I am a very big fan of Rays wheels, which have been around in the wheel industry for a very long time. All Rays wheels are made with the one of the highest quality manufacturing process and finishing process available today. Through their extensive use of computer analysis combined with real racing experience, they develop light weight, stylish, and strong wheels.
I was forwarded this article by MotoIQ which goes into the actual process of creating Rays wheels (most Volk), and explains why they are superior to many other wheels on the market today.
While I encourage everyone to read the entire article, I realize many of you are busy, so here is a quick summation of some of the interesting points.
FULL ARTICLE: http://www.motoiq.com/magazine_artic...ys-wheels.aspx
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An outside view of Rays Japanese manufacturing plant, source of some of the highest tech wheels made in the world.
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FEA allows the engineers to pair weight to a minimum and make stronger more durable wheels by being able to predict stress concentrations within the structure of the wheel when load is applied.
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Rays wheels for both OEM and aftermarket applications are built to exacting JWL standards. ... The wheels must pass tests for rotary and radial fatigue...As further proof, Rays has their own internal standard JWL+R where their wheels must exceed the JWL tests by 100% even for their lightest wheels. Ever wonder what sort of testing is done on Volk knockoffs? Probably none with a fake JWL stamp.
After this proof testing Rays does further validation with salt spray, compound accelerated corrosion, paint adhesion and UV degradation testing to ensure the wheel will last under the harshest road conditions.
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The first stage of making a Rays forged wheel is when the blank billet is heated and placed in the first set of dies....It takes several forging steps to get to the wheel's final shape. The metal cannot be moved too far per step or it might fracture.
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In Rays multistage forging process the metal's grain is oriented around the geometry of the wheel. This is superior for strength and fatigue resistance as in the top left example. Other forged wheels only forge the wheels into a very rough shape then do a lot of machining to create the wheel's final shape. The result is interrupted grain as shown on the bottom right. This is vastly inferior for strength and fatigue resistance.
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After the first strike with the forging die you can see the basic shape of a TE37 wheel.
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... Rays uses a proprietary aluminum alloy which is similar to our 6061 aircraft alloy but with additional silica and magnesium. The silica makes the alloy finer grained and the magnesium imparts some toughness. The additional alloying agents increase the tensile strength 18% over regular 6061.
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The Rays forging press squeezes the metal into the first stage die with a force of over 10,000 tons.
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Then the rim section is processed using cold spinning to precisely elongate the rim section to the desired width. ... This is a reason why Rays wheels ring like a bell when you tap them. Sections as thin as 2.3 mm can be produced by this process, thinner than any other manufacturer in the world! Since most of a wheel's inertial force is generated in the rim area, this is the most critical part of the wheel to stay light.
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The finished blank is then solution heat treated and artificially age treated to ... Aluminum has an unusual property where it gains strength as it sits... the finished wheel will be at full strength when brand new. The blank is now fully formed and recognizable as a Volk wheel.
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As a last step the wheels are shotpeened. Shotpeening is blasting the part with small steel balls at high velocities. It imparts compressive stress on the surface of the part which helps prevent cracks from forming on the surface that could propagate into a bigger crack causing failure. To ensure that there are no hidden flaws in the metal, the wheel is subjected to non destructive testing with an Eddy Current tester.
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Stiffer wheels mean that the tire can be held flatter to the road with less static negative camber under cornering load aiding handling. Stronger wheels mean that the wheel can take an impact without ruining it or if the impact is very high... the failure will be less likely to be catastrophic Inexpensive cast wheels or inferior forged wheels tend to crack or shatter under a hard impact.
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If a shiny lip is needed, the final machining stage is diamond cutting to create the look.
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This is also a very good video that sums everything up if you havn't seen it before
