knock-off's vs OEM wheels
 

What do you guys think about the quality of knock-off's vs. OEM wheels? I'm itching for some Turbo ll's but not bad enough to pay $6000+ for OEM ones. Are the others as solid and safe as the OEM's? Any issues with finish in general, cracking, out of round etc.?

and there are some wheels(replicas) that came from the same manufacturer..less brand name...best is to do some research...........

Apart from quality issues look at availability. Today you get a great price on some chrome plated knockoffs. Two years from now the wife/GF hits a pot hole at speed. Chunk missing on one wheel, bad scrapes on another. What then?
1. Your wheel no longer in production.
2. You find it someplace used for $500.
3. Damaged wheel requires $100 for repair and $250 for re-chrome.

Suggest you find OEM take-offs at a good price. You then get proven quality and while the price will be high you will be able to find a replacement wheel quickly. Finding a good deal will take a little longer.

If you need a wheel because of an accident its covered by insurance anyway. Speaking of insurance some policies only cover replacement of OEM components. Just another thing to consider.

+1 to all of that. Knock-offs are suspect quality at best. You can find lots of OEM wheels for these cars on eBay for pretty cheap money.

Both our Cayennes have 21" rims so wanted to downsize for the winter tires. I bought non-branded ebay "read cheap" rims for my winter tires on my '09 Cayenne. One of the rims took a LOT of weight to get it to balance. When I needed rims for the winter tires for the '11 I got them from Tire Rack. While not OEM, much better than the non-branded ones from ebay.

Replicas suck, no matter which ones you get they are CRAP, they bend, crack, and generally a heavier than OEM wheels as well.

You drive a porsche, stop being a cheap ass

I know oem wheels bend crack and whatever all the time, but OEM wheels are still much much stronger than replica's.

I am not saying aftermarket wheels suck, but I am saying that cheap $200 replicas do.

Here is your actual quote: "Replicas suck, no matter which ones you get" :o

I'm not sure if you're new to forums in general but people will catch your ever word.... I understand that maybe you might have shot off that last post from the hip. Have fun and enjoy the ride, there is plenty to learn.. ;)

Take care,

-Eli

I have to agree. I have owned all sorts of wheels with my various cars. I've had forged wheels bend, Techart, OEM, BBS and the Rinspeeds I roll on now. The rinspeeds have had to be repaired 3 times for cracks on the inside barrel. My wife's ML, on the other hand, rides on MB reps and they are great and strong (my wife hits every pothole like she's aiming for them). It has more to do with roads and how much tire you've got protecting them and even what kind of tire. A lot of OEM wheels are sometimes even made by the same company that makes reps. There aren't that many large volume wheel manufacturers out there so many take orders from whomever and will build to their desired specs. I have no problem with reps...nice thing about them is they are cheap. Break one, buy another...no biggie...not going to cost u an arm and a leg. And for a cayenne or any other truck, who really cares how heavy they are? It's not a GT3 it's a truck. My 23" wheels weigh a ton but it rides and handles WAY better than with the stock 19's. The ride will actually be smother and less jittery with a heavier wheel. Jusy my opinion:)

No I've been around forums for quite a while, and furthermore, I'll stick with my original quote, the reason they are replica's are because they are cheaper than the real deal, for instance a BBS lm replica which was frequent around 3-4 years ago was a replica of a bbs lm, if they were the same price, people would buy the forged lm, not the cast bendy replica, but they were 1/8th the price, so you should expect what you get with them, ie bendy, heavy, cheap, but they will look good for about 2-3 months before the cheap paint starts flaking off.

You can quote whatever you like see oem wheels bend / break / whatever, but you can't say that a wheel 1/2 the price is better in any way shape or form to an oem wheel.

Furthermore, is it ok to get a folex and walk around like your wearing a rolex?

Knock off/replica wheels are fakes, you can rationalize it anyway you would like, but they are FAKE.

Well said , Most High end wheel re-seller will bash on Replicas but lets hear from real experiences from people that has them. I bet that some of those lower priced wheels are even better than some of the MTV Hyped expensive wheels.

Haha....this is funny stuff.

My girlfriend wanted some wheels for her Audi about 5 years ago. I bought a set of 18" reps for the car and have been totally happy with them.

They are scratched and beat to hell at this point from curb rash and a blown tire at 80mph. Still perfectly round, balance easily and look fine for what they cost. I would feel a lot worse if we had paid oem prices.

I'm considering picking up another set of reps but a different style for the car now to freshen up the look. Will be in it for a fraction of the cost of oem.

Paying more does not garantee quality or taste.

Not saying there is never a time to buy a brand name wheel. Just saying there is a time to spend wisely.

So you've had a good experience with a replica, and I've had a bad one.

But in general, your saying that a folex that works for 2 years is just as good as a rolex....

Your buying a Porsche, a 60-120k car, and then your gonna go out and slap some 200$ wheels on it? There's a reason you drive a porsche, and a reason why you should buy hi-end aftermarket wheels.