The Short Version
- The wheel RAYS currently sells under the plain name “TE37” is a 13 and 14 inch wheel. We read the size table ourselves: 13×6J, 14×5J, 14×6J, PCD 100. That is a kei and vintage fitment, not a modern street wheel.
- The six-spoke TE37 you are picturing is sold under a derivative name — TE37V, SAGA S-plus, SONIC, SB, ultra, XT and others, each with its own sizes.
- “Which is lighter” cannot be answered from RAYS’ published data. They do not print wheel weights on the current product pages. What looks like a weight on the spec sheet is a load rating.
- ZE40’s own concept word is “STRONG”, not light. RAYS says so on its own page.
- 2026 is the TE37’s thirtieth year, and RAYS is running a 30TH series across the derivatives.
The Question Behind the Question
“ZE40 or TE37” is asked as though it were a choice between two wheels. It is not. It is a choice between one wheel and a family of about a dozen, and until you know which member of the family you are actually comparing, the answer is meaningless.
We went to RAYS’ own Japanese product pages to sort this out, and the first thing we found was that the product page titled simply TE37 lists three sizes: 13×6J, 14×5J and 14×6J, all in PCD 100. That is it. The wheel that most people mean when they say TE37 — 17 or 18 inch, 5×114.3, on an S15 or a GR86 — is not on that page. It is on the pages for the derivatives.
This matters commercially. If you are buying used and a listing says “Volk Racing TE37” with no suffix, the suffix is the specification. Ask for it.
What ZE40 Actually Is
ZE40 is a forged one-piece wheel with a ten-spoke face, offered by RAYS in four distinct concave face profiles depending on the width and offset you order. Knurling is applied on all sizes except 15 and 16 inch. RAYS quotes it in 15 to 18 inch on the base model, with the companion M-Spec covering 15, 18 and 19 inch and using a reverse rim at 19.
The concept copy on RAYS’ page is titled “The STRONG”, and it is explicit about why: modern high-grip tyres put stress into a wheel that older tyres did not, and the ten-spoke layout exists to resist it. RAYS goes as far as saying no stronger wheel will surpass it for the next ten years. That is marketing, but it tells you the design brief, and the design brief is not lightness.
PCDs offered include 100, 98, 114.3, 112 and 120 — and yes, there are genuine 4×100 rows at 15 inch, in 5.5J, 6J, 7J and 8J. That makes ZE40 a real option for small-car owners, which the base TE37 at 13 and 14 inch is not, and which most of the TE37 derivatives are not either.
The Number That Is Not a Weight
Here is the single most useful thing in this article. RAYS’ spec tables carry a column labelled 表示荷重記号 with a figure in kilograms — typically 500 kg, rising to 700 kg on wider sizes such as the 17×8.5J.
That is a load rating, not the weight of the wheel. It is how much the wheel is certified to carry. It is genuinely useful information — more useful than weight, if you are fitting wheels to a heavy car — but it is not what people think it is when they screenshot a spec sheet to prove a wheel is light.
RAYS does not publish per-wheel weights on the current ZE40 or mainstream TE37 pages. The one current page we found with an actual weight is the TE37SB, a van-specific model, where RAYS claims about 7.3 kg at 17×6.5J. That is not a like-for-like comparison with anything.
So when someone tells you the TE37 is lighter than the ZE40, ask which TE37, at what size, and where the number came from. The reputation is real and it dates from 1996. Whether it is still true of the specific derivative and size you are buying, at the weight RAYS builds it today, is not something you can currently source from RAYS.
The Comparison, Such as It Can Be Made
| ZE40 (base) | TE37 (base, as sold today) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sizes | 15, 16, 17, 18 in (M-Spec adds 19) | 13, 14 in only |
| Face | 10-spoke, four concave face profiles | the original six-spoke, in vintage sizes |
| Construction | Forged one-piece, knurled except 15/16 in | Forged one-piece |
| PCD | 100, 98, 114.3, 112, 120 | 100 only |
| Load rating published | 500–700 kg by size | 500 kg across the range |
| Standard | JWL+R Spec 2 (RAYS’ own margin above JWL) | JWL+R Spec 2 |
| Concept word | STRONG | lightness |
If you want a modern TE37 in a modern size, the honest comparison is against a named derivative:
- TE37V — 15, 16 and 17 inch, RAYS’ deepest dish in the Volk Racing range, aimed squarely at classic JDM and at the neo-classic scene overseas. Four faces by rim and inset. Available in 4×100.
- TE37 SAGA S-plus — the 2016 redesign, later refined. 15 through 20 inch. RAYS states it exceeds its own JWL+R Spec 2 by a wider margin than the standard TE37.
- TE37 SONIC — 15 and 16 inch, a ground-up redesign for compact cars, with the spokes moved outward toward the rim for stiffness.
- TE37SB — 17 and 18 inch, built for one-box vans, JWL-T rated, about 7.3 kg at 17×6.5J.
- TE37 ultra LARGE P.C.D. — 18 and 20 inch for heavy SUVs, with JWL and JWL-T ratings.
Suffixes Do Not Mean the Same Thing Twice
This is worth knowing before you pay a premium for a name.
ZE40 COMPETITION and ZE40 Club Racer are homologation products for specific one-make race series, and RAYS attaches an explicit warning that they cannot be used on standard-specification vehicles. If you are buying used and a set turns up cheap, that warning is the reason.
ZE40X is not a ZE40 variant at all in use terms. It is a separate off-road and four-wheel-drive wheel, JWL-T rated, that inherits the ZE40 name and design language. Easy to conflate in a used listing; entirely different vehicle class.
“TIME ATTACK” means different things on different models. On the TE37 SAGA S-plus, RAYS’ own copy describes the Time Attack Edition as a limited colour and finish edition — Dash White or black with a red pinstripe and special machining. It is cosmetic. Western retail copy for ZE40 Time Attack variants tends to frame the name as being about weight saving. Do not read the badge as a specification.
On that note: ZE40 Time Attack, Time Attack II and Time Attack III do not appear in RAYS’ current Japanese catalogue. Only ZE40, ZE40 Club Racer, ZE40 COMPETITION and ZE40X are listed. Overseas retailers still list Time Attack variants, which is consistent with existing inventory rather than current production. If you are told a set is “current”, that is worth checking.
Thirty Years of TE37
The TE37 arrived in 1996, which makes 2026 its thirtieth year, and RAYS is running a TE37 30TH SERIES across the derivatives — SAGA S-plus, SB, SONIC, ultra LARGE P.C.D. and XT each appearing in a 30TH Machining version and a 30TH Sticker version.
Two practical consequences. First, if you are buying new, the anniversary versions exist and are distinguishable. Second, and more relevant to a used buyer: anniversary editions are the kind of thing that gets counterfeited, because the premium is attached to a finish rather than to a structure. Our TE37 authentication guide covers what to actually check.
So Which One
Based only on what we could verify:
Choose ZE40 if you want RAYS’ current strength-oriented concave design, if you need 15 to 19 inch coverage from one model line, or if you are on a 4×100 car and want a modern 15 inch wheel. It is also the one with the broader offset and PCD menu.
Choose a TE37 derivative if you want the flat-face six-spoke look specifically, if you need a vintage or kei size that ZE40 does not reach, or if you want the lowest entry price in the Volk Racing range — the 13 and 14 inch TE37 is the cheapest wheel in this comparison.
What we will not do is tell you one is lighter. Not without a size-matched figure from RAYS, and that figure is not published.
What We Could Not Verify
- Per-wheel weight for ZE40 or any mainstream TE37 derivative at matched sizes. Not published on the current pages.
- RAYS’ forging process detail — press tonnage, hot versus cold forging, flow forming. The technology page did not render for us.
- ZE40 Time Attack specifications, including the widely repeated claim that Time Attack III is 200 g lighter. That figure traces to overseas retailer copy, not to RAYS.
- Complete PCD and size tables for TE37 SAGA S-plus, SONIC and ultra LARGE P.C.D. beyond the sizes quoted above.
- Explicit mention of VIA on the ZE40 pages. TE37 SAGA S-plus copy names both JWL and VIA; the ZE40 pages we read state JWL+R Spec 2 without naming VIA.
- Made-to-order versus stock status and lead times. Not stated on the pages we read.
- TE37GC, TE37KCR, TE37 GRAVEL and ultra X, which appear in the lineup index but which we did not open.