Thanks to the wonderful roads in SC I cracked a wheel a few months back and had to have it repaired. Fast forward to now, it's leaking air again so I'm just going to replace them.

I'm looking at wheels that are light, the 24-27 lb area. Obviously, durability is an issue for me. So, are those lighter wheels less durable or is it a matter of brand or wheel design?

I've been looking at Vossen and Niche if there are any insights on those.

I think it is combination.
Design plays big role, but material strength as well.
You can build strong rim (as a outer ring) from soft material if you give it enough thickness, but soft plate might wobble on sharp cornering alone.
I found so many OEM wheels on the market sold for the price of rubber on them that can't complain.
Thanks those low-profile guys
That said I managed to bend factory 16" rim on W210. In panic braking I went into left shoulder and big pothole on it.
But it was one wheels for 30 years of driving on bad CA roads, so can't complain.
Than when you go to lowering topics, you will find guys who are getting "frequent flyer" points and wheel repair shops.

I've got 19's on it and there is a bridge transition right by my office that will dent a wheel in no time if you aren't in the right spot. I had considered other factory AMG wheels but I "know a guy" so new wheel cost would be minimal vs factory. I'm not trying to roll rubber bands (I have 30 series on my truck without issue, but they're steel wheels).

I guess what my bottom line is, will a higher price wheel prevent dents and cracks, in a lighter wheel? Or, should I just pick one I like and roll the dice?

how much money are you willing to spend? customer service is probably the most important thing when purchasing wheels. along with hazard coverage if one gets damaged.... It truly depends on money you wanna spend.... Kaj is right though, it's all about the perfect balance.... Spend a weekend driving in the dc area....

Again, the dollar amount isn't a thing. I'm doing some trades through a 3rd party who gets wheels at cost, for things I get at cost. I asked what brands I should look at, he said "I can get anything".

So, we're getting there, but not quite there. This is a very unexpected cost at a very bad time to have it so I'm looking to have as least as possible in it, but not end up in something I'll have the same problem with or sacrifice performance like, braking, which is critical around these parts. People put their 15 ft car in a 25 ft gap then slam on the brakes.

So, the balance that has been mentioned, are there specific brands I should avoid because they're known to be problematic? Are there specific brands I should look at because they do ride well and won't dent/crack easily?

for weight savings at a relatively good price

look into flow formed or flow forged wheels

but for wheel conservation driving style must be modified up to and including route choice

tires are important too michelins would be ideal but there are other good brands

I've been driving low stuff for 16 years and rolling 30 series tires for 7 years, driving style isn't the problem, the roads are. There are problems in the road that can't always be avoided. Sometimes you avoid one to hit another, sometimes you can't see it coming because of traffic being so close together.

The wheels I have aren't great, they're all kinds of bent front and rear just not causing a problem till they crack. These are the only wheels in my life to have cracked. So, maybe I just have an irregularly terrible wheel and I'm being over cautious, I'd rather not find out the hard way. Now the tricky part is finding out what wheels are made using that method.

So, from the mention of manufacturing methods, I did some digging on a list of wheels I don't hate. It seems all of the wheels that are flow form or rotary forged seem to be the wheels around the 22-23 lb mark while the low pressure forming are 26-27 lbs and gravity cast are 32-35 lbs. So, here is the list if anybody has any comments on them:

Ace Convex http://www.acealloywheel.com/BMW-M-N..._1037_op3.html

Rohana RFX5 http://rohanawheels.com/rohana-wheel/rfx5/

TSW Bathurst http://www.tsw.com/alloy_wheels_bathurst.php

Miro F25 http://mirowheels.com/2016/06/28/mir...rm-forged-f25/

^^^I like them all honestly. I even considered the TSW's and Rohana RF2.


If you get michelin's on 19's you would have a pretty durable set up.

http://vertiniwheels.com/Wheels.html
http://www.stancewheels.com
http://mrrwheels.com/wheels/

No input on durability, performance, etc? They're all about the same weight so it really comes down to quality. Price is pretty different among all of them, the TSW's seem to be the best "deal". Tire wise, I'm moving over the tires I have now to the new wheels, the front ones only have 1,500 miles or so on them.

You not going to hear big claims from manufacturers on durability.

Your car will accelerate/brake faster with lighter rims...thats the performance benefit.

What kind of tires you running?

I'm not looking to hear about durability from a manufacturer, I'm more interested in people with actual experience or what they've seen of people having them.

I have Michelin Super Sport's on the back and Continental Extreme Contact DWS on the front. When I wear out the Michelin on the back I'll put the Continental's on the back also.

I don't know anyone on here running those wheels.

For the sake of argument, what IS a popular wheel among forum users in a 19"?

When our taste change over the time - you can read MB owners opinions about big wheels made 3 years ago here http://www.benzworld.org/forums/gene...out-22-mb.html

I would neeeeeever put 22's on any car. I did a big build in an Accord with 22's on it and drove it to NYC from SC to get it back to the owner. 25 series tire, it was bad when I hit NYC. I wouldn't even put 20's on a W211. It can look nice, but I wouldn't want to drive it. My Sierra has 24's on it, but that's a whole other animal.

Do you have air bags on that Sierra or is it permanent lawn ornament?
When we all want to be original in some sense and sometimes shock the viewers, I think modifying cars out of drivebility is one on the low side.
But then on truck forum we have hot dispute for years about gasoline v/s diesel engines.
When V10 trucks with 4WD and oversized tires look good in the garage when you keep the door open.
-The fun ends when you pull to gas pump.
The top come in last years when diesel truck start coming with >400 HP and torque that gassers can't even dream about it, no matter what modification.
Coming to the wheels sizing, I passed on the freeway Chevy SUV with 36" wheels on it. How do I know they were 36" ? >>> he had big stickers above each wheel.
It was turning head for sure.

It's bagged. What you see is my parking brake, frame on the ground. I still haul and tow with it too, it's no less functional than it was stock, but now has additional handicap accessibility . We do have plenty of mall crawlers by me, with reduced function as a truck, but they all say I "ruined" mine. The only fun I have at a gas pump is in my CRX.

Now, back on topic! I checked out the Vertini and Stance links and found more I like, but I think I'm leaning towards the TSW's.