Replica Alloys

chrisb72

chrisb72

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Has anyone any first hand experience of replica alloys?

I've heard many negative comments about them over the years, but has anyone actually noticed that they weren't as light or strong?

There are some stunning designs on the market, but I appreciate looks aren't everything!
 
chrisb72 said:
Has anyone any first hand experience of replica alloys?

I've heard many negative comments about them over the years, but has anyone actually noticed that they weren't as light or strong?

There are some stunning designs on the market, but I appreciate looks aren't everything!
Click to expand...
If you mean by replica ie exact copies of oem wheels then personally I would stay clear of them..They are by nature a rip off of the originals and so they are cheap and have not been manufactured to exacting standards with inferior materials (soft alloy etc) ..As for 'aftermarket' Then you are best of going with well known brands such as BBS/ VOSSEN and of course not forgetting O.Z. to name few.If it was me I would not go with the 'replica' alloys...:friends:
 
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Cheap no name replicas are exactly that, you run the risk of them splitting / buckling far too easily.

As @pburv says you can get proper brand lookalikes. I have some OZ made replicas of the RS6 alloy and they're fantastic. Hit numerous potholes and they're still like new.

You always want to look if the alloy is TUV approved. It's a European sign of approval and a mark of its quality :)
 
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MA3RC said:
Cheap no name replicas are exactly that, you run the risk of them splitting / buckling far too easily.

As @pburv says you can get proper brand lookalikes. I have some OZ made replicas of the RS6 alloy and they're fantastic. Hit numerous potholes and they're still like new.

You always want to look if the alloy is TUV approved. It's a European sign of approval and a mark of its quality :)
Click to expand...

Do you have a photo / link for yours please? RS6 19s is what I am currently considering instead of shelling out for a referb on my current 18 oem wheels.
 
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chrisb72 said:
Do you have a photo / link for yours please? RS6 19s is what I am currently considering instead of shelling out for a referb on my current 18 oem wheels.
Click to expand...
m7crsR9KIsc02nV66tuy8wQ.jpg
Are these what you are looking for..Just googled them off the net..
 
No these aren't the ones. Maybe I don't mean RS6? I'm really like the 19s fitted to the S3 saloon which are very similar to the RS6 but smaller.
 
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chrisb72 said:
No these aren't the ones. Maybe I don't mean RS6? I'm really like the 19s fitted to the S3 saloon which are very similar to the RS6 but smaller.
Click to expand...
s-l225.jpg
These??:yes:
 
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chrisb72 said:
Do you have a photo / link for yours please? RS6 19s is what I am currently considering instead of shelling out for a referb on my current 18 oem wheels.
Click to expand...
Here ya go!



Mine are 18's, they do come in 19" though. Think I paid £450 ish. Can't quite remember. They're MSW OZ 26's
 
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Tyreleader.co.uk is a pretty good site for alloys. They are German so I think all the wheels they sell are TUV tested.
https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/alloy-wheels/

There is a lot of cheap Chinese wheels on Fleabay, they have poor paint finishes and some appear to made from recycled coke cans.
MSW and Sparco wheels are all made by OZ, so are quality wheels.
Tyreleader stock MSW wheels
https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/alloy-wheels/msw/
OZ have recently released a new wheel that I think is very nice and is also a good price.
https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/alloy-wheels/oz/omnia-1351/
click the dimension tab to se the various sizes and prices for them.

Have a look at Demon tweeks as well as at the moment they have some good deals on certain makes of wheel.
 
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Thanks for all the info. I feel like I have opened up a can of worms with my thoughts with quite a few wheels designs to consider. I do prefer the oem look as I said previously and I probably wouldn't have considered changing my wheels if it wasn't for the fact my wheels need an expensive diamond cut refurb due to the previous owner not being able to park!

My options are...
Spend £408 (my best quote) for all four wheels to be refurbed and stick with my oem 18s.
or
Spend £1200-1400 on a new set of 19s and then sell my slightly damaged wheels for about £800-1000 (so an outlay of £400, but now riding on 19s)

Obviously mine would be easier to sell if they were pristine and then I might get as much as £1200 for them so a refurb is looking like a necessary option.

The conclusion is I'm going to have to spend £400 to get my wheels sorted, but do I stick with oem 18s or go for good quality aftermarket 19s? More daydreaming to be done me thinks. :whistle2::whistle2::whistle2::whistle2::whistle2:
 
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Maybe a refurb but with the grey bits painted black as you're cars Panther black ? - would look smart I reckon and pretty unique. May then encourage you to stick with 18s and save a future spend ?
 
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chrisb72 said:
Thanks for all the info. I feel like I have opened up a can of worms with my thoughts with quite a few wheels designs to consider. I do prefer the oem look as I said previously and I probably wouldn't have considered changing my wheels if it wasn't for the fact my wheels need an expensive diamond cut refurb due to the previous owner not being able to park!

My options are...
Spend £408 (my best quote) for all four wheels to be refurbed and stick with my oem 18s.
or
Spend £1200-1400 on a new set of 19s and then sell my slightly damaged wheels for about £800-1000 (so an outlay of £400, but now riding on 19s)

Obviously mine would be easier to sell if they were pristine and then I might get as much as £1200 for them so a refurb is looking like a necessary option.

The conclusion is I'm going to have to spend £400 to get my wheels sorted, but do I stick with oem 18s or go for good quality aftermarket 19s? More daydreaming to be done me thinks. :whistle2::whistle2::whistle2::whistle2::whistle2:
Click to expand...

Thought about having a powder coat refurb instead of the diamond cut? Should be significantly cheaper and you get to choose a new colour? I'm taking that route with my OEM S3 wheels, going for anthracite or matte black.
 
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I'd not thought about changing the colour before, but its not a bad idea. I was concerned about only have 3 wheels done (1 only has a tiny chip) and then having a different finish.

Painting the inserts black would continue the 'Stealth' approach I kind of have going on with the body colour door mirrors. It would also make the car look pretty aggressive.

I'm not sure about just powder coating the whole wheel as I feel it slightly cheapens the look in my opinion, but it does make them a hell of a lot more practical to maintain with lower refurb costs compared to diamond cutting. I like to think I won't kerb them any where near as bad, but it doesn't take much for those kerbs to jump out at you.

You have certainly got me thinking about darker inserts and here is a very poor Photoshop attempt at what it might look like..

Before / After
IMG 7392

Black Wheel Refurb2
 
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chrisb72 said:
I'd not thought about changing the colour before, but its not a bad idea. I was concerned about only have 3 wheels done (1 only has a tiny chip) and then having a different finish.

Painting the inserts black would continue the 'Stealth' approach I kind of have going on with the body colour door mirrors. It would also make the car look pretty aggressive.

I'm not sure about just powder coating the whole wheel as I feel it slightly cheapens the look in my opinion, but it does make them a hell of a lot more practical to maintain with lower refurb costs compared to diamond cutting. I like to think I won't kerb them any where near as bad, but it doesn't take much for those kerbs to jump out at you.

You have certainly got me thinking about darker inserts and here is a very poor Photoshop attempt at what it might look like..

Before / After
View attachment 81978
View attachment 81979
Click to expand...

Definately stealthy and bad a$$ - I like it !!

Good photoshop skills BTW.
 
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More stealthy photoshop action.

I'm still on the fence with this idea. Wheels aren't booked in until beginning of April so I have time to think about it.

Black Wheel Refurb3
 
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Looking good. What about the plastic caps as well?
 
chrisb72 said:
More stealthy photoshop action.

I'm still on the fence with this idea. Wheels aren't booked in until beginning of April so I have time to think about it.

View attachment 82071
Click to expand...
Not sure about that one..Too much black going on..If it was my choice I would go for dark grey matt.....:shrug:
 
chrisb72 said:
Has anyone any first hand experience of replica alloys?

I've heard many negative comments about them over the years, but has anyone actually noticed that they weren't as light or strong?

There are some stunning designs on the market, but I appreciate looks aren't everything!
Click to expand...
I would not touch them at any price.
 
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I didn't realise you could get black caps. I spent ages trying not to get black on them on the photo lol

I think the black caps may have tipped me over the edge towards 'Too much Black'

Obviously this is only a photographic representation and the wheels wouldn't look quite as dark between the spokes. To create this effect I have just increased the contrast and lowered the brightness in key areas of the wheel in photo, but you can see that the discs have darkened too.

Thanks for your opinions.

Black Wheel Refurb4
 
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Be very wary of aftermarket wheels, unless they are a recognised make from the appropriate dealer.
There are many Chinese wheels on the market which are just plain unsafe and may fail at any time.
 
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Bit of a thread revival, but what did you decide to do in the end? I found a new place near me that'll either fix the kerb rash for £40 a wheel or powder coat for £60 a wheel. I'm booked in for mid April but I'm also still on the fence on which way to go.
 
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