AMECA Announces Voluntary Notice of Equipment Compliance Program for Automotive Aftermarket Wheels

April 28, 2010 - PRLog -- AMECA Announces Voluntary Notice of Equipment Compliance™ Program for Automotive Aftermarket Wheels

Washington DC, April 27, 2010

In response to numerous requests over the last few years, Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency (AMECA) has implemented an automotive industry "AMECA Voluntary Compliance Program"  (VCP) for aftermarket wheels. This is in addition to other long-standing AMECA regulatory compliance registration programs for automotive brake friction material, glazing, FMVSS 108 and state lighting, brake hose, GSA emergency lighting, etc. It is important to note that this VCP project is entirely voluntary as there are no current U.S. federal or state automotive safety regulations or consumer protection laws governing aftermarket wheels. Aftermarket wheels are, however, subject to NHTSA recall as necessary and manufacturers must comply with administrative regulations such as Agent for Service of Process for imported wheels.

For automotive wheels - both original equipment and aftermarket - there are only specific marking and dimensional requirements set by USDOT 49CFR571 as FMVSS 120 for whole vehicles. However, no actual performance or testing standards are cited in FMVSS 120 or any state government regulations to which a wheel manufacturer or importer would be required to comply in order to sell a wheel in the U.S. market. Compliance to the AMECA wheel program's additional standards for performance and testing are voluntary on the part of the wheel manufacturer or importer. Internationally, there are several  specifications that are considered recommended practices, which are available from such organizations as SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), TUV (German and ECE regulatory agency), ISO (International Standards Organization), and JWL (Japan Light Alloy Wheel Testing Council). Many foreign countries require that imported aftermarket wheels comply with one or more of these specifications.

The AMECA voluntary compliance process for wheels is exactly the same as that required for other safety-related automotive items and involves bi-annual accreditation and audits of testing laboratories; inspection of all submitted test reports; issuance of AMECA Notice of Equipment Compliance™; and other product-specific tasks. As has been recommended, the AMECA wheel voluntary compliance program is centered upon SAE J2530v002 2008 "Aftermarket Wheel Performance Requirements and Test Procedures" which is a comprehensive testing and marking standard developed by and for the aftermarket wheel industry in order to assure consumers that the wheels produced for use on passenger cars and light trucks are as safe and reliable as possible. The AMECA wheel VCP will provide on-line compliant product listings for manufacturers by wheel design family by size for ease of use by both industry and consumers.

For an AMECA Wheel Test Laboratory Accreditation Application or for additional information
about the voluntary Notice of Equipment Compliance™ program please contact: Kevin Wolford at  or kevin.wolford@ameca.org

About Ameca

The Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency, Inc., AMECA,
Equipment Compliance Program is a centralized one-stop program that notifies
government, industry and the general public about items of motor vehicle safety
equipment that have been tested by an AMECA-accredited laboratory and found to be in
compliance with applicable United States standards. Our clients and market are the
national and international automotive industry, the standards-setting community, the
federal government's General Services Administration (GSA), numerous state
governments, as well as some foreign governments.

Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency, Inc.
1025 Connecticut Ave N.W. Suite 1012
Washington, D.C. 20036
Ph: 202-898-0145
Fax: 202-898-0148

"AMECA"; "Notice of Equipment Compliance" (for all vehicle components); "AMECA Edge Code" and "Edge Code" (for automotive brake friction material); and the AMECA Logo are trademarks registered with the US Patent & Trademark Office and with the US Department of Homeland Security - Customs and Border Patrol. These trademarks are solely owned by Automotive Manufacturers Equipment Compliance Agency (AMECA), Inc. and may not be used without the express written permission of AMECA.

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AMECA, Inc. is the agent for various States of the US to provide equipment compliance program services. The program is centralized, one-stop way register compliant motor vehicle safety equipment and is the only program of its type in the US.