911rox

As there has been some talk on wheel options and suppliers in other threads, I thought I would weigh in with a polite warning to fellow rennlisters after recent dealings with one of the smaller wheel manufacturers. The purpose of this post is not to rubbish them but rather to highlight that you won’t always get what is promised so buyers beware.... If I had known what I was getting into in August of last year, I wouldn’t have bothered... The manufacturer I speak of- Forged Alloys USA (FAU).

I will stress upfront, regardless of the way it panned out and regardless of the stress and hassle in getting a resolution, the responsible party did refund my money and did go part of the way towards settling my further losses incurred in foreign currency exchange rates and tax losses incurred over the 9+month ordeal. The product, if you receive it as ordered is seemingly of very good quality.

Last August, after having read some rave reviews and done my research, I placed an order for a set of 19x12, 19x8.5 Tech1-110 centrelocks for my GT3. I wanted to be sure there were going to be no hick ups with offset so I went standard. There were limited options at the time and these were claimed to be of excellent quality. The only additional requirement was some JWL markings to be milled onto the wheels which are a requirement in our market and I was told they were a non issue. I was required to pay for the wheels in full as it was an overseas order (harsh, but fair) and they would be delivered in 6-8 weeks. I recall Savy saying they take more like 12 weeks and I was prepared for a delay so I was not phased...

Weeks came and went and soon enough the 8 weeks were up. I hadn’t heard a thing so I emailed and was told there was a delay on blanks for the front... It would be a couple more weeks... Soon enough we were at 14 weeks... I message, I call ... The issue was the front blanks...Due in next week... It would be a couple of weeks... so the excuses went... I then began to email more regularly, the same story week after week....

Finally in January 2011, I received notification that the wheels were in production but the plant had made an error with the fronts and they had made the fronts 19x9s ET55... I was told that most sets they sell are 19x9s for the narrow body GT3s and they would fit fine- no rubbing... “We’ve sold dozens of sets without an issue” I was told (I posted here asking about this offset at the time but there was limited knowledge on offsets for these cars). I paid a further $750 for shipping which was supposed to cover shipping from the US to Aus... The amazing thing is that it turns out that they come from Italy. Thus if the shipping to the US is factored into the price you guys pay, it would cover the cost from Italy to Aus as I had originally paid the same as you guys... Seemingly NOT!!!!

Finally, after 6 months, in Feb they arrive. Yehhhh! I open the boxes, pull out the wheels and there are no JWL markings on them. I freak out and contact them immediately... I’m promised it will be sorted. Option 1, find a milling shop, they will send the file and cover the costs. Option 2, they will send them back to the plant. I find an engineering shop, wait for days and days to get a milling file from FAU and we finally we have markings. I get them slung with rubber that same day and go straight home to fit them. I bolt the wheels on, drop the car, go to drive out of the garage and the fronts are grinding up against the springs. The offsets are wrong by 4mm at least! Great result after more than 6 months of waiting...

Immediately, I email and call and I’m reassured it will be sorted. I ask for a set of 19x8.5s as I had originally ordered or a refund. I’m promised a set of fronts within 2-3 weeks. I accepted. They ask to have the faulty fronts shipped back for analysis asap. I ship them back (their cost) and wait patiently. Along the way I get all sorts of excuses: “we’re waiting on a front right blank”, “we are making you a unique size for your car and there are hold ups”. WTF!!! I ordered the standard size listed on their website and recommended by them time and time again as the preferred size for the GT3!!! Two to three weeks becomes 2-3 months and in May I get the new fronts.

Upon opening the box, I discover that they had machined about 3mm off the inner sections of the original rims, sprayed those edges black and sent them back, scratches and all... I explained to them that they design lightweight wheels and if the inner edges could afford to be 3-4 mm thinner, they would have been that way from the outset to save weight. I wasn’t going to risk a $300k car on their bull**** stories and fixes. After contacting FAU, I get excuses about the factory making a mistake, and then I get excuses in the form of emails from the owner of the plant in Italy. By this point, I was done with the stories, delays and excuses... I demanded a refund for the cost of the wheels, shipping import duties incurred in Oz currency as it was not my fault they were not able to supply the product promised. We finally settled and I was left AUS$1,000 out of pocket with a set of wheels that are useless.

In summary: 9 months, $1k out of pocket, 120+ emails, 1 dozen international calls, dozens of sms’s much heart ache and stress and I’m back to square one... Not saying this will happen to any of you but I know of more guys with issues then Tech1-110s...

The facts are simply as follows:

- If the blanks were not available and the order could not have been fulfilled, it should never have been taken.
- Payment in full should not have been insisted upon to place an order as the exchange rate complications would not have been an issue. The Aus dollar went from 85cents US to $1.10 during this time.
-The timeframe should be relatively precise.... 6-8 weeks is not the same as 9 months with no idea as to when the order may eventually be fulfilled.
- It is the retailer’s duty to keep the client informed of progress. I never once received an update without email, sms and phone prompt. Most times, a combination of all of these...
-DON’T BEND THE TRUTH!!! FAU should have been honest at all times. If after 5-6 weeks, they could see that this may drag on for months, they should have been man enough to insist on refunding the order rather than false promises and being suggestive of progress to keep it going...
-Manufacturers should ACTUALLY TEST FIT their product onto a standard car before they start shipping it all around the globe! The markings were an oversight and sorted out. The rest should never have happened whether I was given 8.5s or 9s.
- You get nowhere in life without customer service skills! I should know, I serve a few hundred each day...

Apologies in advance for the length of this post.... I felt people should be informed so as to not be put into a similar predicament as myself and 2 others on this forum...

For the record, the Superforgiatas are looking like a great option by comparison, even if they forget to supply the caps... at least being a big company, they hopefully have greater control over their production...

9972RS

thank you.

I knew something was fishy when they said the wheels were coming from Italy. I know most wheel companies, i.e., Champion, CEC, etc outsource manufacturing overseas. i.e., Japan. BUT, usually all of the offsets and widths have been sorted out beforehand.

aussie jimmy

i feel for you, chris...
i'm glad i'm finished building my car - took around 2 years with hundreds of emails and phone calls around the globe.
one thing i can say, is that tirerack were great to deal with, when i bought my oz's. only needed about 3 phone calls and 5 emails.

buy a big-*** pane of plate glass and make a coffee table out of your tech 110's.

911rox

No probs! I'd feel bad if others went through the same ordeal because I didn't say something. Also, those CECs must be coming from the same plant, I'd suggest. Markings and milling too identical to be knock offs...

911rox

We think the same! I was thinking the two fronts could be made into a couple corner tables with glass and a couple alloy supports may even score a good return on ebay, lol

mdrums

Thank you so much for this post. I will be buying new wheels in the next few weeks and Forged Alloy and Tech1 110 will not get my business.

I've heard a lot of things lately about who makes who's wheels. Doesn't GMG get the branded wheels from Forged Alloys Tech1-110?

911rox

No probs, not looking to cut anyboby's lunch but the truth must be told... I think you're spot on with the GMGs...

24Chromium

I think this is true, however, I believe Forged Alloys only supplies the blanking for GMG and others. Forged Alloys is mainly a forging vendor. It's my impression that the wheel business is kind of a side business. He told me his main focus is aerospace, typically defense contractors.

I could be wrong, but I believe GMG has a vendor in the USA do the machining and finishing. Forged Alloys uses 2elle engineering in Italy.

24Chromium

I too purchased wheels from Forged Alloys in November of 2010 and soon came to regret it. I was promised a quick lead-time and a reduced price, as he had a batch in production just then. He would not take a credit card, only a check. That was the first red flag warning that I should have heeded. I decided to order the clear hard anodize finish (not paint) with the optional machining to make the wheels even lighter (nothing special, per se, all the photos you've seen on these forums have this option).

Many weeks go by, with e-mails from me either unanswered, or my favorite "they ship this week".

I ask for a tracking number, so I can arrange to be home when the shipper delivers them. I never do get a tracking number. Red flag #2.

Finally, after 8 weeks and numerous promises of "they ship this week", the wheels finally arrive. I open the boxes to find that my wheels are PAINTED, not anodized.

I e-mail to inquire about the finish. I'm pissed I got the wrong finish, but, these are track wheels and I've got track days coming up that I've already paid for. After several back and forths, the conclusion is that the "factory got too many complaints about the clear hard anodized finish being too hard to clean". And that was that. I get silver paint instead. Red flag #3.

O.K., first time to bolt on the wheels. I'm in Laguna Seca's paddock and I'm about to roll out for my run group. Except, the car is making this horrible sound and something is obviously rubbing as the car is not moving as it should. I jack the car up and take off the front wheel to find that it's rubbing the spring. Red flag #4.

Forged Alloys blames this on me. I've "obviously modified the car", despite my protests that the car is 100% stock as far as the suspension. Then I'm told "we've shipped lots of these wheels to other 2010 GT3 owners, and none of them have any problems". I soon found out that 911rox had the IDENTICAL problem and Savyboy had a fitment problem as well. Red flag #5.

Since the problem was blamed on me, and he knew I was a mechanical engineer, he enlisted me to take precision measurements. Stupidly, I went along. I was promised again and again that I would have new wheels in a few weeks. They were going to make some dimensional adjustments and a slight change to the offset so that it wouldn't rub.

Weeks and weeks go by. Same story as the first time - "they ship at the end of the week". I endure another cycle of the same BS. I miss several track days (paid in advance and no refund) because I'm still waiting for wheels. Red flag #6

It's now April of 2011 when I finally do get the replacements - which I had drop shipped to my race shop - I get a call notifying me that these wheels are 5 lug, not centerlocks. Red flag #7

I ask for a refund and I'm pleasantly surprised (almost shocked, actually!) to get one in a week or so, in May of 2011. Keep in mind, it was November of 2010 when I originally purchased these wheels.

Caveat Emptor!

Carrera GT

That's certainly enough to bury Forged Alloy USA as just plain useless.

For what it's worth -- and it's cold comfort at best -- I know how it feels to be trying to do things with cars in Australia (especially when the exchange rate to the USD was more like 50 cents ...) and thinking "oh, if only I was there in California and the good stuff is just sitting their on the shelf!" Of course, the grass is not greener and people in CA have had the same SNAFU experiences with all kinds of vendors and their claims of "trust me, I'm a professional" only to discover they can't be trusted and they're by no measure professional. "Such is life," said Ned.

As for the Superformaggio's, I have them on my 3.8 RS and they're a very nice wheel ... but ... by my measurement, the hub thickness is a quarter inch or about 5-7mm thicker than the stock wheels. That's a significant amount of thread engagement. I'm waiting (a week now) for OZ and tirerack.com to resolve the problem. When it's resolved, I'll post a follow-up thumbs up or down.

You'll probably note savy has the same wheel on his car now, so I'm optimistic that it's simply a matter of me receiving wheels which for some reason have not been machined to spec.

9972RS

so who is at fault here. forged alloys or the manufacturer? since these are all drop shipped. I would suspect 2elle engineering in Italy

IRguy

OMG!! It is painfull to read these stories!! Especially since I just (last week) ordered a set of Tech1-110 wheels from Forged Alloy LLC. The invoice - I can post it here if someone is interested - is not for Forged Alloy USA but Forged Alloy LLC and it is based in Kansas City and the guy with whom I exchanged a bunch of emails is Mike B. (do not want to disclose his name without his knowledge) I was promised the wheels will ship within 10 days!!

savyboy

Piggybacking here- back in May of last year I ordered a set of Forged Alloys USA wheels for my 3RS. I had previously ordered a set in 5-lug for a C4S I owned and while they took a long time to finally arrive I gave the benefit of the doubt to happenstance so ordered the centerlock set.

After long delays, and claimed ship dates that blew past again and again, they finally arrived but the rear hubs were not machined correctly and did not have a high enough shoulder for the outer o-ring of the centerlock nut to seat into. After being assured I would receive correctly machined wheels quickly, they finally arrived approx 6 months later.

Upon installing them, I noticed the original wheels not only had improper maching, but were the wrong offset! I had at time some rubbing of one rear tire on the inner fenderwell which I chalked up to a rough track.

So there you go. My suggestion for any potential customer is to obtain -guranteed in writing- a concrete shipping date with full refund upon ANY delay. And then examine the wheels very closely for proper offset and dimensions.

The wheels themselves are tough, strong, lightweight, durable and good looking. But the process of getting them and getting them right was a monumental headache.

9972RS

thanks all. so, I've narrowed it down to the OZ 19" and BBS motorsport 19. Likely going with the OZ wheels. Would still like the 18" for more tire choices, but 19" will do.

savy,

any issues with your superforgiatas?

anyone have experience with the 19" version of the bbs motorsport 3 piece wheels? are they the same as the 18", i.e., uses same 18" center or is the center larger

http://www.carnewal-europe.com/cpx_p068.htm

savyboy

Adam and I am still waiting for a reply from O-Z and trying to figure out if the hub thickness is an issue (CL nut threads engagement). Otherwise they look great and weight is very low (really important to me) but have not actually driven on them yet.