C'mon...iItalian castings are not necesarily bad.....think aluminum cylinder heads...or go back into the Bronze Age and look at Italian casting expertise....

Ever see a finned aluminum Alfa oil sump? ...thing of beauty ...

- Wil

I believe that these Italian made wheels that are made in China are the same Italian made wheels that are made in China as described in the first post on this thread.

Chinese noodles are possibly superior to Italian noodles because the Chinese were making noodles looong before Marco Polo ripped the Chinese off and began selling them in Italy - called them Spaghetti! Hah, what a fraud!!

Years before Mao, the Chinese in fact manufactured noodle wheels that were very similar to the later developed western "wire" wheels (I believe another Italian named Borrani ripped that concept off the Chinese as well) that were formed limp then frozen solid.

They were "winter" cart wheels used only in the winter in the colder regions of Upper Mongolia and enjoyed many years of popularity (primarily purchased by peasants).

There is interesting discussion going on relating to this thread at http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=354765&perpage=20&pagen umber=1