These are a collection of some of the negative experiences people have had with this wheel which are exclusively sold by Tire Rack.

At the very bottom, I've included some posts from Tire Rack representatives that address these problems.

Originally from http://www.miataforum.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/002528.html :

Posted by Wildo, 28 April 2001 on the Miata forum web site:

I'm in total shock. Just barely a week after installing a set of 15x6.5 SSR Competitions (Type-C) with 195/50-15 T1-S tires, I nail a pothole on one of Massachusetts' carefully maintained highways, 495.

I was behind a long line of traffic and didn't see it coming or see anyone ahead of me swerve. Nailed the pot hole this afternoon and thought "what the hell was that?!?!". I quickly checked all the wheels at my first stop, didn't find anything and figured "these wheels really ARE strong!".

Well, I was wrong. While detailing the car later this afternoon I found:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1067250&a=12746194

Click on any of the preview pictures below to view a larger image

I'm just irked and hope this isn't a sign of things to come. The impact felt strong to me, but I've had worse in other cars and have never ever bent a rim (except a piece of crap VW stamped steel wheel).

I'm not sure if it can be fixed or not, and frankly I'm not sure I want to be riding on a fixed wheel and will just buy a replacement. Funny how when some of my co-workers were drooling over the beauty of the wheels, one of them asked me if I purchased a fifth to hang on my office. I guess I did.

Anyone else bend an SSR? Possible I got a defective one?

- Will

Posted by FlySi, 28 April 2001 on the ClubSI forum web site:

the marks on it are from finger prints of me rubbing it in disbelief

Click on any of the preview pictures below to view a larger image

i hit no noticable pot hole or anything i need to know what i should to. these rims are considered high end JDM tuner rims... there forged for fuck sake. they shouldnt dent like body work on the car. the tire has no visible scuff or anything. u think it would put a hell of a bulge in the tire to dent a forged rim. BTW they have been on the car 2 days this is me when i got outa my car after work and noticed it...

Posted by BENZMX5, 5 February 2003 on the Miataforum.com web site:

Click on the preview picture below to view a larger image

in october i got some SSR comp rims. 16x7. i asked a ton of people if these rims would hold up on my daily driver. they all said the same thing. sure the they should be fine. well for the most part they hold up, even on some pot hole ridden San Diego streets. but one pot hole got me. it was late and i didnt see it and BANG..BANG. Left side both rims. the front rim is now unable to be balanced. and the rear has a bend in the lip. i will post pics here http//:miata.cardomain.com/id/benzmx5 the pictures really dont show the damage you have to see it moving or ride in the car. anyway i need to find out if they can be fixed or if SSR covers anything like that. OR should i sue the city?

Posted by gtgray, 5 February 2003 on the Miataforum.com web site:

6 of 16x7 bent before I woke up and gave up. My Heliums are doing fine thank you. TR nice guys that they are, on the 6th one they sold me they discounted it about 50 bucks. As far as I am concerned unless you have excellent roads and drive like a grandma SSR Comps are not appropriate for street use. TR may have excellent service in terms of shipping but the SSR Comps should be recalled and TR should offer refunds to everybody who ever spent a dime on them. The stack of 6 look really nice and pretty in my garage. I can get them straightened for $110 a pop. I will bet they are even more durable after being repaired....sheesh!

Hi Folks,

Owners of SSR Comps should re-torque their lugs! A couple of owners have noticed that when these wheels are new the lugs work themselves loose. This does not appear to be a widespread problem but has happened to more than one knowledgeable owner while the wheels are new. My own Comps, now well used, don't seem to have this issue.

Brian Goodwin
Good-Win Racing
http://www.good-win-racing.com
94 Aerodyne & 99 Sport Package

Posted by Vandeda, 31 May 2001 on the Miataforum web site:

Speaking of quality issues. For rim that's so high quality and so strong (actually, I the words "very strong" have been used by a well known person), the paint quality does leave a lot to be desired and one of my rims is definitely out-of-round or has a bent lip. The area in question spans 2 spokes (it spans from approximately where "505 kg" is printed to approximately the valve stem) ... that's about 1/3 the circumference of the rim!!! The biggest bump that I've hit is barely noticeable in my friends '96 Ford Ranger. All other bumps are only noticeable in his truck by the tire slap. In other words, no rim should bend on these bumps I've hit (unless you forgot to install the tires, but I hope you'd notice the sparks). Other quality issues I've had include the following:

1) The finish on the first set of center caps sucked big time. Dust in the clearcoat, the metal was beat up (look like the caps were mishandled before being clearcoated), on one the "SSR" pattern was improperly cut, and all had paint overspray

2) Replacement center caps better. But still slightly beat up, a little dust, and a little paint overspray. Not noticeable from a distance (unlike the first set of center caps), but still of marginal quality for a $20 center cap ($20 each may I add).

3) The rubber o-ring on the center cap pulled off paint from my rim!!! I had to pull off the center caps to get my rims balanced. Pulling the center caps off also pulled off paint where the o-ring seated. WTF!?!?! Luckily you can't see it with the center cap installed, but I do worry now about the paint peeling.

4) The clearcoat on the machined lip seems very soft. More dings than my 15k mile old OEM rims. The OEM rims saw TWO Northeast winters!!! Now that's a harsh life.

5) The valves were poorly assembled. On two valves, the valve stems were loose. I noticed when I installed the rims/tires on the car. I was adjusting the tire pressure to make sure they were where I wanted (since I didn't trust the people where I got the tires installed) and noticed that air kept leaking on two of them. That's when I noticed the valve stem flopping around. Tightned them down and they've been OK.

Granted, most of these are cosmetic flaws, and ones that you really can't see (or can't see at all). But for $1200, I would expect more, a LOT more for a rim that's supposed to be so high quality and so strong. I could have gotten a new set of OEM rims for $532 for a set of 4 ... that's less than 2 SSR Comps. And my OEM rims have been much more durable and seem to be stronger too. All my OEM rims are still round, and they've seen a MUCH harsher life (Northeast winters and much worse bumps).

Where did my $1200 go? I'm still trying to figure that one out ... well, I'm really trying to forget it actually. This is giving me a headache ...

Dan

Posted by altiain , 29 April 2003 on the Miataforum web site:

Bruce, it would be nice to hear a response from you on this issue. There are a number of us on here who are familiar with gtgray's story, and are also aware that it isn't the only one out there

Yes, any wheel will bend if you hit a big enough object. But I certainly don't remember reading a bunch of threads about bent Heliums, or bent Circuit 8s, both wheels that are in much more common usage around here than SSRs.

So what is the story from Tire Rack? Just how many complaints did you get, and how many wheels were replaced?

Iain

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Posted by Bruce@TireRack , 29 April 2003:

After reviewing our sales history for this specific wheel part number we found that only 1.4% of the wheels sold were sold as replacements or single wheels. Five were purchased by shops that had no history of purchasing a set. Two of these wheels were purchased specifically for wheels the shop damaged while servicing the wheels or tires. We do not have any notations on the other three. Three were purchased as wheels and tires by customers who had purchased a wheel and tire package six, eight, and eleven months earlier. In these cases the customer did not explain the reason for the new purchase so our feeling is that they were impacts that the customer felt were severe enough that they did not ask for assistance. An impact that damages a wheel is normally very severe or was made by contact with a sharp edge. We replaced one wheel at no charge due to a problem with the finish. The few remaining wheels were wheels without specific further comment on the cause.

The sales dates on the replacement wheels is spread evenly over the past 3 years we have been carrying these wheels as are the original purchases that we have records for.

Wheels used with low profile tires can be bent. The SSR wheels are produced using a very advanced process used to make many industrial parts that require light weight and strength including many uses in the airline industry. We have full confidence in the engineering, production, and quality control expertise of SSR. SSR has not changed the design or production process for this wheel. Many customers have put it through very severe use on the track and in street use and had great experiences with these wheels.

We have searched this forum for reports of bent SSRs. There are a very few. We do find several repeat posts from a few forum members. We found several posts asking about bending SSR with some follow ups saying "I've heard of problems" with very few "I had a problem my self." A few who did have problems stated that they hit a large pot hole. While it is understandable that a large pot hole will damage a wheel, a shallow, sharp edged pothole can be just as damaging. Hitting a the sharp edge of a pothole at a speed of even 30 mph can put thousands of pounds of force in a 1/2" square area. This can damage any wheel. Most of the follow ups that have been speaking of their own personal experience, instead relating information from a third party, is very positive.

If we found true quality problems with SSR wheels we would not be offering them to our customers. We feel they are a great product in both style and quality.

Bruce@tirerack.com

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Posted by Tim Joines, The Tire Rack, 01 May 2003:

I understand the concerns posted here regarding the SSR competition if you look at only the number of posts regarding this wheel. When we looked at the detail, as Bruce and I did with the specific part # that gtgary was speaking of, and the engineering work from SSR we do not find there is a problem with the wheel. The 1.4 % is the total of singles sold, not all were replaced from being bent. As stated in Bruce's post there were understandable reasons for many of the damages reported, such as impacts with significant road hazards or mounting machine damage by a shop. We don't have the specific reason for every replaced wheel. The number of replacement wheels is consistent with what we see in any brand wheel. We work only with manufacturers with whom we have full confidence in their design and production expertise. All of the wheels we sell meet or exceed either the Japanese (JWL/via) or German (tuv) testing authority standards. They exceed US DOT standards by a considerable margin. The Tire Rack representative responsible for working with wheel manufacturers came to us after 14 years with BBS in both their racing and street wheel programs. He has considerable experience in wheel design and manufacturing techniques. We would not accept product from a manufacturer if we were not confident in their design and manufacturing capabilities.

SSR does perform destructive testing on random production samples to ensure consistent high quality. They X-Ray test every wheel they produce to check for hidden structural problems. The material for the wheel is delivered to the mold as a cylindrical billet of aluminum alloy. All billets are made from a precise alloy formed in a specific process that aligns the material in a spiral pattern. The weight of the billet is specific to the wheel being formed. The alloy is heated to a specific temperature and forged to the basic wheel shape. SSR then machines the wheel to specific applications. They optimize the machining so that they wheel meets the load requirements of the vehicle using the least amount of material. The wheel for the Miata is rated at 500kg. We have found that in general the demands for lightweight, strong wheels in the Japanese market are much greater than in the US and the SSR wheels meet the Japanese market demands well. We have found that SSR does as much if not more specific vehicle application design work as any wheel manufacturer we represent.

As stated earlier there are very few posts directly from customers who have had personal experience with bent wheels. There are a number of the negative posts that are either repetitions of the same complaint or statements from a third party. In all of the posts there are posts from customers who have the SSR wheels on their cars and are very happy with them.

We do not, as a rule, discuss specific issues with customers in a public forum. We work with the individuals directly, as we did with both gtgray and Todd, to try to come to an acceptable resolution. I apologize if I misunderstood that gtgray was looking for us to contact him directly. I felt that he was using this forum, as he has the right to do, to express his displeasure that we were unable to come to an acceptable arrangement. Unfortunately I do not feel that I can provide enough information to alleviate everyoneıs concern. If you are unhappy with us to the point that you are criticizing the style of our posts or directly accuse us of lying I don't feel I will be able to change your feelings about us.

We do work to try to assist all customers with such concerns. Unfortunately we are not always able to come to an acceptable solution. If that is the case then the person can post on this or any forum their displeasure. We do support this board and many others financially so that anyone has the opportunity to post information they feel will be pertinent to others decisions. We don't lock the few negative threads or ask site owners to block posters if they have negative comments about us. If you review the posts regarding The Tire Rack you will see numerous unique posts from customers who have been happy with our service.

As with any product you purchase each individual must make his or her own decision on the company and product you choose. I feel we have shown the overall commitment to and positive results from customers to earn at least a ³look² from people interested in the products we offer.

I apologize for the length of this post. I have been with The Tire Rack for 15 years. I am passionate in my belief that we do our best to provide top level product, service, and advise to our customers and potential customers. I know of no other tire and wheel store that devotes the resources in training and development that we do. All of our representatives have either several years of experience helping customers, a college degree, or both. All of our reps go through 6 weeks of classroom training before they talk to any customers. All of our reps go through approximately 80 hours a year of follow up product training. We have invested in a test vehicles (3 light trucks and 3 performance sedans or coupes) since 1994 so that when you call you can talk to someone who has used the products on which they are advising. We have a dedicated test track so that we can perform limit testing in both wet and dry conditions. We also have a 7-mile route on public roads for real world testing. We perform instrumented tests for objective results and also take a subjective survey of specific characteristics. For 2003 and 2004 we are using four BMW 330cis. We added the fourth vehicle that will remain stock so that we can have a better base line for comparison from test to test. I would challenge anyone to find another tire retailer who invests as much time and resources in educating their representatives who assist customers. You can read more about our commitment to product knowledge at: http://www.tirerack.com/about/whytirerack.html

Please donıt see any of my post as a personal attack on anyone posting here. People who are passionate about their hobby or profession disagree at times. I apologize if I have unintentionally offended anyone. I only offer this as a (long) explanation of the commitment The Tire Rack has made to our customers and the auto enthusiast community.

Feel free to contact me directly if you have questions or concerns.

Tim Joines
Sales Manager
The Tire Rack
Tjoines@tirerack.com
1-800-428-8355 Ext 303

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Posted by Tim Joines, The Tire Rack, 01 May 2003:

Here is the full sentence that Eagle Al did not include: ³I understand the concerns posted here regarding the SSR competition if you look at only the number of posts regarding this wheel.² I go on to explain why we feel this is not a valid concern.

The 6 Wheels were not from the same production run of wheels. The wheels had also been in production and use in Japan before we started offering them in 2000. The first customers to receive wheels in the US were not among the first to receive the wheels. As we stated the very few wheels sold as replacements were for wheels bought throughout the entire time we have offered the wheels. They were from several different production runs. Our inventory system is very sophisticated and we do ship the oldest wheels out first. (FIFO for the accountants in the group) SSR has not made any changes to their production line or to the wheel design. It is odd and unfortunate that gtgary bent 6 wheels. His experience is the exception. The SSRs were on the car for 19 months per another post. Not as long as we would hope but non-the less they covered thousands of miles exposing them to thousands of road hazards.

As I said, we are confident that the wheels have been and are still well engineered and produced. If we felt there was a defect in the product we would not offer the wheels and would have sent our inventory and any suspect wheels back to SSR. One person's unfortunate experience does not signify a problem with a design. When we look at the overall experience our customers and we have had with these wheels they are at least as good as the other brands we offer.

Re-reading this I see I am repeating my self. I apologize.

There are some I will not convince. I don't think some who doubt our integrity and honesty would believe even an engineering report from the manufacturer. I am going to stop trying before I sound too negative. I am a consumer also. I understand that there are companies who donıt deal fairly with customers and so there is often a natural mist trust. I feel the posts that Bruce and I show more willingness to discuss the situation than most companies would. We are not trying to hide or cover up a problem. We simply donıt feel the overall facts point to a problem.

Tim Joines
Sales Manager
The Tire Rack
Tjoines@tirerack.com
1-800-428-8355 Ext 303