Forged Deep Dish Wheels: The Lip Is an Equation

Where does the dish actually come from?

Look at the wheel from the side: the dish is the open lip between the outer rim edge and the spoke face. It exists because the face sits inboard — which takes two ingredients working together: width gives the lip room to exist, and offset (ET) positions the face deep in the barrel. Same diameter, radically different wheel:

Which construction is the dish's native home?

An honest answer competitors' dish pages tend to blur: 2-piece and 3-piece. On multi-piece wheels the lip lives in the spun rim section — depth is built from the rim, not carved out of solid metal. A monoblock can carry a moderate dish machined into the one-piece design, but a truly deep lip on a monoblock means cutting the dish from a much larger billet: heavier and costlier for the same look.

The kerb clause: the dish is the most kerb-exposed element of any wheel — it literally leads with its chin. On 3-piece, that risk costs a replacement lip instead of a replacement wheel. If your roads have kerbs, that fact is worth more than any styling argument on this page.

Deep dish and concave: different dimensions, freely combined

Buyers mix the terms, so here is the clean split: dish is lip depth; concave is the spoke face curving toward the hub. They are independent dimensions of the same wheel — and the combination is the show-stopper: a concave face falling away behind a deep open lip. The second photo below is exactly that wheel:

On finish: the polished lip is the dish's classic language — and polished ships bare, no clear coat, which means owner maintenance or oxidation. We say that before you order, not after it hazes. Two-tone — colour face, contrast lip — buys most of the look with easier living; both add about 5 working days. Full layer-type logic on finishes.

Forged deep dish wheels FAQ

What are deep dish wheels?

Wheels with a deep, open outer lip between the spoke face and the rim edge — the face sits inboard, and the exposed lip is the dish. Width and offset create it together. Dish is a lip dimension, distinct from concave, which is the spoke face curving toward the hub.

How deep can the lip go on my car?

Lip depth is an equation, not a menu: width plus ET set what's possible, and the load rating sets what's safe. A wider wheel with a suitable ET carries a deeper dish; the same design on a narrow fitment has less lip to give. We engineer it per vehicle and show it on the drawing you approve — there's no fixed lip-depth series to pick from.

Deep dish vs concave — what's the difference?

Dish = lip depth between spokes and rim edge. Concave = the spoke face curving toward the hub. Independent dimensions, freely combined — a wheel can run both at once, and 3-piece is the natural platform for the combination.

Which construction is best for deep dish?

2-piece and 3-piece — the lip lives in the spun rim section, so depth is built rather than carved from solid. A monoblock carries moderate dish only; a deep lip on one piece means a much larger billet, heavier and costlier. For serious dish plus a replaceable lip, 3-piece.

How do I look after a polished lip?

Honestly: polished aluminium ships bare — no clear coat, because coating dulls the mirror. Bare metal needs periodic re-sealing and polishing, or it oxidises. That's stated before ordering. A two-tone or powder-coated lip trades a little mirror for much easier living — details on finishes. Polished and two-tone each add about 5 working days.

What happens when a deep dish lip gets kerbed?

On 3-piece, the lip is replaced as a part while the centre lives on — and we supply replacement lips for our own wheels and for BBS, Work, OZ and most other multi-piece makers, made to measurements. Caveat: freight on a single lip often costs more than the lip; consolidate through a dealer where possible — the maths is here.