ELEVATE / HRE Volvo 890R Series Wheels
The ELEVATE / HRE 890R Series of wheels are sophisticated, three-piece forged designs for Volvo that take racing styling to a new level of performance and elegance. From any angle, standing still or on the road, these wheels turns heads. Each wheel design is crafted from 100% forged 6061-T6 aluminum and built to order with the finish of your choice. Innovative, elegant styling and impeccable craftsmanship for your Volvo.
MATERIALS - Quality materials and components are the foundation of every ELEVATE / HRE wheel. Our in-house engineers specify materials that meet stringent quality requirements and achieve the performance attributes befitting the world's finest vehicles.
Forged 6061-T6 Aluminum
An ELEVATE /HRE Volvo wheel begins life as high quality 7" diameter 6061-T6 aluminum billet rod. The billet rod is heated and placed into a precision die where it is forged using millions of psi of pressure into a raw forging as specified by HRE’s engineers. The result of the forging process is aluminum with a refined crystalline structure whose grain direction is aligned with the primary load direction of the wheel spokes. The processed forging is then precipitation heat-treated to a T6 temper to achieve the perfect blend of strength and ductility. Typically high quality forgings such as these are only found in aerospace applications or high load automotive applications such as performance pistons and connecting rods. These high strength 6061-T6 forgings are the foundation of HRE wheels. HRE’s partner for supplying forgings is Aluminum Precision Products who is the highest quality forging supplier to the automotive market in the United States and who caters primarily to the aerospace market. This type of high quality partner is critical to HRE as the forging is the foundation of all of our wheels and therefore they must be held to the highest standards.
Casting vs Forging
In comparison to forgings, castings are made by pouring molten aluminum into a mold and have considerably lower strength, ductility, and fatigue resistance. Besides not having the specific strength (strength-to-weight ratio) of forged aluminum, castings often suffer from defects in the form of voids or porosity. The main trait of castings are their low cost and ability to be produced in high volumes but at the expense of strength and weight. In order to maximize the performance of the wheel HRE uses forgings and not castings to produce its wheels. At HRE, we don't believe in compromising performance and quality for a few dollars.
Spinning/Slow Forming
3-piece Spun Rims
A 3-piece rim half begins life as a large aluminum sheet which is formed using a CNC spinning lathe. The forming (or spinning) process imparts considerable energy into the aluminum, further refining and orienting the crystalline grain structure in a manner similar to forging. After subsequent heat-treatment processes to achieve a T6 temper, CNC technology is used to machine the inner diameter of the rim half and the assembly holes so that it precisely mates with the forged center – this is a critical step because the quality of these machine steps relate directly to the final wheel's concentricity. The end result is a highly concentric rim half with the strength properties required to be resistant to the impact and fatigue demands of an ELEVATE / HRE 3-piece wheel.
High Strength Fasteners
A key component often overlooked in the construction of 3-piece wheels are the fasteners. Being structural components, they are crucial in terms of safety and are far from simply being a decorative item. The 3-piece platform places extremely high stresses and fatigue loads on the fasteners. As a result, HRE's fasteners are designed to stringent specifications to attain high strength and fatigue resistance.
Stainless Steel Fasteners
The majority of HRE wheels use high-strength stainless steel fasteners supplied by Automotive Racing Products, the leading supplier to Formula 1 and other forms of professional racing. Using the highest quality engineering and manufacturing methods, ARP creates custom fasteners for HRE that are designed to meet stringent strength, fatigue and corrosion specifications. Due to the high quality nature of these fasteners, they are 4 times as expensive as the chromed steel fasteners used in most wheels, but this is an example of how HRE is unwilling to compromise quality for cost savings.
Titanium Fasteners
Taking it even a step further, HRE's Competition Series uses a Titanium fastener that not only satisfies stringent strength, fatigue and corrosion specifications, but also decreases mass thereby reducing unsprung weight and minimizing rotational inertia. HRE's source for these highly specialized fasteners is ALCOA of Germany, the primary supplier of Titanium fasteners for the new Airbus A380. Due to the extreme nature of our application, these fasteners were custom designed for the Competition Series and are 20 times as expensive as standard chrome steel fasteners. This is an even greater example of HRE’s unwillingness to compromise quality for cost savings. These fasteners are the only components of an ELEVATE / HRE 3-piece wheel that are sourced outside the United States.
ENGINEERING - While high-quality materials provide the canvas, engineering is at the core of the beauty, performance and craftsmanship of an HRE forged wheel. Engineering drives the design and style of every wheel – at HRE, we don't simply "draw and cut." Every detail, every feature, seen or unseen, has a specific purpose: Increasing strength and fatigue resistance, reducing unsprung mass and minimizing rotational inertia to name a few. The unique thing about an HRE wheel is that style and engineering evolve in concert, one is not compromised for the other.
Strength
At HRE, we understand that while style is why you may buy a wheel, performance and quality are what keep you coming back. Strength, fatigue resistance, stiffness and impact resistance are qualities that drive an HRE wheel's design. Strength and fatigue resistance are critical to ensure an HRE wheel lasts the lifetime of your vehicle. To achieve this, HRE designs all of its wheels to pass stringent TUV test specifications. HRE is capable of accomplishing the seemingly conflicting goals of style and performance by allowing the engineering to drive the design in the belief that the finest wheel styles will result from the finest engineering and using only the best materials. The result? Wheels that perform as well as they look.
Unsprung Mass
The unsprung mass of a vehicle primarily consists of the wheel/tire/brake system and is essentially any mass not supported by the suspension of the vehicle. In order to maximize vehicle performance, the goal is to always minimize the unsprung mass. This means that wheels need to be as light as possible and by minimizing the mass of a wheel it improves the handling and ride comfort as it minimizes the forces exerted on the vehicle chassis. This is accomplished at HRE by using high strength forged 6061-T6 forgings and backing that up with rigorous engineering aimed at minimizing the mass while maximizing the strength, stiffness and fatigue life.
Rotational Inertia
The effect rotational inertia has on acceleration and deceleration is best illustrated by the “ice skater example”. When an ice skater is spinning with their arms outstretched and then brings their arms in closer to their body, this reduces their rotational inertia by redistributing their mass closer to their axis of rotation and allows the skater to spin faster without adding any extra energy. The effect of reducing a wheel’s rotational inertia is that less energy is required to accelerate and decelerate the wheel, leaving more of the available energy to accelerate and decelerate the actual vehicle. HRE uses a number of strategies to reduce the rotational inertia of our wheels including I-beam geometry, weight lightening pockets and low weight materials such as titanium assembly fasteners.
Finite Element Analysis
Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is an advanced computer analysis tool that allows our engineers to accurately analyze the strength and stiffness of our wheels in the virtual world before they are ever install it on your vehicle. Every wheel undergoes countless hours of FEA as we meticulously fine tune the design to meet the required strength, fatigue and stiffness requirements while minimizing mass and rotational inertia. We often deal in increments of 0.25mm or 1/10 of a degree when fine tuning designs and all of this occurs before a single prototype is ever cut.
Independent Testing
Intense engineering using FEA provides the foundation for creating exceptional wheels. To validate the engineering design it is essential to use actual testing and is the reason why HRE wheels are tested to meet or exceed TUV, SAE and JWL standards for strength, fatigue and impact resistance.
Volvo Fitments
Achieving a lifetime of superior performance doesn't happen by chance. Every fitment must be matched perfectly to each vehicle and account for custom upgrades made by the vehicle owner. ELEVATE maintains a database of fitment data that is created by personally measuring each Volvo model. The database ELEVATE maintains and the resulting flexibility for custom applications we provide is unmatched in the industry.
MANUFACTURING - The culmination of selecting the best materials and our engineering efforts occurs when we actually build you a set of wheels. HRE believes that the only way to ensure perfect quality every time is to control every aspect of the manufacturing process. Quality is the result of a relentless focus on using the best technology, employing sound manufacturing processes and holding ourselves to the highest standard.
CNC Machining
Computer Numerical Control or CNC technology is used for all of HRE’s machining operations. In-house CNC lathes and mills precisely machine every raw forging into a new HRE wheel design. HRE’s skilled machinists use the latest Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software to translate each design’s solid 3D computer model into a wheel that precisely matches the design created by our engineering team.
Built-to-Order
One of the hallmarks of our reputation is our ability to provide custom fitments and finishes. We accomplish this through our build-to-order model that starts with your call to an ELEVATE representative and culminates with you driving away on a new set of ELEVATE / HRE wheels. Every order is based on your requirements and personal taste. Each order that enters the production area has a production traveler which has the name of the customer and all of the information required to complete the manufacturing process. We don't batch process or mass produce; every order receives personal attention throughout the process. Every set of wheels, and in fact often every two wheels (fronts and rears) that proceed through HRE's production line are different than the next, yet the same style and specifications are immediately repeatable due to our extensive database of vehicle, wheel, and fitment data. This is a unique and difficult process to follow, but it ensures the utmost in customization and service.
Hand-Polishing
While HRE believes strongly in the benefits of technology, we also know that hand-built craftsmanship is required at specific production stops to achieve the highest level of quality. As a result, HRE wheels are polished by hand at our facility where we can tightly control the quality of each wheel. We strongly believe that the only way to accomplish consistent quality in such a detailed part is through the hands of skilled artisans. HRE polished and brushed finishes are famous for their attention to detail and refinement resulting from this hand-crafted approach. Every part, whether destined for chrome or paint, is hand prepared as we understand that this stage is critical to achieve the quality demanded of an HRE wheel.
Finishes
At ELEVATE, we offer a wide selection of finish choices. We pride ourselves on offering personalized customization to our customers. Consistent with everything we do we only offer finishes of the highest quality. All of our standard finishes use high quality powdercoat. This minimizes the paint peeling issues often associated with custom wheels. Our powdercoat clearcoat is the finest in the industry and will pass 1000 hrs of salt spray. After all of the hard work that goes into an HRE wheel, there can be no compromise on the finish. All of our standard powdercoats and clearcoat are applied in-house by HRE, allowing us to tightly control the quality and ensure short lead-times.
Commitment to Quality
As you can tell, we are fanatical about quality. Everything we do in the creation of a wheel is intended to produce the finest wheels in the world. To ensure that we achieve consistently high quality, we developed a formal quality control process that includes multiple inspection steps for each wheel. This commitment to quality is also evident in our commitment to pursue TUV status and certification of our wheels. HRE’s engineering, production and quality control processes were audited by German TUV officials and HRE was awarded TUV Verification status. Achieving this significant milestone allows us to send our wheels to Germany for certification and for legal sale in Germany and other EU countries where these high standards are required by law. We are so confident that we produce the best wheels in the world, that we back it up with the industry’s best warranty; 2 year finish and lifetime structural. Own a set of HRE wheels and you will quickly realize our commitment to the quality of our product and to you as the customer.
Built-to-Order
Each order is manufactured to your unique requirements in HRE's facility using state-of-the-art manufacturing methods which have earned TUV Quality verification.
Personal Style
Customize your wheels even further by choosing from a wide variety of finishes and cap options
To Order Your Personalized Wheels
Please call 626.305.5529 to speak to one of our sales specialists or to find a dealer near you.
