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  View original topic: EMPI wheels, any good?
earthquake Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:17 pm

I hate to say this but some of the new EMPI wheels look pretty good, has any body seen or used them? I would like to use a set of there "Dish" model on my dune buggy, I would hate to order a set and find out there junk. I have a set of older 8 spoke EMPI wheels and there ok except one of them has tight holes where the lug wrench goes in, most standard 4 way lug wrenches wont fit it with out grinding it down or you have to use a deep socket to get the wheel off. Thanks for any help.

Casey

flyinglow94 Fri Aug 12, 2011 3:45 pm

Unless the 8 spokes are early 80's and are 2 piece they are more than likely an Eagle alloy model. I believe the EMPI company today uses Eagle to make there new wheels also.

bugnut68 Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:00 pm

flyinglow94 wrote: Unless the 8 spokes are early 80's and are 2 piece they are more than likely an Eagle alloy model. I believe the EMPI company today uses Eagle to make there new wheels also.

Eagle made their wheels stateside, as I recall... I don't even know if they're around or still making VW aftermarket wheels anymore. EMPI's wheels are made by their Chinese factories.

slalombuggy Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:10 pm

My buddy Todd has sold a lot of Empi wheels in the last couple of wheels, around 15 sets all sorts of styles, seem to be good wheels.

brad

jsturtlebuggy Fri Aug 12, 2011 6:25 pm

I did hear about a set of their BRM wheels that the stud holes were drilled offset. Looked like a clown car driving down the road with it bobbing up and down.

jbbugs Fri Aug 12, 2011 7:20 pm

I've sold and installed a bunch of them. I haven't seen any problems as of yet. Hard to find a better wheel for the price. Excellant Quality.

casamagana Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:06 pm

bugnut68 wrote: flyinglow94 wrote: Unless the 8 spokes are early 80's and are 2 piece they are more than likely an Eagle alloy model. I believe the EMPI company today uses Eagle to make there new wheels also.

Eagle made their wheels stateside, as I recall... I don't even know if they're around or still making VW aftermarket wheels anymore. EMPI's wheels are made by their Chinese factories.

Looks like Eagle still makes VW wheels.

http://aewheel.com/wheels.cfm?id=5

[email protected] Fri Aug 12, 2011 9:46 pm

casamagana wrote: bugnut68 wrote: flyinglow94 wrote: Unless the 8 spokes are early 80's and are 2 piece they are more than likely an Eagle alloy model. I believe the EMPI company today uses Eagle to make there new wheels also.

Eagle made their wheels stateside, as I recall... I don't even know if they're around or still making VW aftermarket wheels anymore. EMPI's wheels are made by their Chinese factories.

Looks like Eagle still makes VW wheels.

http://aewheel.com/wheels.cfm?id=5

Empi has their own line of wheels, and are separate from Eagle. Eagle's wheels use a snap in center cap on the 8/5 Spokes, were the Empi Wheels use a bolt on cap, like their earlier versions. Like jbbugs mentioned, every set of Empi's Wheels I have seen have been of excellent quality. You can always wait for Bergs to list another set of their NOS Mag BRM's, and you may only have to spend $10,000 for them this time.

jsturtlebuggy Sat Aug 13, 2011 7:28 am

I am using Flat4 BRM wheels

BerylGreen63 Sat Aug 13, 2011 12:33 pm

I have a set of empi BRMs on my 63 the fit and finish is really nice, next to a flat four BRM there are some obvious differences i havnt compared to a original BRM. Im not sure if the "dish" wheels come with a coating on them like mine did but it makes cleaning them super easy.

ovalshark Sat Sep 10, 2011 3:24 pm

Any comments on the chrome 5 spokes?

RicFlat4 Mon Oct 10, 2011 5:02 pm

I just saw the Empi gloss & matte black BRMs at Bugformance in Sacramento (great local shop!) today. I must say... they are, aesthetically, a high quality wheel. The machining, fit & finish are very, very nice. No where on the wheel does it indicate country of origina (where manufactured) - usually, if from China or Taiwan, a sticker affixed & blatantly ruins the perception of a quality wheel.

No sir... these were sans Made in China/Taiwan R.O.C. decal & were very nice looking. Also, the price ($99) includes center cap & stem.

I like 'em. Can anyone share a side-by-side comparison of the EMPI BRMs to the ones from Flat-4?

Rick

ovalshark Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:08 pm

I would also like to hear a side by side comparison. I see a difference in the polished part on the BRM's, but, I don't which wheels are what brand. I like the brighter higher polished ones whatever brand they may be.

66brm Mon Oct 10, 2011 9:10 pm

Higher polish is empi, machined finish is Flat4

ovalshark Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:59 am

Thanks 66brm!



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