GOLFMK8
GOLFMK7
GOLFMK6
GOLFMKV

Enkei Raijin Review: Poor Quality Finish

S

soldier0829

Ready to race!
I have the same wheels although I only use them with my Star Specs on track and driving to and from track days. I also noticed the paint was a little "soft" and they are prone to chipping if you are not careful. Can't really comment on how they hold up as I use the Detroits on the street (NY potholes).
 
2PointSLO

2PointSLO

Go Kart Champion
I used to work for Enkei(Enkei Florida, Jacksonville), they have a paint facility next door to the manufacturing plant and there have been times when there was a bad batch of painted wheels and they were recalled. Unfortunately these wheels are the MAT wheels and are manufactured/painted in Japan. I'm still friends with old coworkers that are there and told them to let me know if there was any kind of recall on this particular wheel. Sucks that this happened. Kudos for TR with helping you out!!!
 
AXO

AXO

Go Kart Champion
I was worried about chipping when I purchased my VMRs. I have been lucky this far, I have had them installed since 7/2/12 and put a little over 2,000 miles and knock on wood no paint chipping.

I would also recommend powder coating if Enkei does not take care of you....
 
Tk_mkv1

Tk_mkv1

Go Kart Champion
i am planning on getting those rims on my gti as soon as i get the money, after reading this thread I'm gonna powercoat mine when ill have em installed so same thing wouldn't happen to me.

also is there any differences on the gti's ride compared to the autobahn rims?
 
veedoubleme

veedoubleme

Go Kart Champion
Tkulhanc134 said:
i am planning on getting those rims on my gti as soon as i get the money, after reading this thread I'm gonna powercoat mine when ill have em installed so same thing wouldn't happen to me.

also is there any differences on the gti's ride compared to the autobahn rims?
Click to expand...

I'd think about saving the money on powder coating looking at the Neuspeed RSe12's, which are the same design, but lighter and are specifically designed for our car, so they take an OEM VW center cap, lug bolts, and don't require centering rings. If I did it over, I'd get those.

Regarding the ride, it's very tough for me to comment because I got them in the spring after I'd been riding on 16" snow tires for 6 months.
 
M

mully

Ready to race!
what road could you have been on that was 30 miles of gravel? Why would you do that in the first place?
 
PeeLo801

PeeLo801

Ready to race!
For comparison's sake, I had my TSW Nurburgrings mounted on 8/24 and went on an 800-mile long road trip since. So 1k+ miles later they still look pristine with no signs of rock chips. Mine are gunmetal with machined face so I don't know if that makes any difference. Still, even after subjecting my wheels to that kind of travel, I wouldn't accept that many rock chips as something normal that comes along with the territory. I hope enkei offers a fair resolution to this.
 
Tk_mkv1

Tk_mkv1

Go Kart Champion
veedoubleme said:
I'd think about saving the money on powder coating looking at the Neuspeed RSe12's, which are the same design, but lighter and are specifically designed for our car, so they take an OEM VW center cap, lug bolts, and don't require centering rings. If I did it over, I'd get those.

Regarding the ride, it's very tough for me to comment because I got them in the spring after I'd been riding on 16" snow tires for 6 months.
Click to expand...

ill ad the neuspeeds as one of my choices and leave the enkei as my 2nd bc they look better in my opinion...im the ride for those rims feel almost the same my current ones...i appreciate the advise for neuspeeds!
 
veedoubleme

veedoubleme

Go Kart Champion
mully said:
what road could you have been on that was 30 miles of gravel? Why would you do that in the first place?
Click to expand...

15 miles in and 15 miles back out. I had no choice... it was the only way to get to the remote canoe landing I was headed for:



And I'd do it all over again to get that deep into the wilderness and that far from the city to sit out at night in complete silence and see a sky like this:



Yes, both of those photos were taken on the weekend that the wheels went to shit. I honestly thought that a set of supposed quality wheels could handle two 15 mile trips of gravel road at 30 mph or less. The landing was remote, but the gravel road was fine. It wasn't minimum maintenance or something — it was just your average gravel road. :thumbdown:
 
Bodhi

Bodhi

Go Kart Champion
veedoubleme said:
I'd think about saving the money on powder coating looking at the Neuspeed RSe12's, which are the same design, but lighter and are specifically designed for our car, so they take an OEM VW center cap, lug bolts, and don't require centering rings. If I did it over, I'd get those.

Regarding the ride, it's very tough for me to comment because I got them in the spring after I'd been riding on 16" snow tires for 6 months.
Click to expand...

http://www.golfmk6.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44582
 
veedoubleme

veedoubleme

Go Kart Champion
To solve the problem of the shitty quality finish on these wheels, I researched local powder coat and paint options. There are a lot of options locally, and they are quite affordable. The best deal I found is around $120 total (for all 4 wheels) for chemically stripping of the paint and then powdercoating with my choice of color.

This is by far the cheapest option, so that's the plan. This winter I'll have the wheels redone in a durable finish while I have my winter whees/tires on.

If you want to avoid this problem, research other wheels.

RacingManiac said:
Those are GREAT pictures!
Click to expand...

Thanks!
 
mkvince

mkvince

Go Kart Champion
I was thinking of getting these wheels, but one thing that is holding me back is that I'm not a fan of wheels with "painted" finish. Painted wheels tend to chip easily compare to machine polished and powercoated wheels.

I have Enkei GTC01 for a while now, and they hold up pretty well. I drove on roads with rocks and gravels multiples times.
 
T

TRUboost

Go Kart Champion
veedoubleme said:
To solve the problem of the shitty quality finish on these wheels, I researched local powder coat and paint options. There are a lot of options locally, and they are quite affordable. The best deal I found is around $120 total (for all 4 wheels) for chemically stripping of the paint and then powdercoating with my choice of color.

This is by far the cheapest option, so that's the plan. This winter I'll have the wheels redone in a durable finish while I have my winter whees/tires on.

If you want to avoid this problem, research other wheels.



Thanks!
Click to expand...

Keep in mind that powder coating voids Enkei's warranty due to the heating process they go through during the coating process.

That being said I have the same wheels in black and if they chip I will be getting them powder coated for sure.

slackin via taptalk
 
SwiftGTI

SwiftGTI

Go Kart Champion
PeeLo801 said:
For comparison's sake, I had my TSW Nurburgrings mounted on 8/24 and went on an 800-mile long road trip since. So 1k+ miles later they still look pristine with no signs of rock chips. Mine are gunmetal with machined face so I don't know if that makes any difference.
Click to expand...

FWIW, same with my Nurburgrings after 12,000 miles. They still look nearly new. Not sure chipping is normal, although I've never driven more than a mile on gravel roads either.

veedoubleme said:
And I'd do it all over again to get that deep into the wilderness and that far from the city to sit out at night in complete silence and see a sky like this:

Click to expand...

That shot is gorgeous :clap:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top