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What makes these set of rims worth $4k?

Fortunately my wife's 2009 Challenger R/T classic came with the good wheels.

20230515_173246.jpg
 
I don't know how the American racing ones are made (cast, forged, billet) but how they're are made has a huge effect. I'd be willing to bet the biggest difference is you're wheels have a generic one size fits many offset, diameter and width where mass production brings the price way down. Companies like Billet Specialties custom make wheels to your specs and make them out of far superior materials. If you can find a mass produced wheel that fits your bill, that's definitely the way to go for the money but keep in mind cast will never be as good.


A fools money is a foolish thing to say. I bought pretty pricey rims for mine, I never brag and the cost isn't something I'm exactly proud of.. would have loved to only spend $500-$700 but it wasn't a blind decision. I've had several rims over the years, I've had the paint fall off of cast rims, had the cast aluminum turn gray over time, cracked rims, rusted chrome, rims that didn't allow me to correctly fill the fenders etc. I bought US Mags, custom made billet rims and absolutely do not regret it. The centers are powder coated with the outers being forged aluminum and they fit absolutely perfect, perfect enough that I'm running 305's in the rear with no issue. With 20,000 miles on it they can get to looking dingy but they're never some aluminum polish away from being able to be brought back to brand new luster. On top of that I've hit a really nasty pothole with one front rim, bad enough that it severally bent the inner lip where it wouldn't hold air.. I put it in my press and was able to straighten it back out.. try that with cast? That rim has zero bead seal in it and hasn't needed air for over a year and when they remounted the tire it took zero weights? I have absolutely no doubt most commonly bought rims are far inferior to mine, just a fact, are cheaper rims a bad thing? That's all in what you want but for me nothing pisses me off more than having a nice rim get to the point where you can't bring it back or one that forces you to run a tire width based on what the rim allows.

Not for most on here but it's what I wanted.
IMG_20230610_133833957_HDR.jpg
 
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I don't know how the American racing ones are made (cast, forged, billet) but how they're are made has a huge effect. I'd be willing to bet the biggest difference is you're wheels have a generic one size fits many offset, diameter and width where mass production brings the price way down. Companies like Billet Specialties custom make wheels to your specs and make them out of far superior materials. If you can find a mass produced wheel that fits your bill, that's definitely the way to go for the money but keep in mind cast will never be as good.


A fools money is a foolish thing to
A fools money is a foolish thing to say. I bought pretty pricey rims for mine, I never brag and the cost isn't something I'm exactly proud of.. would have loved to only spend $500-$700 but it wasn't a blind decision. I've had several rims over the years, I've had the paint fall off of cast rims, had the cast aluminum turn gray over time, cracked rims, rusted chrome, rims that didn't allow me to correctly fill the fenders etc. I bought US Mags, custom made billet rims and absolutely do not regret it. The centers are powder coated with the outers being forged aluminum and they fit absolutely perfect, perfect enough that I'm running 305's in the rear with no issue. With 20,000 miles on it they can get to looking dingy but they're never some aluminum polish away from being able to be brought back to brand new luster. On top of that I've hit a really nasty pothole with one front rim, bad enough that it severally bent the inner lip where it wouldn't hold air.. I put it in my press and was able to straighten it back out.. try that with cast? That rim has zero bead seal in it and hasn't needed air for over a year and when they remounted the tire it took zero weights? I have absolutely no doubt most commonly bought rims are far inferior to mine, just a fact, are cheaper rims a bad thing? That's all in what you want but for me nothing pisses me off more than having a nice rim get to the point where you can't bring it back or one that forces you to run a tire width based on what the rim allows.

Not for most on here but it's what I wanted.View attachment 1483176
I’m comparing 2 rims that look almost just alike. I didn’t know billet specialties even made them and far as hitting potholes go, I live in Eastern, Ky. We have potholes everywhere lol. I hit a pothole so hard one time with these rims when I first got them that it ripped the metal out on the outer shock tower that holds the outer camber adjuster washer. I had to get it re-welded. I bet you ain’t never hit a pothole that hard. Didn’t even phase the rim and if it did bend it I can buy 3 just like it for the price of that 1 BS rim. I also ordered the exact size and Backspacing I needed but you are exactly right. It’s just what a person wants and I guess if it’s what what I would have wanted I would have spent the money.
 
The Year One rallye wheels are available in 17 inch with the standard 5x4 1/2 bolt pattern,and 20 inch with the modern Mopar 5 x 115 bolt pattern.
 
Huge price differences between
forged 2 or 3 piece
billet 2 or 3 piece
& cast machined wheels, mass produced

if you want something you can't get now
or pay way to much for the old' sketchy org. recall wheels
paying $4k for them is nuts
or special backspacing or rim widths or diameters
it will cost you

as someone mentioned earlier, in this thread
about
I hope he's OK with me posting his car & the wheels
perfect IMO
there was a guy a member @IMTMT8 (sorry don't remember his real name)
in the 'Wheels Wednesday' thread/post #532 & #544 (dimensions)
who had the Recall wheels done 'custom'
Rim Mopar Recall wheels remake @INTMD8 side view of the Charger with the wheels.jpg

worth every dime of whatever he paid, I don't know how much either
Rim Mopar Recall wheels remake @INTMD8.jpg

for his Charger, looked perfect fit too by the guy Mike (Curtis Speed here in Ca.)
who was the wheel guy/machinist on the old TV show American hot rod
 
Depending on the company, where they are made, quality etc, you can have issues with cast wheels being too soft/brittle to put up with potholes and other road hazards. Yes there are limits to what you may encounter hazard wise but I did see many cheap, Chinese wheels fail from hazards when I ran the body shop. And yes, sidewall profile plays a big part in that equation. Rubber band tires don't like hazards and transfer the hit to the wheel and sometimes further in. We would have to replace tires, wheels, spindles/knuckles, hub/bearing units and sometimes the struts too.
 
They’re worth only as much as the next person is willing to pay for them.
Wrong. Completely and utterly wrong. While in this case the number may be insane, however you are denying any inherent value. As an example, if I were to say to you I'd like to sell my house and you said, I'll give you $10, does that mean my house is worth $10? NO. This saying is completely wrong on every level.
 
Wrong. Completely and utterly wrong. While in this case the number may be insane, however you are denying any inherent value. As an example, if I were to say to you I'd like to sell my house and you said, I'll give you $10, does that mean my house is worth $10? NO. This saying is completely wrong on every level.
?
You are leaving out a whole lot of why that saying is true.
Namely, you wouldn't take $10 for your house. Because: someone would be willing to give you more.
Reality is, you don't have the money in your pocket until someone gives it to you. You may well have to find the right person to give you what you want, but if you never do you still don't have the money.
Maybe your house is "worth" $100k.
A bunch of people offer $80k. Someone offers $95k. You take it. Is your house worth $100k? You couldn't sell it for $100k, everyone was offering less. You could have kept it, forever, and never sold it for $100k. In this case your house was worth $95k.

If these rims are supposed to be worth $4k, and 2 million people come look and offer $2k, guess what? The rims aren't worth $4k, because you can't sell them for that.

Perceived value of an item in it's owners hands and unwillingness to convert it into actual money is basically how hoarders function.
Everything is worthless until someone gives you money for it. That is how a currency system functions.


People can get around currency by offering trade of items of perceived equal value. In this case both parties have to be of like mind on the value of both items. It's not that far off of trading for money, but there is some nuance.
Everything works this way, from cars to buildings to gold itself. Everything in the modern financial system is built on this premise established with the invention of currency.

Think of it this way, those rims are in your garage sitting there. You feel they are worth $4k. Can you go spend $4k on something else because you have those rims in your garage? No, because you have to take action to convert those rims into something you can spend, or trade them. And that takes us back to what they are worth, which is only as much as you can get someone to offer for them.
 
@keepat Those one-off's you had done are awesome. I mentioned it back on page one.
 
Wrong. Completely and utterly wrong. While in this case the number may be insane, however you are denying any inherent value. As an example, if I were to say to you I'd like to sell my house and you said, I'll give you $10, does that mean my house is worth $10? NO. This saying is completely wrong on every level.
You are totally and completely dreaming on drugs in a state of bliss only introduced by drugs on some other type of cosmic level of insanity it’s beyond mind boggling just how ridiculous you sound & the comparison you attempt to make. You’re seriously diluted in the brain. Not to mention you have no idea what you’re talking about. Read above 1 post or read the next quote below.

Just because you “THINK!” You have something valuable doesn’t mean the next person you meet see’s it the same way.

A glass of your tap water is worth a penny.
Sell it to a guy in dire need in the middle of the desert, it can fetch a major suite see or cash. Your next door neighbor will laugh there asses off when you try and sell it to them.

While not a direct or even close analogy for some people, the same principle applies. If not, go make millions selling snow to eskimos. Or go make millions selling sand to the Egyptians.
?
You are leaving out a whole lot of why that saying is true.
Namely, you wouldn't take $10 for your house. Because: someone would be willing to give you more.
Reality is, you don't have the money in your pocket until someone gives it to you. You may well have to find the right person to give you what you want, but if you never do you still don't have the money.
Maybe your house is "worth" $100k.
A bunch of people offer $80k. Someone offers $95k. You take it. Is your house worth $100k? You couldn't sell it for $100k, everyone was offering less. You could have kept it, forever, and never sold it for $100k. In this case your house was worth $95k.

If these rims are supposed to be worth $4k, and 2 million people come look and offer $2k, guess what? The rims aren't worth $4k, because you can't sell them for that.

Perceived value of an item in it's owners hands and unwillingness to convert it into actual money is basically how hoarders function.
Everything is worthless until someone gives you money for it. That is how a currency system functions.


People can get around currency by offering trade of items of perceived equal value. In this case both parties have to be of like mind on the value of both items. It's not that far off of trading for money, but there is some nuance.
Everything works this way, from cars to buildings to gold itself. Everything in the modern financial system is built on this premise established with the invention of currency.

Think of it this way, those rims are in your garage sitting there. You feel they are worth $4k. Can you go spend $4k on something else because you have those rims in your garage? No, because you have to take action to convert those rims into something you can spend, or trade them. And that takes us back to what they are worth, which is only as much as you can get someone to offer for them.
Thank you! You get it!
 
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