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Genuine Wheels v Copy Wheels
RJK350 - 1/3/13 at 10:10 PM

I am looking to buy a second set of my wheels for my Audi road car.
Original wheels from Audi £1500 and copies are £425.
Could anybody tell me is there any difference between the wheels or is it Audi just making a profit.

Thanks guys

PSpirine - 1/3/13 at 10:58 PM

I can tell you first hand (work at OEM) that original wheels undergo a LOT of testing and quality control that you wouldn't even think of, compared to cheap copies.

BBS, Compomotive, Ronal, Borbet etc. all make quality wheels, but they won't be copies.

When it comes to replicas made in china or god knows where, it's extremely hit and miss. They are often (but not always) heavier, and more often than not, weaker.


Mind you, it depends on your driving conditions. If entering 24 hours of lemans, I wouldn't consider cheap copies. If going on a light-duty daily driver, I personally wouldn't hesitate to put them on. Just check them for cracking/bending every so often, as they are much more prone to it.

As for the cost, I can't tell you how much a production wheel costs, but unlike some other components, the wheels do indeed have a healthy mark-up if a set of four is costing you £1500 retail.


*ETA: As far as I know, the suppliers that make the original wheels DO NOT themselves produce copies (unlike for instance Lemforder who do make VAG suspension arms under their own brand with the VAG part numbers ground off). If you see a copy set of wheels, it will have come from a "less reputable" supplier.

[Edited on 1/3/13 by PSpirine]

austin man - 1/3/13 at 11:33 PM

I dont think that checking for cracking is the answer pleny of OEM wheels do this Ive heard of a lot of failures with BMW and Landrover ford etc , its more the road conditions and tyre type I believe, the wheels on modern cars seem to take more punishment due to the tyres ie lower profile so the rims take an increased amount of pressure whereas the higher profile tyre takes a lot of the impact out of the rim. Borbet wolfrace etc will probably have a lot more of a stringent testing regime, I think more importantly is that you buy from a reputable dealer as they wont want to risk their reputation on a pile of crap

BangedupTiger - 2/3/13 at 01:44 AM

Replicas are cheap and nasty.

Buy a 2nd hand set of genuine ones and get them refurbed, so they will be like new.

Slimy38 - 2/3/13 at 07:13 AM

quote:
Originally posted by BangedupTiger

Buy a 2nd hand set of genuine ones and get them refurbed, so they will be like new.


What he said. Despite genuine wheels being quite expensive when new, they seem to hold very little value unless they're from the high spec cars in the particular range. I bought a set of SEAT 16" wheels to use as spare winter wheels, £200 for 4. I believe they're £350 each when new! They also came with a bit of tyre tread left, and in my case as they were heading for winter wheels I didn't bother to refurb them.

sdh2903 - 2/3/13 at 08:15 AM

quote:
Originally posted by BangedupTiger
Replicas are cheap and nasty.

Buy a 2nd hand set of genuine ones and get them refurbed, so they will be like new.


Not always the case, Bmw as a case in particular I've had 2 sets of genuine wheels that have cracked, a set of replica Bmw mv2 wheels lived on my car for 3 winters and didn't have a single issue and were straight and true after that. There are obviously different standards of replicas a search of the vag forums you would probably get loads of opinions on which ones to steer clear of.

Would it not be a compromise to get some decent branded aftermarket ones? price would probably sit in between replica and genuine and be of decent quality.

fullpint - 2/3/13 at 07:37 PM

Its usually the inboard flange that cracks on car wheels. Mainly due to the fact that there is a lot of over-handg so therefore little support.
If buying after market its worth looking out for the JWL mark. Or an even stiffer test is the TUV. When I worked at Dymag passing the TUV was tuff.
OEM prices are way to high. Chances are some will be made in China. Our carbon car wheel sold for £650 each to main dealers. A company up north would then sell them to retail customers for £5.5K a set, one sold them for £15K a set due to the customers owning the top of the range supercars!! OEM prices are a rip off if you ask me.