Aftermarket wheel certifications

[Tobra]

I have no doubt at least a few of you guys will be more hip to this stuff than I am, so here goes.

I have been looking at aftermarket wheels for the daily driver. I have noted that some wheels will mention JWL or TUV certification(Japanese and German outfits respectively, as I understand it) and some will not. I presume if they don't mention it, they don't have it, but I just do not know. Is this something to concern me as much as it does, or am I worried over something that is functionally inconsequential, like CARB certification.

[masraum]

I'm no expert, but I'm going to say that if the cert isnt on the wheel, then it doesn't have the cert. 1 I suspect getting the cert is costly whether that's from direct payment or having to donate product to be tested. If it wsa expensive, they'd want to advertise. 2 I suspect the regs that require the certs probably also require that the stuff that was certified says so.

I've read that the tuv cert is actually fairly meaningful.

[Hydrocket]

It depends. I've bent a wheel with TUV certification and had another with no certification that was bomb proof. Also, some companies have their own certification which drastically exceeds JWL (Enkei for example).

The key to good wheels is buying from a manufacturer with an excellent reputation...both on the street and in motorsports.

I like Enkei for most of my wheel needs. Light, very strong and priced right.

[Bill Douglas]

Cheap wheels reach certification standards by making them VERY thick and heavy.

[Hydrocket]

^^Excellent point