5 Minutes with David Schardt of Forgeline
If you’ve ever stopped by the Forgeline booth during a Goodguys event or at a race course, there’s a good chance you’ve spoken with David Schardt. David is the president of the performance wheel company alongside his twin brother Steve, who serves as vice president of sales. Their experience with wheels began in their teens when they helped out at the family business, Dayton Wire Wheel, followed by road racing on the weekends.
After college, David went on to launch a wheel and tire distribution company while getting more and more serious about road racing, eventually racing professionally in the IMSA Speedvision and SCCA World Challenge series. It was through racing that the brothers saw a need for a versatile, high-quality racing wheel, which led to the creation of Forgeline.
What started with one wheel, the RS, made of a forged aluminum center welded to a single spun aluminum barrel, is now a renowned race wheel company with more than 200 wheel styles available including monoblock designs and even wheels with carbon fiber barrels! The company’s wheels can be found on some of the fastest race cars and factory supercars and they don’t seem ready to lift off the throttle any time soon. We were lucky to get five minutes with David.
GG: When you were cleaning the plating lines or installing spokes at Dayton Wire Wheel as a teen, did you ever think you’d be building race wheels for a living?
David Schardt: I did not, but I imagined my life would revolve around wheels in some fashion and I always strived to run my own business – my college thesis was a business plan about running a wheel company!
GG: It was through your racing experience where you learned that the custom racing wheel market was underserved in the American market, correct?
Schardt: Steve and I were both racing at that time and I was just starting my professional career, so we were very aware of the underserved market. We had the same issues as everyone else, which was wheel fitment, getting different offsets, strength of course. Sometimes we had to grind the calipers just to make wheels fit!
GG: What’s something that most people don’t understand about the forging process or performance wheels?
Schardt: Stiffness matters more than weight. Anybody can make a lightweight wheel, but if the wheel flexes, it’s going to affect the handling of the car a lot more than people know. When we’re making a racing wheel for a professional race team or specific race car, we start with deflection targets and then work on weight from there.
GG: Forgeline was formed in 1994, but you and Steve continued with your “day jobs” for a while. When did you go all-in?
Schardt: Forgeline was doing okay, but neither of us were devoted 100-percent due to our other jobs. I was still selling and distributing other people’s wheels through my company, The Wheel Source, but was getting tired of selling wheels from other companies, dealing with their warranties, returns, and just didn’t agree with how they ran their businesses. It wasn’t until about 2007 when we both decided to go all-in on Forgeline.
GG: Did Forgeline actively pursue the emerging pro-touring muscle car segment of the hobby, or did those enthusiasts find you?
Schardt: They found us. Bill Howell [an early proponent of pro touring, and promoter] was putting on track events back then and they had wheel failures at several events. He called to see if we could help. I did not even know the market existed, but when I heard about it, I was immediately all in. Vintage muscle cars with modern engines and drivetrains were just such a cool concept and we immediately started going to events and eventually built our own car.
GG: The performance wheel industry moves and changes quickly – what has been the biggest change in the past decade?
Schardt: Wheel sizes due to tire availability, strength requirements of our wheels due to tire grip levels, suspensions improvements, and the never-ending weight increases of modern-day cars. Our wheels today need to be generally twice as strong as they were 10 to 15 years ago.
GG: Strength and construction are important for Forgeline, but where do you go for style and design inspiration?
Schardt: We like to look at prototype cars, old cars, as well as watches. Sometimes we discover styling concepts when trying to increase strength and/or lose weight.
GG: What’s the best piece of business advice you got early on?
Schardt: Take care of your employees and they will take care of you.
GG: We often find you working the Forgeline booth at events – how valuable is it for you to interact with enthusiasts one on one?
Schardt: I think it’s incredibly valuable. We built the business by going to, and participating in events, whenever we can. Customers are genuinely thankful we are at a lot of those events – they thank us all the time! It also keeps me up to date on trends and customer needs in the market. It’s a lot of work, but we have a great time. The people in this market are great.
GG: If you could go back 30 years, what would you tell your younger self?
Schardt: To not worry so much and to have more fun along the way.
GG: Conversely, what do you recommend to younger people who are interested in hot rods and racing?
Schardt: Find the time to get out and participate in the events.
GG: Do you still find time to do some racing yourself?
David Schardt: I do, but not nearly as much as I would like. I have restored my MK4 Toyota Supra race car from the ’90s and race it at vintage events and try to do a couple of Optima events as well as Goodguys AutoCross events in our pro-touring Camaro.
