V1 Wheels - experience?

[scanesare]

If they turn out to be a good strong wheel I'll be ordering a set

Well, I guess there's only one way to find out by offering to be a guinea pig since there is not many reviews/experiences with them. This might sound absurd but I would feel less hesitant if they were costing say around 1000eur. For their looks, detail, and overall specs and certifications 668eur just seems suspiciously low and I can only hope it's because they're new to the market. If they are as good as we think they should be destroying the non-premium competition on VAG cars as all their three wheels look good on these cars plus they come in full VAG compatibility in terms of bolt pattern and center bore which is also important. Especially the V1 wheel would have been extremely popular in the MK7 crowd if they had been out for a couple of years already.

[Hebegeebee]

If they turn out to be a good strong wheel I'll be ordering a set

Looking at the spec .pdf they're made by Wheelworld which are a widely available brand on German wheel rim websites and appear to around a while. They normally come in at the lower end of the price scale, as for quality and COO I'm not sure.

[scanesare]

Looking at the spec .pdf they're made by Wheelworld which are a widely available brand on German wheel rim websites and appear to around a while. They normally come in at the lower end of the price scale, as for quality and COO I'm not sure.

Good find. I went and had a read on the Wheelworld website where they briefly present their premises and manufacturing techniques and certifications and it doesn't look too bad. They seem to be a relatively new (founded in 2007) manufacturer aiming for the lower/mid wheel class with very competitive prices while meeting German standards and having TUV approval as well as their own QC. I guess they have to otherwise they wouldn't survive in a market like the German. They use gravity or low pressure casting, no fancy stuff like forging or flow-forming, fair enough. That combined with their young age and no motorsports involvement is I guess why their prices are kept low. They (clearly) don't target the premium wheel class but rather offering decent wheels for people on a budget.

In the end, knowing they are a German, TUV qualified company and not some cheap Chinese ebay replica maker, is probably enough for me and I don't know how much I am actually (if anything) losing compared to wheels of double the price. For example my other alternative, the Neuspeed RSE10 are twice the V1's money and are flow formed and lighter but I have seen several owners reporting cracking which is quite disappointing for the price.

I anyway don't need to move on with the purchase until next March so I'll continue keeping an eye on their wheels and reviews and if nothing worrying comes up I think they'll be my next summer set with some yummy PS4S around them...

http://www.wheelworld.de/en/company/aboutus

http://www.wheelworld.de/en/company/production

[Wide]

Has anyone had experience with those wheels yet? Apparently they are pretty new to the market and only offering 3 wheel designs, each one in several finishes, but I've been after a reasonably priced 19" wheel to resemble the Pretorias' look (don't like deviating much from OEM looks) for quite some time without any luck (it would have to be either super expensive or cheap heavy replicas) and suddenly I come across these and I think they look amazing:

https://v1-wheels.de/4/Felgen/V1-SW%2B-%28Schwarz-Glanz-Lackiert-Gr%C3%B6%C3%9Fe-18Zoll%2810%2C40Kg%29-ET-ET35



They are a German manufacturer and wheels are TUV approved so quality shouldn't be bad at all, and while 10.8kg for a 19" is not featherweight, it's still much better than every ebay knock-off as well as several entry and mid-level wheels currently on offer. What makes it crazy is their price though. I don't know if that's because they are new and unknown in the wheel scene but 668 eur + shipping sounds less than I would ever hope for. For what was up to now just my wheel budget (1200-1400 eur) I can get a set of those AND and some sticky PS4S in 235/35/19!

Some photos of them on a 7.5 GTI:




Some presentation video of them (in German): https://youtu.be/i9NtlZbz2_A

Unless something negative comes up about them I can say I'm relieved that my "if not Pretorias what else" journey has come to an end finally. Just a few months too early though...

Nice car!!  ..

Looks like mine!, but lower?, and some new rear spoiler?..

Think the wheels look great!.  . But you can get a lot of 19" quality wheels for around 800Euro ...i think..

[scanesare]

Nice car!!  ..

Looks like mine!, but lower?, and some new rear spoiler?..

Think the wheels look great!.  . But you can get a lot of 19" quality wheels for around 800Euro ...i think..

No idea as not mine obviously but definitely looks lowered and with an aftermarket spoiler (which I don't like to be honest, Clubsport spoiler or nothing  )

I haven't found a single wheel looking close to OEM Pretorias and not being ultra heavy at 800 euros, and I doubt there would be any quality differences between any wheel at this price range and these ones. They seem to go through several quality controls:

"In order to ensure the quality of our production, our own TÜV-approved quality management team is always at site and monitors every process step. The production sites themselves are also TÜV-approved and include a test laboratory with all TÜV-relevant test machines and a variety of analyzing and control stations like for example X-ray, density and imbalance inspection."

But please suggest some if you know of any, I may change my mind if I see other interesting options.

[scanesare]

PS. I contacted them today and asked which process are the V1's specifically made of and they replied they're made via low pressure casting which is already good, better than basic gravity casting at least.

[Exonian]

The Rial Torino and AEZ Raise are also passable Pretoria lookalikes.
The V1's don't actually look that big due to the spoke design where as the Torino and Raise have long thin spokes like the Prets so visually look bigger.

I considered the Raise but ended up finding a set of Pretorias by chance.

[scanesare]

The Rial Torino and AEZ Raise are also passable Pretoria lookalikes.
The V1's don't actually look that big due to the spoke design where as the Torino and Raise have long thin spokes like the Prets so visually look bigger.

I considered the Raise but ended up finding a set of Pretorias by chance.

Yep, I had considered both of them briefly but rejected them. For starters no one is coming in glossy black or any full black even so they are already out of the question. Closest thing is the diamond cut finish which doesn't do it for me in this design and silver is just not my cup of tea.

But even forgetting about the lack of a black option, there's something that feels wrong about the Torino spokes in my eyes and at 11,56kg it's really the max weight I could accept, and that with a heavy heart. The AEZ Raise have a nicer spoke design, almost identical to Prets but good Lord at 13,4kg they are the definition of an anchor! Even if they came in the nicest glossy black finish I wound never opt for such a heavy wheel  

[Exonian]

Then that leaves the wheels I very nearly did buy which are the Borbet FF1.
Flow formed in 18" which makes them light and affordable.
Forged in 19" which makes them hideously expensive.

And black.

[monsta]

I really like them, works well on that colour combo at least!

I recently put a set of Momo Revenge on my GTI in 19", they're not lightweight (about the same as Santiagos though) but have a look at BBS SR which I think look close to Prets in silver, there's also Novus 1 and Riva BNZ to consider....