Industry Insider: A Look at the Technology Behind RAYS Wheels

Industry Insider:  A Look at the Technology Behind RAYS Wheels

by Mike Kojima

It's no secret that the staff of MotoIQ is really into Rays Volk brand of wheels. You will find Volks on nearly all of our racing projects and most of our personal street cars. No, it's not because we get an endless supply of sponsored Volks, we pay for our own. It's not because we are fans of the styling either, although we do like it. It's not because we are fashion snobs that want the latest high status wheels on our cars either. In typical MotoIQ fashion, we really value function over form. We like Volks due to their performance.

An outside view of Rays Japanese manufacturing plant, source of some of the highest tech wheels made in the world.

The Rahal Letterman ALMS BMW.

We feel that Volk provides a level of quality and engineering that is unmatched in the world of aftermarket wheels. Volk wheels are a brand of Rays, their parent company. Rays is a Japanese manufacturer that specializes in wheel production. Rays, unlike most aftermarket wheel companies, produces wheels that can easily meet the stringent standards of OEM and performance based customers in the most elite forms of Motorsports such as Formula 1, Super GT, ALMS, BTCC, WTCC, SCCA World Challenge, Grand Am and Pro Drifting.  Rays has been chosen to manufacture for high end OEM vehicles like the Nissan GTR and 370Z, as well as the OEM's performance divisions like NISMO, Mugen, TRD, Ralliart and STi.  It's no coincidence that you will find so many cars, features and project cars on Rays wheels here on MotoIQ.

Dai Yoshihara

Coming from a Motorsports and OEM engineering background and having worked with Rays directly on many OEM projects, I have had a direct insider's technical view of their engineering and quality prowess. OEM engineering standards are very high, everything is considered from a wheel's weight to its very long term durability both for mechanical strength and weatherability.

An example of this is Rays' ISO 9000 certification. ISO 9000 is an international standard of quality that looks at everything in a parts manufacturing process, from design to how warranty data is used as feedback to improve the parts produced. Becoming an ISO 9000 certified company is difficult, a culture of continuous improvement and commitment to quality must be ingrained in top management's decision making process and conformance to the standards are verified by an independent outside source. Perhaps this internal culture of quality and excellence is what gives Rays the extra edge.

 Some of Rays F1 wheels and the forged Magnesium centerlock wheels from the Rahal Letterman ALMS BMW.