Who are Aodhan Wheels?

Today we’re talking all about Aodhan. The first questions that come up will be: who are they and what do they make? It’s hard to find info on these guys, they’re not Volk Racing, BBS, or another brand with an expansive motorsports lineage. Nevertheless, we dug up some juicy details.

Aodhan is a division of a large wheel and tire retailer that has been selling on eBay for years. We’re talking back in the day before it was a proxy bid service, when you could snipe something with 2 seconds left to go… We won’t expose Aodhan’s parent company because we don’t know if they wanna share that info.

At some point, this retailer identified a gap in the market that they could fill. Instead of going to current manufacturers and saying ‘How about you make X, Y, and Z’, they seized the opportunity.

Who are their products for?

They make affordable wheels for cars in the sport compact, sport performance, muscle, and even entry-level luxury car markets. They are competitively priced - around $800 gets you a set of 17’s while $1300 will get a larger size like 20’s. Aodhan fills the niche for peoples’ first set of wheels or daily driver/beater wheels.

They focus on price while striving to maintain quality. At this price point, most options will be cast - cost effective to produce, but strength or weight will suffer. There isn’t really a way to get around this, pick 2/3: price, strength, weight. To make something a bit higher end, they recently started dabbling in flow-formed offerings, more on this later.

Before getting too deep into their product offerings, let’s address the elephant in the room. Yes, some of their designs are reps, we can’t deny this. For Example, the DS02 looks a lot like the WORK CR2P. This doesn’t mean that all of their designs are clones, in fact, most aren’t. Fake hardware for a ‘3 piece look’ doesn’t make a wheel a rep; neither does using a typical spoke configuration. After all, no one owns the design of a 5-spoke wheel, if they did, everyone would be copying WORK.

A true “rep” is a 1-to-1 copy. Aodhan has 4 or 5 designs that could be called a rep, the rest being their own original designs. The issue is that Aodhan now carries the stigma of being a ‘rep’ brand. You can enjoy good-looking, budget-conscious wheels, but maybe keep them off social media, else you’ll have someone commenting ‘ I would never run reps!’ (meanwhile they don’t even own a car).

What are their product lineups? And what’s the difference between them

They have three lines of products: AFF, DS, and AH.

AFF Series

We mentioned this newish flow-formed line. No one knows what the name means, but it probably spells out Aodhan Flow Forged. As is implied, they are flow-formed, or what they call single-phase forging. A lot of weight comes from the inner barrel. Flow forming takes a cast blank, then extrudes it out to have a lighter, thinner, and stronger barrel while keeping costs down (compared to forging).

This line caters to the sport luxury and modern muscle-car markets - non-dished, thin spoke. These are pretty cool designs that aren’t copied from other wheels. They’re a great alternative to many of the costly luxury-style wheels you’ll find in this category.

Check them out if you’re looking for a budget option for your Mustang or Audi. We got the whole lineup.

DS Series

These are targeted at the stance/fitment/slammed-to-the-ground niche. Unlike the AFF, most wheels in this lineup feature big ‘ol lips. The first few designs, the DS01, DS02, and DS03 are reminiscent of other designs on the market, i.e. they’re reps. BUT, the DS05and onward are Aodhan’s original designs. They have a 3P look (fake hardware) and usually come in two-tone with a machined lip and painted center. You can get fairly weak specs and still have 2+ inches of lip.

The DS-X is the latest release in this line. The center slightly protrudes from its mounting flange to give a larger lip. The minimum lip on this wheel is 2.16”, and it goes much larger with aggressive specs. You can get a nice looking wheel without having to run something 11J wide.

See the new DS-X 

If you’re building a stance car on a budget, the DS Series is a great place to start.

AH Series

Last up, is the AH product lineup. This was Aodhan’s first line and unfortunately, this is where the rep reputation comes from. These are mostly based off popular classics from other brands. AH02 = WORK VS-XX, AH03 = WORK Meister S1 3P, AH04 = Heritage Wheel Hokkaido, etc. Not to say they’re total carbon copies.

The AH05 looks a lot like a BBS RS, but without the iconic waffle center caps. Also, the spokes have a bit less fillet. We would argue this is a really good-looking wheel that’s inspired by the RS, but is subtly distinguished. In fact, we would say this is one of the best mesh wheels you can get for under $1000.

Should you buy a set of Aodhan Wheels?

Maybe, probably… with a few caveats. If you’re a new enthusiast just starting to dabble in the world of modified cars, Aodhan is a great option. Need a set right now? You’re in luck, Threepiece.us has the entire collection, and they’re in stock right now. If you need them ASAP they can be on your door in a few business days.

Shop all Aodhan Wheels

Budget-friendly wheels aren’t exclusive to newcomers. Maybe you have a big budget track or show car in the stable. This one gets all the paycheck-draining name-brand parts. But how about your daily driver? You want it to look better but not have to worry about destroying name brand wheels. After all, it's going to see potholes, inclement weather, and you just don’t need 4k+ wheels on a grocery getter. Aodhan Wheels are excellent for this scenario.

If your budget is tight, we’d argue Aodhan is one of the best. You can pick up a set of these for around $800, add tires for $476, TPMS sensors for $200, lug nuts for $25, and maybe a shirt for $15. This sample setup comes out to around $1500 - tire mounting/balancing and shipping are free with all wheel/tire combos.

Some might argue they could get a set of WORK VS-XXs built in 1981 from a friend of a friend’s, uncle’s, dog for around the same price. Guess what? Refinishing a set of wheels that look like they were dredged from the ocean floor takes 1) time, and 2) money. We get it, refinishing wheels is a passion project - it was our main business for 10 years. But, a lot of people don’t want to go this route. They want cheap wheels that look great, in a timely manner.

Purpose built track cars, particularly for drift, can benefit from having extras of the same wheels (or at least specs). In our video about building a drift car we discussed how predictability of your car is key for honing skills, ‘driver mod’. Buying a bunch of drift spares in the same specs helps keep driving characteristics consistent. Buying cheap wheels, like Aodhans, makes the investment hurt a little less… and they’re gonna get thrashed anyway.

If you’ll only touch “rEaL WhEeLs”, well, why are you still reading this? Aodhans aren’t for you, but you can check out our other writeups on high-end stuff like WORK, SSR, BBS, etc.

Learn everything about your favorite wheel brands

A small critique

We feel that Aodhans aren’t well suited to 80’ and 90’s style builds. They look good on new-gen Civics, VB WRXs, and EVOs. Like we said, they also cater to the muscle and entry-level sport-luxury crowds, for example, Audi’s and Mustangs.

In our opinion, they lack a bit of the retro vibe (but this is completely subjective). So, these wouldn’t be our first choice for an S-chassis or AE86. Nothing against the brand, we just feel there are better options for these applications.

Wrap up

In these writeups, we talk about the history of wheel brands, but also add our 2 cents along the way. Our brand, Threepiece.us, was founded around ‘ real wheels’. Until recently, that’s all we sold. Now, however, we’ve started carrying some of these budget oriented brands.

Working with these manufacturers has revealed that they actually make pretty interesting products. Are we big fans directly coping popular designs? Not so much, but you have to start somewhere. Not everyone can be like Niche, only producing original designs and having them stick. Starting with a wheel that strongly resembles something from WORK or BBS gives the chance for a smaller brand to build market share.

What’s exciting about Aodhan is they’re branching out from reps, making their own new, original designs. In addition, they’re experimenting with manufacturing techniques beyond casting to give a good, better, best selection. They make some original designs and premium options, while not forgetting about their core audience - budget-minded car enthusiasts.

If you’re looking for a set of Aodhans, we got you covered. We have everything from their original cast wheels to the latest flow-formed DS-X. Already have a set? Be sure to snap some pics and upload them to our Gallery. Help others while being entered to win monthly prizes.