Apex ML-10rt

[///Marecki]

I'm good with increased efficiency or better design which leads to a supplier increasing their profit margin. I think what many suppliers do, particularly in China, is the exact opposite. Their approach is "lets see how bad we can f$$k this up and have people still buy it".

Thats exactly what they're doing as an outsourced agent. Whereas the contracting party is looking for the best quality part for the least possible cost. This is observable in every single business interaction of this type. Its not a bug, its a feature.

[fattycharged]

fattycharged Where did you order from? System?

I'll update once received. Till then, I'm not vouching for or funneling business to anyone.
🤙🏼


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nate047]

Let me qualify by saying this post really has nothing to do with rims in particular. However I'm amused to observe the endless perpetuation of the "China = poor quality" sterotype.

Generally speaking on manufacturing, the last time this was true was probably in the 00's. The fact is China is a more technologically advanced county than the United States at this point. I urge anyone to go and see for themselves, trust me you would be left dumbfounded. Their economic model supports efficiency and scale. The only American producers you will find these days that can claim superior quality are niche-y craftsman operations and obviously those are a whole different category. Scaling a large manufacturing operation is another beast entirely.

It's one thing if you don't want to support it with your dollar because it comes from an adversarial country, but if you think it's inherently worse because it is Chinese you are absolutely kidding yourself. American production shirks all the same. It is a race to the bottom in materials and everything else.

We are talking about wheels specifically here though, more specifically, forged wheels that are made in Japan vs China/Taiwan. I visited one of the Rays foundries in back when I worked at Super Street, you can't sit there and tell me that Apex has the same kind of in person oversight and control of their contracted foundries in China/Taiwan, sorry but no, they just literally do not. Which is why their stuff is cheaper. Apex has a time and place, just like Titan7 or BimmerWorld. Those are all second tier forged wheels, fine for a lot of stuff but lacking in certain areas.

[usdmej]

But going back to the topic of the ML-10s, kinda wish they were a little lighter given that they're forged.

That's what happens when you try to make a one piece wheel look like a 3 piece wheel, ends up being a non optimized structure

The volk 21a is comparatively heavier than the te37 and ce28s too

[tnord]

Apex's are also the only wheel I've ever needed to replace 🤣

Cracked spokes were enough for me to decide Apex wheels are not for me.

to be fair, the (nurburgring) apex guys considered the e88s a wear item because of cracking.

I have had a couple sets of apex wheels, and still use the EC7 on the M. I think of them as a mid-level wheel with really good size options, that's all. I would love to get a set of period BBS wheels, and have done some brief searching, but I haven't been able to find what they offered in the late 90s/2000s that I want to go on a hunt for.

[AbbeyRoad]

I purchase Chinese wheels all day for my trucks (see: Wheel Pros, Method, etc). So long as they're load rated properly and have minimal runout, I'm all for $275/wheel 17s matched w/ 37s.

Now when it comes to sports car wheels, I'm unabashedly a brand snob. Even in BBS land, I have to have the BBS FI-R Evos. Before Evos, the FI-Rs even if I don't think they look the best, I buy them because it's BBS Japan's best engineering effort borne out of top shelf motorsport R&D peerless in the wheel industry.

Internet binary brain cell types think lighter weight = always better. I wish there was a better way for consumers like us to assess wheels armed w/ additional data points like stiffness, deflection under load, durability, metallurgy, etc. For this very lack of information, I stick with brands that involve themselves, at varying levels, in sanctioned motorsport (e.g. IMSA, Int'l GT, Le Mans, F1, NASCAR, FIA WEC, etc).

Sure my Angeles Crest shenanigans barely necessitate having 215 cast pizza cutters, but damn it's nice to have nice things. Here are wheel brands I've trusted with my wallet:

BBS Japan (FIR Evo, FIRs, BBS LMs, RGRs) - Very BMW friendly
Forgeline (all USA parts including the 6061 T6 out of Orange County, CA)
Fikse (very in with air cooled 911 crowd, also all North America sourced parts, formerly out of Kent, WA now in Vancouver, BC)
Work Wheels (too bad mostly cast as their Work Brombachers are as good looking as BBS LMs)
OZ (faded over time)

Good, mature discussion here. Keep it going!

[Nate047]

Work Wheels (too bad mostly cast as their Work Brombachers are as good looking as BBS LMs)

I'm also a big fan of the Meister M1. Stepped lip, reverse mount, an often slept on choice IMO. It's also nice that you can spec them to order them from Work if you don't mind waiting a while lol.

[fattycharged]

Fikse wheels have always been a winner, the FM10 looks so good with that hidden hardware

For the "trucks" I always find my way back to Toyota RockWarriors in 17", even though the EvoCorse are a great option, I love that forged OE wheel...even though I've managed to crack two of them

[x Spades x]

I just saw the Apexs for the first time yesterday on an F80 M3, while picking my X5M up at the shop... those wheel look GOOD AF in person. It needs to be a couple shades more yellow, but they are VERY attractive in person!

[AbbeyRoad]

Fikse wheels have always been a winner, the FM10 looks so good with that hidden hardware

For the "trucks" I always find my way back to Toyota RockWarriors in 17", even though the EvoCorse are a great option, I love that forged OE wheel...even though I've managed to crack two of them

Profil 10s - so well made.

[DJAM3]

Profil 10s - so well made.

Concur....I thought about switching to E88s or even the ML-10 before the production pictures and specs came out but I'm pretty satisfied with the Profil-10s

[AbbeyRoad]

Concur....I thought about switching to E88s or even the ML-10 before the production pictures and specs came out but I'm pretty satisfied with the Profil-10s

I just wish Brant would stop charging an arm and leg for cerakote. Also extra charge to paint the inner barrel same black color. $10k for my set.

I can’t stand the convex e88 spokes. Too old school for me.

[SQ13]

$10k for E88s is crazy, so I might have to settle for ML-10s when the GT3 arrives. I was sold on the design when I saw this GT3 last weekend.



Also, I’ve been told that the wheels linked below are the ML-10s without the Apex branding.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/detail_1601284322987.html

[DJAM3]

I wouldn't doubt it. Several companies came out with very similar designs at the same time.

[Nate047]

Manufacturers over there will literally counterfeit their own stuff, like make tiny or even no changes at all and sell it off cheaper. There’s little to no accountability for a 3rd party factory in a place like China/Taiwan.