RANT: Atomic Wheels 2 different experiences in less than a year

[emlo]

So I’ll note that I’ve purchased 2 sets of custom wheels from @Atomic Wheels. So don’t say I’m being negative based on 1 purchase. 1st purchase was last summer and honestly pretty great overall. Designs were fast, production was fast and communication was great. (Order #2 done 2/24/25) I ordered a second set expecting a similar experience. Well I’ll say it’s been very disappointing. First after order the communication was ok. Design took a bit longer than expected, and I had to follow up to get updates. Design 1 came and I asked for a slight change. Design was updated but I was given an extra picture which was a bit concerning as I wasn’t sure what it was. Asked what it was and they said it was a picture they don’t include. Ok fine. Approved design. Waiting for production. In the meantime I ordered the atomic wheels 1/2 inch drive sockets because the last set of custom wheels had very small openings. So small in fact discount tire couldn't mount the wheels on my R1T. So when I receive these they are much to big even for their custom wheels I ordered last time. Contact atomic and they apologize and give a refund. To their credit they ask if I want to widen the opening for the lugs. I reluctantly agreed as it would add about a week. So another week goes by, I follow up and they confirm it’s shipped. However, they added the wrong address to my wheels but assure they will fix it when received here in the states. Nearly 3 months after order and no tracking information. I’m honestly hoping for the best, but we’ll see.

If you’re considering a custom set of wheel from atomic, think twice. I’m sure their pre-designed wheels are fine - but no personal experience. If you asked me 6 months ago I would have enthusiastically recommended them for custom wheels, now I wouldn’t.

TLDR- disappointed on 2nd custom order from atomic. Think twice before ordering.

End rant

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[eskudo12791]

atomic was great with the set that I ordered; even gave me a discount because they were a demo set with a small scratch. how about you resolve this at the lowest level before lambasting them (a site sponsor) in an open thread?

 

[godfodder0901]

atomic was great with the set that I ordered; even gave me a discount because they were a demo set with a small scratch. how about you resolve this at the lowest level before lambasting them (a site sponsor) in an open thread?

Who gives a fuck if they are a site sponsor? So is @EVBASE and they suck. Paying a small fee doesn't make you immune to criticism. Sounds like OP has reached out multiple times with inadequate response.

 

[eskudo12791]

Sounds like OP has reached out multiple times with inadequate response.

Not sure I would agree on that. Appears after the final sign off on the custom wheels OP hasn't heard back. Have you ever ordered custom wheels from OCONUS?

 

[emlo]

Not sure I would agree on that. Appears after the final sign off on the custom wheels OP hasn't heard back. Have you ever ordered custom wheels from OCONUS?

You’re dead wrong. Multiple times I’ve had to follow up. And they don’t have the correct address to send my wheels to. This is my second custom order from them. This is by far a very different experience from last summer’s order. It’s basically, trust me bro, your wheels will get to you they just have the wrong address so I can’t give you tracking but they are shipped. Just been very disappointing in comparison to my first order.

 

[eskudo12791]

You’re dead wrong. Multiple times I’ve had to follow up. And they don’t have the correct address to send my wheels to. This is my second custom order from them. This is by far a very different experience from last summer’s order. It’s basically, trust me bro, your wheels will get to you they just have the wrong address so I can’t give you tracking but they are shipped. Just been very disappointing in comparison to my first order.

However, they added the wrong address to my wheels but assure they will fix it when received here in the states. Nearly 3 months after order and no tracking information. I’m honestly hoping for the best, but we’ll see.

Sounds like you havent reached out since?

 

[emlo]

Sounds like you havent reached out since?

Yes Santiago has been in contact with me. But they can’t give me tracking because it has the wrong address. Perhaps you didn’t read how many times I’ve had to reach out.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

It may not be the cause but their wheels are manufactured in China right? Have you forgotten the tariff whiplash and how Port of LA & Long Beach—the nearest and largest port of entry for goods out of China—went from having ships full of containers waiting off shore just months ago to now with the port at less than 60% capacity? And some factories are on pause, laying off workers, because they are not sure if they can conduct business with so much uncertainty? I can’t imagine it not playing a part.

 

[emlo]

It may not be the cause but their wheels are manufactured in China right? Have you forgotten the tariff whiplash and how Port of LA & Long Beach—the nearest and largest port of entry for goods out of China—went from having ships full of containers waiting off shore just months ago to now with the port at less than 60% capacity?

Hard to miss tarriff talk. But that was never brought up in any conversation I had with them and yes I’ve had many. It was allegedly shipped 16 days ago.

 

[DayTripping]

It is unfortunate you've had this experience. They've been very responsive to me and did more than I think they needed to resolve issues that cropped up along the way.

Things don't always go right under the best of circumstances. I'd give it some time to play out. No company can prevent everything from going wrong, but how they ultimately resolve it is key for me.

 

[Atomic Wheels]

So I’ll note that I’ve purchased 2 sets of custom wheels from @Atomic Wheels. So don’t say I’m being negative based on 1 purchase. 1st purchase was last summer and honestly pretty great overall. Designs were fast, production was fast and communication was great. (Order #2 done 2/24/25) I ordered a second set expecting a similar experience. Well I’ll say it’s been very disappointing. First after order the communication was ok. Design took a bit longer than expected, and I had to follow up to get updates. Design 1 came and I asked for a slight change. Design was updated but I was given an extra picture which was a bit concerning as I wasn’t sure what it was. Asked what it was and they said it was a picture they don’t include. Ok fine. Approved design. Waiting for production. In the meantime I ordered the atomic wheels 1/2 inch drive sockets because the last set of custom wheels had very small openings. So small in fact discount tire couldn't mount the wheels on my R1T. So when I receive these they are much to big even for their custom wheels I ordered last time. Contact atomic and they apologize and give a refund. To their credit they ask if I want to widen the opening for the lugs. I reluctantly agreed as it would add about a week. So another week goes by, I follow up and they confirm it’s shipped. However, they added the wrong address to my wheels but assure they will fix it when received here in the states. Nearly 3 months after order and no tracking information. I’m honestly hoping for the best, but we’ll see.

If you’re considering a custom set of wheel from atomic, think twice. I’m sure their pre-designed wheels are fine - but no personal experience. If you asked me 6 months ago I would have enthusiastically recommended them for custom wheels, now I wouldn’t.

TLDR- disappointed on 2nd custom order from atomic. Think twice before ordering.

End rant

Hello,
I want to be completely honest: from the very beginning your order went off the rails, and we really dropped the ball. We normally promise an 8–10-week turnaround from the moment you place your order to delivery at your door, and until now we’ve always hit that mark. This time, however, Chinese New Year coincided with our render-approval phase and set our design schedule back without us proactively keeping you in the loop. On top of that, recent tariff increases and resulting policy changes caused chaos at the factories—we had to spend extra time untangling new procedures and stabilizing our workflow.
After the wheels were already produced, we realized there was an opportunity to improve the design: by widening the lug-well slightly, installation and removal with standard sockets would be more comfortable and there’d be less chance of damaging the wheel wells. As soon as you gave us the go-ahead, we made that change—but of course it added extra time, and we should have offered it up front rather than after production.
Once that fix was complete, we shipped your wheels… only to discover they’d gone to the wrong address and recipient. Because the shipment is coming from China, we can’t reroute it until it clears U.S. customs, but we’re monitoring it daily and will correct the recipient as soon as it arrives stateside. Even if it lands at the wrong address first, domestic forwarding in the U.S. is fast, and we’ll prioritize you to make up for lost time.
We deeply value the Rivian community and take full responsibility for every misstep here. I know this all sounds like a string of excuses, and you deserve better. I’m truly sorry for the frustration and inconvenience. To make this right, please let me know whether you’d prefer a rebate for the shipping delay or a complimentary set of titanium lug nuts (they’re lighter than stock steel ones and a little extra thank-you for sticking with us). Thank you for your patience and for giving us the chance to fix this—I promise we’ll learn from this and ensure it never happens again.

Sincerely,
Aleks
Atomic Wheels Team

 

[emlo]

Hello,
I want to be completely honest: from the very beginning your order went off the rails, and we really dropped the ball. We normally promise an 8–10-week turnaround from the moment you place your order to delivery at your door, and until now we’ve always hit that mark. This time, however, Chinese New Year coincided with our render-approval phase and set our design schedule back without us proactively keeping you in the loop. On top of that, recent tariff increases and resulting policy changes caused chaos at the factories—we had to spend extra time untangling new procedures and stabilizing our workflow.
After the wheels were already produced, we realized there was an opportunity to improve the design: by widening the lug-well slightly, installation and removal with standard sockets would be more comfortable and there’d be less chance of damaging the wheel wells. As soon as you gave us the go-ahead, we made that change—but of course it added extra time, and we should have offered it up front rather than after production.
Once that fix was complete, we shipped your wheels… only to discover they’d gone to the wrong address and recipient. Because the shipment is coming from China, we can’t reroute it until it clears U.S. customs, but we’re monitoring it daily and will correct the recipient as soon as it arrives stateside. Even if it lands at the wrong address first, domestic forwarding in the U.S. is fast, and we’ll prioritize you to make up for lost time.
We deeply value the Rivian community and take full responsibility for every misstep here. I know this all sounds like a string of excuses, and you deserve better. I’m truly sorry for the frustration and inconvenience. To make this right, please let me know whether you’d prefer a rebate for the shipping delay or a complimentary set of titanium lug nuts (they’re lighter than stock steel ones and a little extra thank-you for sticking with us). Thank you for your patience and for giving us the chance to fix this—I promise we’ll learn from this and ensure it never happens again.

Sincerely,
Aleks
Atomic Wheels Team

Feel free to direct message me to get some resolution. I was looking at your site and didn’t see an 22MM lugs. Are the 21mm only available?

 

[Atomic Wheels]

Feel free to direct message me to get some resolution. I was looking at your site and didn’t see an 22MM lugs. Are the 21mm only available?

You’re right — we don’t have 22mm hex lug nuts at the moment, but many people use 21mm without any issues. The socket size difference isn’t a problem. The thread pattern on our lug nuts matches Rivian standards.

The stock Rivian lug nuts are actually quite decent and are closed-end. Currently, the only closed-end option we have is the Burned Gold finish. Black closed-end lug nuts are still in transit and expected to arrive in early June. However, we do have black open-end lug nuts in stock.

 

[Ldiggs910]

Hello,
I want to be completely honest: from the very beginning your order went off the rails, and we really dropped the ball. We normally promise an 8–10-week turnaround from the moment you place your order to delivery at your door, and until now we’ve always hit that mark. This time, however, Chinese New Year coincided with our render-approval phase and set our design schedule back without us proactively keeping you in the loop. On top of that, recent tariff increases and resulting policy changes caused chaos at the factories—we had to spend extra time untangling new procedures and stabilizing our workflow.
After the wheels were already produced, we realized there was an opportunity to improve the design: by widening the lug-well slightly, installation and removal with standard sockets would be more comfortable and there’d be less chance of damaging the wheel wells. As soon as you gave us the go-ahead, we made that change—but of course it added extra time, and we should have offered it up front rather than after production.
Once that fix was complete, we shipped your wheels… only to discover they’d gone to the wrong address and recipient. Because the shipment is coming from China, we can’t reroute it until it clears U.S. customs, but we’re monitoring it daily and will correct the recipient as soon as it arrives stateside. Even if it lands at the wrong address first, domestic forwarding in the U.S. is fast, and we’ll prioritize you to make up for lost time.
We deeply value the Rivian community and take full responsibility for every misstep here. I know this all sounds like a string of excuses, and you deserve better. I’m truly sorry for the frustration and inconvenience. To make this right, please let me know whether you’d prefer a rebate for the shipping delay or a complimentary set of titanium lug nuts (they’re lighter than stock steel ones and a little extra thank-you for sticking with us). Thank you for your patience and for giving us the chance to fix this—I promise we’ll learn from this and ensure it never happens again.

Sincerely,
Aleks
Atomic Wheels Team

Best apology and accountability acceptance I’ve seen thus far in 2025. I’m gonna forward this post to my partner so he can learn a thing or two! Lol

So far my ordering and revision process with Santiago has been communicative and patient as I wanted a very specific design.

Looking forward to a positive experience with my first set of custom Atomic wheels which I just checked tracking because I was reading this thread and are arriving in 3… 2… 1…

 

[boosted20v]

Every company has issues, it's all about what they do to make it right. I ordered mine around the (Feb 28th) Custom finished AWZZ's. I recieved my first set of renders March 8th and after a few back and forth emails on center cap engraving were exchanged with new renders sent I approved the design March 11th. Photo's of the sue wheels were sent on April 11th and I recieved them May 13th and 14th. 16 Emails back and forth and Santiago was great to work with. They are getting ceramic coated and the tires mounted now, should have them on in a day or so.

Moral of the story, one bad experience doesn't taint the whole company. That said sorry your having issues OP.

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