The TRUTH about the heart wheels - All about Heritage Wheel

Today we’re talking about Heritage Wheel. Of course, this means the infamous Kokoro, as well as many of our other designs.

The Heritage Wheel backstory

Heritage Wheel started in 2017-ish as a solution to a problem. Back in the day, we used to sell a lot of JDM wheels… like a lot of ‘em… more than anyone else in the United States. The issue was a lot of people with newer cars wanted those retro-style JDM wheels, however, due to sizing issues, brake clearance, or other incompatibilities, running these wheels on a newer car wasn’t viable. This is where Heritage Wheel comes in.

Picture this: it's 2018, you have a VA STI and wanna throw some Blitz 03s on it. The problem is that these wheels were made in 1997 and your car was made 20 years later. There’s no way those old wheels are clearing your Brembos. This can be solved two ways 1) run a giant-ass spacer to make them fit 2) pick an entirely different wheel. Both options suck, you don’t wanna do either. That’s the problem that Heritage solves. We sought to make styles that are reminiscent of classics but would work on modern-day cars. This is where the brand’s motto of ‘timeless design’ comes from.

We launched Heritage and, well, frankly it wasn’t an instant hit. Sure we were selling wheels, but the brand didn’t have a ton of direction. So what got Heritage going down the right path? Originally, it was a forged three-piece brand. Contrary to what many might believe, 3P wheel brands don’t make a ton of money. Just because the products have a large price tag doesn't mean they’re cheap to produce. Unless your brand is Forgiato, the real money is in meat & potato-type products - in other words: cast wheels for the mass market.

Involvement in motorsport

One of the things that made this brand take off was our involvement in motorsports. Being big fans of the JDM greats such as Work, Weds, SSR, etc, we knew how much these brands lean on their passionate involvement in motorsports. We took a similar approach with the motorsport we’re most passionate about - drifting. We partnered with multiple Formula Drift pro-1 teams each year. Most notably, Ryan Litteral has a few signature models with us. This includes the Bushido 3-spoke wheel, one of our most requested wheels (soon to be out, available for preorder!). We also worked with Kazuya Taguchi, driver of the Jerry Yang Racing R35 GTR on Hokkaido 3P wheels; and Forest Wang running Suzuka wheels on his S15.

Preorder your Bushido MonoC's

In addition to drivers at the top level, Heritage has worked with many drivers in the Pro 2, or as it’s now known ‘Pro-spec’, category. This dedication to the craft paid off big time. Heritage as a brand is now well known in the drift community, along with people who simply enjoy watching drifting. The classic styling combined with the modern sizing allowed these wheels to be used in the modern era of FD. Our wheels have shown to be as durable as some of the top names; they have survived many, many, many impacts on track and kept going. Famously, Ryan Litteral clipped a wall going 80 MPH, and guess what? The wheels were fine!

Our offerings 

Another reason for the emergence of Heritage can be attributed to the quintessential ‘heart’ wheel. Right before 2020, the year we were all locked inside for months due to Covid, we dropped the Kokoro (AKA the ‘heart’ wheel). It dropped around Valentine's day, 2020, and was an instant hit. The Kokoro started as a forged 3P wheel, then evolved to include a cast monobloc version, expanding Heritage's growing support for budget-friendly options. The Kokoro brought a breath of fresh air to the sport-compact wheel market and informed Heritage’s feature design language.

Next came the Sakura, a logical extension of the success of the Kokoro, but in a slightly different format. Harkening back to designs like the Hayashi Yayoi, but with a modern flare. You can get these with a concave 5-spoke design rather than the lipped Hayashi original. This was another entry into our monobloc line of wheels. It didn’t quite achieve the level of ubiquity as the Kokoro, and always will, but still became a popular choice nevertheless. Check out Nismo, they used our wheels on their concept design.

What is all this ‘MonoC’ talk about?

Since we mentioned MonoC, it’s important we explain what that is. Wheels are becoming more and more expensive due to increased cost of production materials (aluminum) and increased popularity/demand for customizing your car. As wheel makers invest in new tech such as forging technology, semi-forging, custom finishes, etc, we noticed the cost of wheels was rising faster and faster. This makes it hard for new enthusiasts to justify modding their car.

When we first got into the game, a nice entry-level set of wheels ran about 800-1000 bucks. Now, for most brands, it’s going to run you well over $1300 (depending on specs). This is where the MonoC product lines come into play. We chose to stick with regular cast wheels for these products.

Want something forged? We can do that too. In our main warehouse we can build you a bespoke set. Yes, fully 6061 T-6 aluminum, built right here in the USA. Otherwise, no need for flow-formed, semi-forged, or any other of that nonsense. With the MonoC you can get entry-level wheels, accessible to enthusiasts at any level; if you want something extra special, you can get the same designs… just forged and 3-piece.

The Mono-C line starts at about $1000. Besides some exceptions such as chrome or custom bolt patterns, they don’t go up much from there. Our goal has always been to make cool wheels that we like, then make them accessible to everybody.

Wrap up - what's next for Heritage Wheel?

At the time of writing, we got 19 & 20” Ebisu’s on the way. The off-road version of the Kokuru was recently expanded to include sizes for Jeeps and other trucks. And of course, the often-requested Bushido MonoC 3-spoke is finally touching down.

Preorder them here!

If you're looking for Heritage Wheels, or any wheels for that matter, you know where to go - check out our shop. Already got a set? Flex your ride in our Gallery!