2024 AodHan Wheels Review: Are They Any Good?
There is definitely no shortage of supply when it comes to cheap wheels these days, with new brands popping up left right and center.
AodHan is one of these brands that has entered the wheel market in the last couple of years and is offering some very cheap wheel options that can seem very appealing.
In this post, I’m going to go over AodHan wheels, who they are, their wheel options and if you should buy them.
About AodHan
AodHan was founded in 2016 and is owned by a company called A Spec Wheels, an importer and seller of cheap wheels under various brands including XXR. They are based in Haywood, California.
The AodHan name is actually a traditional Celtic boy’s name that means “little fire” in Gaelic (Irish) and while the company claims it is pronounced “odd-han”, the actual name is pronounced closer to “aye-dawn”. I’m not sure why AodHan the company is using a different pronunciation, maybe they don’t actually know how it’s supposed to be pronounced. To be honest I find it a little amusing.
AodHan claims that it is their mission is to produce affordable wheels without sacrificing on quality. Let’s find out how true that is.
AodHan Wheel Options
AodHan make a series of different wheel options. They offer a wide range of PCDs and wheel sizes as well as a number of finishes including the popular Tiffany Blue as well as a mirror gold on many of their wheels. They also offer custom PCD drilling and powder coating if you want something really specific.
Let’s take a look at their wheel lines in more detail.
AH Series
The AH Series wheels were AodHan’s first line of wheels and basically consists solely of knock off rep wheels that are based on popular wheels designs such as BBS, Volk and Work, but are cast one piece wheels with fake bolts. They even make reps of cheaper wheels like Cosmis Racing.
The AH Series are aimed at the “JDM scene” and people looking for wheels that come in wider fitments with deep lips.
They come in a range of sizes from 15×8 all the way up to 19×11, and most of them feature multi PCD patterns (4×100 & 4×114.3 or 5×100 & 5×114.3).
These wheels are very cheap and range from $140-225 per wheel, which means you’ll get a full set for under $1000.
AodHan claims these are “single phase forged”, and I will explain exactly what that is a little bit later on (hint: it’s not really forged at all).
AH Series wheels include:
DS Series
The DS Series are AodHan’s “stance line” of wheels which consist of wider and more aggressive wheels sizes and offsets. They are only available in 18” and 19” inch diameters, with widths ranging from 8.5” up to 11” and a range of 5 stud PCDs.
These are all 1 piece cast wheels which, again, are practically all knock off designs of other wheels and most feature fake bolts. They come in a range of finishes including a mirror gold option for many of the wheels.
DS Series wheels include:
LS Series
The LS Series wheels are designed for more modern cars with big brake setups, particularly catering for the Euro and USDM market.
They are design to be more luxurious and are made using flow forming (which AodHan calls “Flow-Forging” – I will explain why this is not really forging a bit later). This makes these wheels lighter and stronger than their other wheel options, making these a bit more premium.
These wheels feature more flat face concave designs rather than the deep lip designs of the AH and DS series.
The LS Series wheels come in 18-20” diameters and 8.5-10.5” widths, and tend to have higher offsets than the other wheels. They are also available in a number of 5 lug PCD patterns.
LS Series wheels include:
How Are AodHan Wheels Made?
Aodhan claims they use one of two methods to make their wheels – either “Single Phase Forging (SPF)” or “Dual Phase Forging (DPF)”.
Are AodHan Wheels Really Forged?
The short answer is no. AodHan wheels are not really forged. Neither of the methods that they claim to use are actually forging, and none of AodHan’s wheels are actually made using any real forging techniques.
What AodHan use is called flow forming (not “flow forging” as they like to market it as), which has little to do with real forging.
Flow forming is a process where a cast wheel center is made, and then the center is spun at high speed with heat being applied, while pressure discs expand the cast piece into a barrel.
This process is somewhat of a hybrid between casting and forging, and results in a lighter and stronger wheel than regular cast wheels.
However, this is not true forging, and truly forged wheels are stronger and lighter than flow formed wheels, and are usually a lot more expensive due to the complexity of forging.
Personally I think it’s disingenuous for AodHan to try and market their wheels as “forged” when they are not, and this is the reason why they are significantly cheaper (by 3-4x at least) than true forged wheels.
With that said, there is nothing inherently wrong with flow forming, and many of the best wheels brands including BBS and Enkei use this method.
Are AodHan Wheels Good Quality?
Let’s be honest here, AodHan are a cheap wheel brand and with the cheap price comes lower quality, there is no way around it.
While they are not the worst wheels in existence, and many people have used them without problems, there are also numerous reports of them bending, cracking or outright breaking.
I’ve also found reports where people have hit a pothole and bent the wheel, and AodHan wasn’t interested in doing anything despite the fact that the wheels were within the warranty period, and the fact that their warranty claims to cover use under normal conditions, which could be argued to include potholes.
Now, while this issue could be debated, it’s not promising to see a company that doesn’t want to stand behind its products, or at least try a help a little by maybe offering a discount on a replacement wheel, for example. Other wheel companies are more willing to help in circumstances like these.
Basically, be prepared that you are buying cheap wheels that aren’t be best quality, and if something happens you are on your own.
As far as track use goes, I would not trust their wheels for track days or for performance driving.
There is little to no examples of people using them on the track, and their track record on the street doesn’t inspire much confidence either.
There is nothing that says these wheels have been designed for performance, so you are taking a big risk here, and I don’t imagine that AodHan will be interested to hear about it if something does happen at the track.
Another thing to take note of is that there is no mention of where or who actually makes these wheels. So it’s likely that these are just cheap mass produced wheels that AodHan imports and puts their label on (which is exactly what A Spec Wheels does).
Conclusion – Should You Buy AodHan Wheels?
Personally, I would say no.
Nothing about what I have seen from AodHan would make me want to buy their wheels or recommend them – in fact quite the opposite.
Their entire wheel line-up is based on ripped off designs and fake splits, cheap wheels and vague language that’s surprisingly deliberate when it comes to describing their manufacturing methods to make you think they are made using higher quality manufacturing methods than they really are (as I explained with their usage of “flow-forged” wording).
On top of all that, they don’t seem too keen to actually stand behind their products and back them up if something goes wrong.
Overall they are cheap wheels of lower quality that may or may not last for a daily driver, and certainly aren’t a good choice for any performance or track driving.
With the range of other decent low priced wheel options out there such as Enkei or Konig, I don’t see any reason to choose AodHan wheels unless you are dead set on one of their designs (which are copies anyway, and you can probably find from another manufacturer that makes better reps such as ESR Wheels).
However, if you don’t want to listen to me and you want to buy some AodHan wheels anyway, at least don’t overpay for them. Get them here for the best price:
GET AODHAN WHEELS FOR THE BEST PRICE HERE
Cars owned: Mk2 Golf with 1.8T swap, BMW E28 with M30B35 swap, BMW E36 328I Mtech, BMW 750IL, Nissan 300ZX, Honda Civic EF
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I noticed you say aodhan wheels are flow formed
You also said kansei wheels are flow formed
In your article about kansei you strongly recommended them and said they’re strong
In your article about aodhan you strongly said they’re terrible and are prone to breaking.
Is flow forming bad technology? Why are the kansei ones better?
Hey Daniel,
Flow forming is perfectly fine and many good companies like Enkei and Konig make their wheels using it, but it depends on how it’s done. If the casting is poor the quality of the wheel will be poor whether it’s flow formed or not.
Based on my research Kansei don’t have many cases if any of wheels just randomly breaking, despite people using them for track use. The same can’t be said about Aodhan, you can find many instances of their wheels breaking just from street use. This leads me to believe that Kansei wheels are designed and made better.