Hi Chris,
I have no idea why Weld hasn't changed there prices. I have heard that they
were in serious financial trouble and were bought out by American racing.
Just because they don't react to the market doesn't mean I'm in the wrong to
do so. I don't know what alloy they use for the smaller wheels, I looked at
some of the retailers that sell the product and the alloy used is not
stated. 5000 series alloys are way cheaper and do not require heat treatment
or secondary spinning. Its not as strong though. Maybe they just use the
left over pieces of there larger wheels to make the small ones and they
don't calculate material costs the same why. Who knows. Your statements were
wrong in that you stated you could buy 6061 aluminum for 1.25/lb. You
cannot. You also didn't respond to the currency issue. It has a huge effect
on the retail price. F500 cars are not toys. They are serious race machines.
The loads and speeds are high and I certainly wouldn't be risking my life on
a set of chopped up golf car wheels. Sprint cars are a totally different
type of race car, for one thing they only turn left. It could be possible
that you could cross something over but as a manufacturer we certainly would
never recommend it. In your subsequent email you stated that Weld makes
1000's of these wheels. That is exactly my point, if you make lots the cost
can stay low. I don't think that we have made over 100 f500 wheels in the
last 8 years. The cost is what it is. I might add that the equipment
required to make these wheels is big money. Leifeld spinning
machine,800,000US+, Mori seiki NH4000 cell, 500,000+, all the heat treating
equipment 250,000+, polishing and assembly equipment 100,000+. Just to cover
the interest on these machines we would have to make hundreds of f500 wheels
every month. We don't. You may not like it but badmouthing suppliers is not
a great way to encourage them to stay and offer products for you market.
Take care.
Daryle Redlin
Kodiak Motorsports Inc.
Original Message -----
From: "Chris Reinhardt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 6:55 PM
Subject: Re: [F500] Kodiak Prices
Daryle, the market price is reflected the retail price, Aluminum is a like
gold or grain or whatever, that's life in a capitalist country....
Why hasn't Weld Wheels raised their prices accordingly?
CR
Daryle Redlin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Hey Chris,
I will buy all the 6061 aluminum you have for 1.25lb. The raw commodity
price is not what you pay from the suppliers. Get real. If you think it is
so easy to build these wheels and that our prices are two high, go ahead
and
buy all the equipment needed to make them and supply the market. Weld is a
huge company and cannot be compared to a small custom builder. Go and ask
Weld how much it would cost to get a set of custom f500 wheels made. They
probably wont even do it and if they don't, then ask how much it would
cost
to have them special order some. I bet it will be plenty more than we have
ever charged.
Daryle
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Reinhardt"
To:
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2007 2:56 PM
Subject: Re: [F500] Kodiak Prices
Just an FYI, I looked at the NYMEX exchange, the lowest Aluminum has been
in the last couple of years is about .80, and the highest it's been is
1.25. I guess all that quality control has raised the prices way up.....
Guess I'll stay with those ugly Douglas's...
CR
Daryle Redlin wrote:
Just to add my two cents.
The exchange rate two years ago was 1.57 to the US dollar. The exchange
rate
today is 1.14 to the US dollar. That means that the US buying power went
down
by roughly 40%. At the same time the cost of aluminum went from $1.85/lb
to
about $4.00/lb. Sorry about the increase but we only react to the market.
Daryle
Kodiak Motorsports Inc.
---------------------------------
Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast
with theYahoo! Search weather shortcut.
---------------------------------
We won't tell. Get more on shows you hate to love
(and love to hate): Yahoo! TV's Guilty Pleasures list.
________________________________
FormulaCar Magazine - A Proud Supporter of Formula 500
The Official Publication of Junior Formula Car Racing
Subscribe Today! www.formulacarmag.com or 519-624-2003
_________________________________
_______________________________________________
F500 mailing list - [email protected]
To unsubscribe or change options please visit:
http://f500.org/mailman/listinfo/f500
*** Please, DO NOT send unsubscribe requests to the mailing list! ***
