Don’t be fooled by fake Black Rhinos, it could cost your life

You take your life into your hands when you compromise on where the rubber meets the road.

Fake or replicated wheels could risk your life when they fail catastrophically and unexpectedly, said Gulzaar Adam, manager of Tiger Wheel & Tyre Ballito.

According to Treads Unlimited, the authorised South African distributor of the off-road wheel range, Black Rhino wheels can be bought as counterfeit at non-accredited agencies.

The company said it was in the midst of a massive crackdown on sellers of counterfeit and dangerous knock-offs of the Black Rhino brand.

Since September 2019, teams comprising members of the South African Police Service’s Commercial Crime Unit, local authorities and industry experts, have raided sites in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal and seized an undisclosed number of counterfeit Black Rhino wheels.

Given the popularity of the wheel brand on the North Coast, Tiger Wheel & Tyre is offering free inspection of any Black Rhino wheel to confirm its authenticity.

“I have seen cases of fake Black Rhino wheels, where a customer brought in his 4×4 for alignment and balancing,” said Adam.

“When I inspected the wheel lug holes carefully I noticed scouring and a depression, indicating that the metal quality was below par.”

According to Adam, a wheel could even crack or snap while driving, which could flip the vehicle at high speeds.

Adam handed the Courier reporter an authentic Black Rhino wheel to hold, and the weight was incredible.

“The thickness and durability of the real article makes the wheel very heavy.”

Alex Taplin, CEO of TiAuto Investments said testing had revealed the knock-offs to be of a deeply inferior quality and incapable of carrying the loads for which they are supposedly rated.

“If it seems too good to be true, it probably is,” said Taplin.

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