Custom forged wheels for Land Rover

Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, Defender: around 2.3 to 2.7 tonnes depending on the version, and a load per wheel that few 22 or 23-inch wheels can genuinely carry. Onyx Forged therefore starts from your vehicle's maximum axle weights, not from the design. 6061-T6 aluminium, high-pressure forging, 5-axis CNC machining. Monoblock, two-piece or three-piece depending on the project.

Three very different cars, one shared constraint

A Range Rover, a Range Rover Sport and a Defender share neither the same architecture, nor the same use, nor the same buyers. What they do share is a characteristic that the way they drive conceals remarkably well: mass. Around 2.3 to 2.7 tonnes unladen depending on the version, more once you add four people, luggage and a load on the tow ball. The aluminium body and the air suspension absorb all of it so well that you forget it behind the wheel. The wheels, on the other hand, take it in full, at every joint in the road surface and at every kerb.

The permissible load per wheel, before looks

This is the point the customisation market handles worst, and yet it comes first. A wheel is sized for a maximum load; the load your vehicle requires cannot be guessed: it is read on the manufacturer's plate and on the registration document, on the line for the maximum axle weights. Divided by two, that figure gives what each wheel must withstand, statically as well as in fatigue. Many 22-inch wheels sold in France were designed for far lighter saloons and coupés: fitted to a laden Range Rover, they are taken outside the range they were designed for. At Onyx Forged, this figure is the first parameter of the project, before the number of spokes and before the finish.

What forging changes on a heavy vehicle

When an ingot of 6061-T6 aluminium is compressed under high pressure, the grain of the metal aligns and the porosity of casting disappears. On a car of two and a half tonnes, the benefit is twofold. The target load is reached without piling on metal, which keeps the wheel from growing bulkier with every inch gained. And the unsprung mass, already high because of the large discs and wide tyres, stops increasing: the less the air suspension has to hold back, the better it filters.

22 and 23 inches: what the diameter really changes

Going up in diameter means trading tyre sidewall for metal. On a heavy vehicle, that trade is paid for in three ways: the wheel takes the load that the sidewall no longer filters, the slightest kerb becomes a risk for the lip of the wheel, and mass at the outer edge of the wheel weighs more than mass at the centre. None of this rules out 23 inches. It simply requires the design to be calculated, not traced from a model intended for a saloon.

Configuring a set for your Land Rover

Monoblock when lightness comes first, two-piece or three-piece when you are after a barrel depth and a width that a monoblock cannot reach. Our wheels are designed to JWL/VIA standards and 5-axis CNC machined. Price and lead time each have their own page: custom forged wheel prices and lead time. Send an inspiration photo to our configurator: it turns it into a render applied to your car. Start your configuration, or write to contact@onyxforgedwheels.com.

Configure custom wheels for your Land Rover: free 3D render, on request.