Here we go again…
A buddy of mine who works at a highly regarded shop specializing in the VIP trend read my “Ugly ass wheels” post and reminded me about R1 Racing Wheels. If you don’t know, these guys have been around since 2000 (or so) and are masters at the knockoff game. A majority– if not all– of their wheel products are direct knockoffs of brand named wheels. So this post is just an informative post giving the award to R1 Racing for KNOCKOFF SHIT of the MONTH!
Congrats to these guys for delivering crap to our industry. Ricers and Nopi owe you LOTS!!
Oh and a second award goes out to R1 for their fantabulous “Mass Lip” technology. You guys sure take the cake for scamming FWD owners. Seriously, if anyone is reading this and is interested in the R1’s “Mass Lip”, take notice…there is no substitute for proper fitment. There is no substitute for gangsta offset and more importantly, lip doesn’t mean squat if your wheels don’t sit flush (especially having a 3 inch lip on a 7 inch wheel).
Let me break it down. R1’s “Mass Lip” is basically keeping the FWD offsets the same (say around +40 and up) and giving you the illusion of the “Mass” lip. How is this done? Essentially, the face of the wheel is a bubble and it bubbles out from the “Lip”. So really- you are getting an ugly ass wheel design with a false representation of true lippage. Go ahead, put any R1 wheel with a mass lip (or any R1 wheel for that matter) next to it’s authentic counterpart and you will find, R1’s lippage, finish, construction and overall appearance is far inferior to the authentic counterpart (NO SHIT).
AND LAST but certainly not least, I’ll leave you with R1’s claim to fame:
“R-1 Racing is the original and only patented Chromeless Steel Lip Technology. R-1 patented their process years ago and have been perfecting it ever since. Do not settle for inferior, fly-by-night reverse-engineered product, which attempts to knockoff the R-1 Racing Patent. R-1 innovations include MASS LIP, which allows large lips on front-wheel drive wheels to give front-wheel drive cars a staggered car look. MASS LIP allows up to 4″ lips on many cars such as Hondas and Scions. Another industry first from R-1 is the 20″ staggered fitment with Chrome Stainless Steel Lip for cars such as G35 and BMW 5-Series!.”
I’m speechless. I suppose my friend JP put it best when he says.. “they don’t knockoff the lips… only the faces” HAHA!
Thanks R1 for attempting to protect the intellectual integrity of your knockoff. I’m sure no one will dare knockoff your knockoffs. =P
Popularity: 12%
11 responses so far ↓
1 Prashant // Jan 15, 2008 at 10:16 pm
LOL! 3″ lip on a 7″ wide wheel. Classic!
2 FocusBoi // Jan 16, 2008 at 12:17 pm
Hey ya’ll, I be rockin R1’s on my car and mah peeps like it. They say it looks just like Volks! AND I paid half the price. What is yo’ problem? R1 wheels are cool. Everrbody loves them in Atlanta!!!only R1 can make my focus look like a drift car. I be gettin’ that deep dish 4 inch lip in the rear and 2 inch lip in the front! What otha wheel company can do that son? Tenzo? No way.
3 Prashant // Jan 17, 2008 at 11:05 am
Wow, Tenzo is still around on the East Coast? Shit, but then again Nopi guys gotta use something huh?
4 MikEvo8 // Jan 30, 2008 at 5:07 pm
so they drift ford focuses in atl? lol. i love this blog, glad i found it.
5 Brad // Feb 9, 2008 at 6:08 pm
I just read FocusBoi’s comment … and thought it was a joke until I realized there was no punch line. I’m now slightly embarassed for the human race.
6 Jack // Feb 11, 2008 at 3:29 pm
cool post, thanks so much. Good writing, going to read more……
7 Kinalyx // Feb 18, 2008 at 10:56 am
Honestly, i see your point about them being knockoffs. The problem is, theyre the only company making a wheel i like right now. The Hype with the black lip is the only wheel i know of that looks like that. Sure TSW Thruxtons & Axis Shines look VERY similar, but no black lip.
Shawn
8 mjigga99 // Mar 15, 2008 at 10:51 am
I’ve also been looking at a set of R1 wheels until I saw the Katana originals they knocked off. My deal is what is really inferior about R1 wheels? Do they dent or crack easily? Does the finish fade and peel quick(like my axis spiders)? Or are they a good GENERIC substitution?
9 Sonny // Mar 26, 2008 at 12:22 am
All I have to say about this is like in music… every beat in rythm has been written out. It is the variety of combination that makes music so great not the other fact. Don’t hate on something cause it looks just like another because in reality who makes anything original these days anyways.
10 mofo // Jul 16, 2008 at 9:45 pm
laff at mjigga99 for thinking that R1 ripped off an original design…from KATANA.
11 John // Aug 7, 2008 at 7:54 am
Let me guess the person who wrote this post drives a “JDM” car. Anyone can go to Japan and swipe their mom and dads credit card. If you dont like R1 for quality reasons thats understandable. All these wheel companies copy each other. Have some respect. You never know what someone has under the hood.
Leave a Comment