance.
Spun aluminum barrels are also sourced with in the United States.
If you have anymore questions, please let me know!
Regards,
Jorge
P.S. Matt's issue is just about resolved. Matt, once again, we apologize for the inconvenience
Thanks for being a great company!
#39
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W204 C63 Coupe, W166 ML350 BlueTEC, 928GT, C5 Z06 & IS300 race cars, EQE 4Matic+ on order
Jorge @ HRE - thank you for your quick and honest reply. Yes, I am aware that the ban fiasco took a life of its own and that it was never implemented, which is why I said there was TALK about it, not that your wheels were actually banned. I am a HRE customer myself and would certainly both consider purchasing HRE wheels myself and recommending them to others.
Having said that, it is my understanding that BBS makes their ENTIRE wheel from forgings done in their own foundry in Japan. As for my question about the barrels on HRE wheels - are you in fact confirming that they are sourced out from a third party (I seem to recall seeing COR markings on the inside of some of the barrels) and are spun, not forged? After all, it is the barrels that bend or crack when you hit a pothole, not the center. If they're spun, they are not going to be as strong as a forging, which is why I mentioned the BBS as having superior strength.
While I am an engineer, my expertise is not in mechanical engineering, however, one of my best friends and a fellow DE enthusiast has spent a good portion of his life doing structural failure and metal fatigue analysis for Rolls-Royce Aerospace, so needless to say I am inclined to take his word for it.
Having said that, it is my understanding that BBS makes their ENTIRE wheel from forgings done in their own foundry in Japan. As for my question about the barrels on HRE wheels - are you in fact confirming that they are sourced out from a third party (I seem to recall seeing COR markings on the inside of some of the barrels) and are spun, not forged? After all, it is the barrels that bend or crack when you hit a pothole, not the center. If they're spun, they are not going to be as strong as a forging, which is why I mentioned the BBS as having superior strength.
While I am an engineer, my expertise is not in mechanical engineering, however, one of my best friends and a fellow DE enthusiast has spent a good portion of his life doing structural failure and metal fatigue analysis for Rolls-Royce Aerospace, so needless to say I am inclined to take his word for it.
Last edited by Diabolis; 06-26-2013 at 03:39 PM.
#40
Jorge @ HRE - thank you for your quick and honest reply. Yes, I am aware that the ban fiasco took a life of its own and that it was never implemented, which is why I said there was TALK about it, not that your wheels were actually banned. I am a HRE customer myself and would certainly both consider purchasing HRE wheels myself and recommending them to others.
Having said that, it is my understanding that BBS makes their ENTIRE wheel from forgings done in their own foundry in Japan. As for my question about the barrels on HRE wheels - are you in fact confirming that they are sourced out from a third party (I seem to recall seeing COR markings on the inside of some of the barrels) and are spun, not forged? After all, it is the barrels that bend or crack when you hit a pothole, not the center. If they're spun, they are not going to be as strong as a forging, which is why I mentioned the BBS as having superior strength.
Just as an FYI, out of respect for BBS, we will not comment about the details of their manufacturing processes - we know you'll understand
Regards,
Jorge
#41
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Jorge: THANK YOU indeed - you have just made another 'friend' (read: strong advocate) for your company, who just happens to also be on the Audi and Porsche boards as well. Honesty and being upfront is always *WAY* ahead of anything else in my book.
As I mentioned previously, my experience when dealing with the gent in your service department (unfortunately his name escapes me at the moment) was exceptional in every way, and I am indeed very satisfied both with the quality of your wheels and your service.
Best,
Doug
As I mentioned previously, my experience when dealing with the gent in your service department (unfortunately his name escapes me at the moment) was exceptional in every way, and I am indeed very satisfied both with the quality of your wheels and your service.
Best,
Doug
#43
MBWorld Fanatic!
Jorges is the man, I only needed to email him & boom, the catalog I've been waiting for a year is in the mail. U will surely hear from me soon Jorges if my bro ever makes up his mind on a set of HRE for his ISF. Too bad u don't have pics of monoblocks on that car so I can see how concave they can be.
Matt, hope Jorges is taking care of ur wheel issue as quickly as he responded to my request.
Matt, hope Jorges is taking care of ur wheel issue as quickly as he responded to my request.
#44
Jorges is the man, I only needed to email him & boom, the catalog I've been waiting for a year is in the mail. U will surely hear from me soon Jorges if my bro ever makes up his mind on a set of HRE for his ISF. Too bad u don't have pics of monoblocks on that car so I can see how concave they can be.
Matt, hope Jorges is taking care of ur wheel issue as quickly as he responded to my request.
Matt, hope Jorges is taking care of ur wheel issue as quickly as he responded to my request.
#45
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thx Jorge, i will sure let u know once I receive it. And waiting impatiently for Sato reply on the fitment.
Loved my P40 from day 1... But u just made it this much better to be part of the HRE family.
Loved my P40 from day 1... But u just made it this much better to be part of the HRE family.
#47
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
And we came to a happy end.
I received the new wheel today - it was on the house.
I wanted to thank HRE for dealing with this situation in a professional manner.
After all discussions, anger and frustrations, I came out of this sitaution deeply satisfied with my HRE purchase.
I believe the mods can change the topic of this thread to - HRE issue resolved
I received the new wheel today - it was on the house.
I wanted to thank HRE for dealing with this situation in a professional manner.
After all discussions, anger and frustrations, I came out of this sitaution deeply satisfied with my HRE purchase.
I believe the mods can change the topic of this thread to - HRE issue resolved
#48
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that's great news ols!!! and what a wheel! can't wait for mine....
#49
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And we came to a happy end.
I received the new wheel today - it was on the house.
I wanted to thank HRE for dealing with this situation in a professional manner.
After all discussions, anger and frustrations, I came out of this sitaution deeply satisfied with my HRE purchase.
I believe the mods can change the topic of this thread to - HRE issue resolved
I received the new wheel today - it was on the house.
I wanted to thank HRE for dealing with this situation in a professional manner.
After all discussions, anger and frustrations, I came out of this sitaution deeply satisfied with my HRE purchase.
I believe the mods can change the topic of this thread to - HRE issue resolved
BTW love the car!