Which of these Two Wheels is Objectively Better? Stock Aluminum vs HF-5?

[Nickp15]

By better I mean performance/weight/scratch resistance or any other metric relevant when comparing wheels. I have very little knowledge of metallurgy or anything related.,

I do want to stick to the same tire size and stock look, and make sure my second option would be compatible with TPMS.

Option #1: Bronze Wheels:
19" Bronze Aluminum Wheel
Proce: $326.70 ea
Weight: ?
Material: Aliminum



Option #2:
HYBRID FORGED SERIES: HF-5
Price: ?
Weight: ?
Material: HF-5 Hybrid Forged

 

[Integra23]

The bronze wheels from the dealer are the same as factory just with a different color.
If you can swing it I would go with a forged offering since they are lighter and stronger.

 

[QUIKAG]

I like aftermarket wheels, but my major concern is always the fact (in 99% of cases), they have not undergone the rigorous durability testing, validation, and QC that a factory wheel offering has. So, keeping OEM wheels is always a safer bet, especially if you're tracking or otherwise hard on your wheels (potholes, etc.).

There are some great aftermarket wheel options, but you will pay for them and you need to research carefully.

I'm keeping my OEM gray wheels. They work and look fine. Are there nicer looking aftermarket ones? Yes, but I'm not willing to pay for them, especially at the cost of potentially reduced durability.

OP, the factory offering bronze is nice. If something happened to my gray wheels, I'd buy those personally.

 

[StingertimeNC]

I'm a big fan of Vossen. Had their wheels on my last two cars. While their basic/$500-600 wheels are just flow forged, they are superior to cast OEM offerings generally, both in terms of weight and strength, and side note, the finish/paint is a way higher level. I had HF-3's on my last car, 19x9.5 and they weighed in around 28 lbs if I remember correctly.

Honestly, the Enkei 19X9.5 stock rims for the ITS are pretty solid and weigh in at 25 lbs, give or take a few oz's. But....the paint finish on the stock rims is nowhere near as good as the Vossen.

Side note, I tracked my previous car with the vossen's and it was a much heavier car than the ITS. No issues.

If you plan to buy Vossen rims, contact Diego at Vossen directly. He will do a deal for you. Will likely be less than normal retail and he can advise on proper sizing/offset for any car. I've always worked through him via email. Great service... [email protected]

 

[optronix]

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm willing to accept 18s for the benefit of more sidewall. I personally don't like how 18s look on our cars though... and I'm not a fan of the "theoretical" disadvantage of lower offsets altering the factory scrub radius that Honda/Acura worked so hard to engineer to reduce torque steer.

I think where I'm tracking right now is slapping the "special" Michelin Cup2 tires offered for the Civic Type R on my OEM wheels for track season once my PS4S are worn out. I like a few very expensive wheels from Volk Racing but don't love them enough to justify the expense. Not yet at least.

 

[ABPDE5]

I'm still trying to figure out if I'm willing to accept 18s for the benefit of more sidewall. I personally don't like how 18s look on our cars though... and I'm not a fan of the "theoretical" disadvantage of lower offsets altering the factory scrub radius that Honda/Acura worked so hard to engineer to reduce torque steer.

I think where I'm tracking right now is slapping the "special" Michelin Cup2 tires offered for the Civic Type R on my OEM wheels for track season once my PS4S are worn out. I like a few very expensive wheels from Volk Racing but don't love them enough to justify the expense. Not yet at least.

Yeah, I'd much prefer to stick to 19s myself. Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of options, and the options we do have, whether in 18 or 19 all have pretty aggressive offsets for this car.

I think, if you stick to stock springs, you have some room for extra sidewall on 19s.
I'd love a 19 x 10 or 10.5 w. a 50 or 45 offset, respectively, to try and gain some useable tread width while not straying too far from the OEM scrub radius or w/e.

Seems Apex VS 5RS are likely to be the best option, but personally, the design isn't my favorite. Luckily, I have plenty of tread on my PS4S to work through, so plenty of time.

 

[StingertimeNC]

Titan7 has a couple good options. Little cheaper than Apex. Not sure on offsets though. I'm not worried about scrub radius. I don't really accelerate hard from a dig or going around a 15mph corner or anything. Plus I don't have the skill to drive this thing flat out on the track. Not sure how a tiny bit more torque steer will affect me really. Mind you I've done no research into the issue, just thinking about times when torque steer is most noticable.

Also the stance of the car is important to me. The +45 offset really improves the look, especially with the car lowered.

 

[Fred 930]

You really need to be careful about aftermarket wheels. While there might be some - unlike other parts of the World - I'm unaware of any USA government wheel safety standards (there may be, but not that I'm familiar with). You might want to review this article: https://nefariousracing.com/wheel-safety-standards-guide/

Coming from the German car world, TUV is well known.
The article also covers some Japan standards.

A buddy put aftermarket wheels on his wife's Audi (after the OEM's started to corrode). She hit a pothole and bent a wheel. He was unable to source a matching replacement, so was forced to buy a second set of wheels, only to have the same thing happen!! Now being smarter, he decided the third set would be OEM wheels. So I took that to be a valuable lesson from both a strength and availability standpoint.

 

[ABPDE5]

Titan7 has a couple good options. Little cheaper than Apex. Not sure on offsets though. I'm not worried about scrub radius. I don't really accelerate hard from a dig or going around a 15mph corner or anything. Plus I don't have the skill to drive this thing flat out on the track. Not sure how a tiny bit more torque steer will affect me really. Mind you I've done no research into the issue, just thinking about times when torque steer is most noticable.

Also the stance of the car is important to me. The +45 offset really improves the look, especially with the car lowered.

Yes, +45-40 looks fantastic. I wish Honda had better aligned their suspension setup and body panels.

 

[Integra23]

You really need to be careful about aftermarket wheels. While there might be some - unlike other parts of the World - I'm unaware of any USA government wheel safety standards (there may be, but not that I'm familiar with). You might want to review this article: https://nefariousracing.com/wheel-safety-standards-guide/

Coming from the German car world, TUV is well known.
The article also covers some Japan standards.

A buddy put aftermarket wheels on his wife's Audi (after the OEM's started to corrode). She hit a pothole and bent a wheel. He was unable to source a matching replacement, so was forced to buy a second set of wheels, only to have the same thing happen!! Now being smarter, he decided the third set would be OEM wheels. So I took that to be a valuable lesson from both a strength and availability standpoint.

I wouldn't count on the OEM as super durable. Several accounts on here where a pothole or debris on the road cause OEM wheel failure. Recently someone ran over a rock that was on the road and it blew a chunk of the casting out on two wheels. Also when reviewers test drove the vehicle at its debut, they hit a pothole and damaged the wheel.

 

[Nickp15]

I wouldn't count on the OEM as super durable. Several accounts on here where a pothole or debris on the road cause OEM wheel failure. Recently someone ran over a rock that was on the road and it blew a chunk of the casting out on two wheels. Also when reviewers test drove the vehicle at its debut, they hit a pothole and damaged the wheel.

My stock rim was badly bent due to a pothole. It was a pretty deep pothole admittedly, at just a bit over 30mph.

Hence why im considering a "stronger" alternative.

 

[optronix]

If a pothole is bad enough, it will bend/break any wheel. There are plenty of examples of forged wheels being severely damaged from potholes- however it would be a higher probably that the wheel could be repaired vs a cast wheel, to include OEM.

If durability is a concern, then another advantage the OEM wheels are going to have is availability. My guess is there are tons of them out there with the sort of unique requirement to replace the existing gray wheels if you opt for the optional bronze wheels. That nuance I think has resulted in a surplus of OEM gray wheels just hanging out in people's sheds/basements/garages... or listed on ebay.

You could probably get an OEM wheel dirt cheap, is what I'm getting at...

 

[bpebler]

One good thing about Apex is you can exchange a damaged wheel & get a full replacement for 50% off the standard price. At least it’s a “better than nothing option”.

Oh, & it helps if they’re actually in stock when you need one. @ZeroGSR

 

[ZeroGSR]

One good thing about Apex is you can exchange a damaged wheel & get a full replacement for 50% off the standard price. At least it’s a “better than nothing option”.

Oh, & it helps if they’re actually in stock when you need one. @ZeroGSR

It's a race to see what comes first, my replacement wheel or my HVI!

Also, Apex mentioned they changed their logo... I hope that's just the center cap and I won't have one mismatched wheel, LOL!

 

[bpebler]

It's a race to see what comes first, my replacement wheel or my HVI!

Also, Apex mentioned they changed their logo... I hope that's just the center cap and I won't have one mismatched wheel, LOL!

here’s a cheers to hope!