Brand name or Replica Wheels?
 

It has been brought up in other threads the ever on-going debate on Brand name vs. Replicas... I thought we'd start a thread solely dedicated to this topic (this one focusing on Wheels, Tires, Brakes & Suspension -- body kits can be another topic). So let's hear them... like major factors such as weight, durability and of course quality, etc. Is there a wheel out there where you can have these bases covered and yet not break the bank... or are you ill fated unless you blow some serious $$$.

This is not a bash on a particular brand or company, but an open discussion where you can chime in and share your OPINION. Let's not start attacking each other if the other doesn't share the same feelings toward a product. Inevitably, the final choice and decision lies on to each individual person... with that said...

Who will cast the first stone?

My 2 cents..... I don't care if they are brand name or not.... All I care about is the look and the price.... I am sure none of the wheels are unsafe, so to me the price and the look works for me... I only drive on the street and never race the car so weight is not a big factor.... I love the bling bling and love having the extra cash for the honeys.......

I think weight and overall quality will be sacrificed on a replica. I'm sure that they are all fairly safe, but the finish is what I would be worried about. I have heard stories about quality not being up to par on replicas but I have no personal experience with them, so I can only go by what I read.

I would rather go with a nice wheel that I know will last the lifetime of the car and not have to worry about its quality. The replica will be cheaper, but with cheap comes sacrifices in quality that I don't want to risk. They may be fine, but they may disentegrate into thousands of pieces as soon as they are installed. I think that a quality name brand wheel will give a certain peace of mind that replicas can't

As far as price, that is really up to the individual. What I think is reasonable someone else might think is outrageous. My idea of reasonable is somewhere around 1500 dollars for wheels which is expensive, but not crazy. While I think they are awesome wheels, most Volks, HREs, Advans, BBS wheels and such are just too expensive. There are some nice wheels that you don't have to break the bank on though, including some in the Work, Gram Lights and Enkei line ups.

weight, quality, and customer support could be issues with replicas. A buddy of mine had a wheel BREAK as he was getting onto a freeway (Chevy Tahoe), not fun to see the damage suspension as his Tahoe slid to a stop.

With that said: not all replicas are made the same though. I'm sure there ARE some good ones out there and we dont' always need to be such brand whores. Do your homework is all I can say.

The posters above are correct. Weight / Over all Build quality/finish and customer support is what sets fakes and the real deal.

However, I have had some of the wheels from the cheaper companies like Konig and Motegi on my past cars and they have worked great for me. So im not going to say dont buy a replica or fake. They will probably work out alright for you, just get them from a decent manufacturer.

depends on what you are going to do with the wheel..

beers :beer:

Motegi is owned by American Racing, which isn't a horrible company (I'd never buy from them, but they aren't that bad), and Konig used to be a great company with great looking wheels many many years ago.

I think the discussion has ended with it being said that weight/quality/finish/customer service will be much better with brand name wheels. But I do understand personal preference, however if you can afford an RX8, it's peanuts more to buy a decent set of wheels for it...

or you can skip the center caps and keep everyone guessing :lol:

EDIT:: This is an interesting read right here: http://www.importfactor.com/aftermar...ed-wheels.html

depends on how good you are at driving. Even the most brand name lightweight wheel will crack if you hit every curb and pothole.

I don't like cheap knock offs.

The minute you buy one someone pulls up to you in a Huyndai with the same wheels.

^^^ ha ha thats exactly what happened to me, i bought some fake wheels for winter and bad weather and no longer than half an hour after i put them on my car some girl in a tiburon pulled up with the same ones on. but i kinda forgot about that cause she was a gorgeous brunette!!! ha ha

what do you consider a knock off??? when theres always going to be a wheel that will look similar, there are ton's of wheels that look alike but arent Necessarily knock offs.so does this mean that new up comming wheel companys are all consider knock offs??? theres always going to be someone with the same wheels as you, and others might feel the same way when you pull up.

if it looks good why not????

As long as they look good. Iam cool with it. But if they weight to dam much then I'm out.
-Gil

as long its not heavier than stock its and upgrade!:)

what I hate are fake multi piece wheels...fake rivets are the worse

even if it breaks???

beers :beer:

If you break a wheel you where doing something wrong LOL

how often do you see somebody with aftermarket wheels stuck on the side of the road cause of a broken wheel??? i heard of flat tires but broken wheel, dont know where you live man.:dunno:


;) i mean i mean :beer05:

ah,

so you see my point from before.. it is about intended use, weight, size, aesthetics, strength, cost....

one mans perfect wheel is often not the nexts.... wheels are like tires, very very subjective..


beers :beer:

you alright bro????:dunno: i didint say anything bout your post.

I've cracked a stock wheel on a pothole, I can only imagine that a cheaper quality wheel would do the same thing or possibly worse. Had it been a super nice forged wheel, which is much stronger than the stock wheels (more expensive too!!) it might not have cracked like it did.

I can see your point.

no,

that was not meant to be harsh... (damn typing) it is just an observation that gets missed.. :)

beers :beer:

Take a look here.

http://www.speedelement.com/images/h...tion_test1.jpg
http://www.speedelement.com/images/h...tion_test2.jpg
http://www.speedelement.com/images/h...tion_test3.jpg
http://www.speedelement.com/images/h...tion_test4.jpg
http://www.speedelement.com/images/h...tion_test5.jpg

Cool article. What bothers me about it is that they shaved off alot of the original GTC-01. Enkei designed that wheel to work exactly the way it came from the factory. Had they wanted it lighter, they would have designed it be be lighter.

Its not really a fair comparison considering the wheel wasn't meant to be shaved down to a bare minimum. In doing so, of course they will sacrifice rigidity.