The First Aftermarket Wheels EVER - Everything You Need To Know About Weds Wheels

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Chapters:
Intro 0:00
Vehicle Gallery 0:40
The Start of Weds 0:48
Who did it First? 1:20
WedsSport & Motorsport 1:40
More than Wheels? 2:35
Weds Today 3:10
Kranze & Leon Hardiritt3:44
Maverick 4:34
WedsSport & How its Made 5:04
Outro 6:20

What are the first wheels you think about when you think about Japanese wheels? The ultra-lightweight TE37? The race inspired Meister S1 3P? Well, what if I told you that, while those wheels are great and all there was another Japanese wheel brand, a less known wheel brand, that makes lighter, stronger, and heck, maybe even cooler wheels than the first ones that jump into your head. Now what if I told you that these guys were one of the biggest companies in Japan, and had been flying under the radar this whole time. That’s right baby today we’re talking about the biggest bois in japanese wheel manufacturing - Weds Wheels.

Weds as a brand makes some of, in my opinion, the coolest wheels on the market but hasn’t achieved a ton of market penetration in the US yet. IN Japan, their wheels are some of the most popular, and for good reason.
Now let’s get into it Weds was founded 60 years ago, back in 1965 in Osaka, and was originally a parts production and distribution systems designer for new car accessories to Nissan. Things were going well,
and in november of 1973 they acquired the wheel division of nippon sealant co, and changed their company name to Weds Company Limited. They also moved to Tokyo at this time. Little known fact here - weds is actually short for World Elster Distribution System. You may be asking
what does this mean? We have no idea either, but it’s a cool bit of trivia. Fast forward a few years to 1977 and Weds manufactured their first 3 piece wheel. Now, this is a contentious bit as both SSR and Weds claim to have made the first 3 piece wheel. From what we can find, while SSR was technically first with the MK1, Weds made the
first 3 piece wheel that is recognizable as such, similar to the modern 3 piece wheels we have today. Who actually did it first is anyone’s guess.

Then, just a few years later, weds launched
Weds Sport which is going to be the primary focus of what we’re talking about here today. Wedssport launched a new chapter in Weds Wheels’ history as it marked the start of their involvement in motorsports which would be pivotal for the company’s growth and success going
forward. Weds jumped head on into motorsport developing wheels for the GT300 and GT500 classes, time attack racing, circuit racing like JGTC, drifting, and rally racing, being an early wheel
partner for many race teams in these series which they have continued even through present day. Weds founded a long term partnership with team Bandoh becoming team Wedssport Bandoh Racing who are a contender in the Japan super GT series which are some very very serious race cars. Currently bandoh campaigns a Toyota 86 in the GT300 class and a Lexus LC500 in the GT500 class. Anyway, after Weds started investing heavily in motorsports, they grew and grew, adopting the race on sunday sell on monday model and in 1997 they became a publicly traded company - huge for any company but especially for something as niche as a wheel brand. Throughout this time Weds also diversified and became involved in a ton of industries - automotive retail, mobile phone sales, industrial machinery sales, heck even a welfare facility for the elderly, but most notably in 2006 they established Superstar Co Ltd entering the 3 piece wheel market for modern vehicles.This is probably the weds wheels that you know, making lines like weds kranze, leon hardiritt, and lodio drive. As time passed, weds grew and grew, continuing to acquire other companies and grow not only in the aftermarket but also as an OE manufacturer, making the factory wheels for many Japanese automakers.

Weds today is a behemoth of a wheel company making everything from some of the lightest aftermarket wheels out there to the factory wheels for your favorite car and everything in between.