Koufax

Sorry if this has been beaten to death, but I am curious about whether reproduction wheels are to be avoided because of quality issues. I've read a couple of articles suggesting that reproduction wheels are cheaply made, prone to losing chrome, cracking, etc. What has your experience been? Should they be avoided?

onlyavette

They usually weigh a lot more too. Enough that you will notice the difference in acceleration and ride.

Evil-Twin

Reproduction wheels also known as Knock offs. Are usually made in China, the knock off capital of the world.. their mission statement is to make the best looking wheel with little regard for quality but with the bottom line ( the cheapest cost possible ..) as the main focus.

Any knock off is a pale comparison to a Genuine OEM wheel.. the cost is usually the biggest indicator..

If you adopt my adage.. " I cant afford to by anything that is cheap "
then you will get a leg up on quality vs. cost.

There is a reason why a set of Knock off wheels cost 800 a set, and an OEM set costs 1500.

ofcourse many people look at a wheel and say its the same thing but its half the price... if your gut isn't telling you something then you live in a cave.

the biggest problem with knock offs is their quality... the cost of quality is what drives up most products.. China has very little quality control. Il give you one example of China knock off industry..
Batteries, knock off Fake Canon, Sony, Nikon Lithium ion batteries,, 19.99. they last about a year. Genuine OEM Lithium Ion Batteries for my cameras, I have two for MY 7D from 2004, they still charge as fast and last as long as they did when they were knew.. about 800 high res shots per charge.. Some people who buy these knock offs see the 19.99 and are blinded by the price, these people them buy what they should have bought I the first place. Some members of my Photographic forum have tested these knock offs only to find that the chemistry is not even lithium ion.. same with knock off memory cards from China... You always get what you pay for
Bill aka ET

CQRT

If you're racing and weight's important . . .maybe.

Street- no, not if you stick with know vendors [like forum sponsors]

roadbike56

OEM wheels are not bullet proof. There are numerous instances of polished, thin spoke OEM wheels cracking and no longer holding air. While the number of painted wheels reporting cracks has not been as high, they were all made the same way except for the polishing. I was lucky. The set I bought look good and have no cracks.
You might want to decide on a set of wheels, then post that specific brand/model and ask others here who have used that brand for input.

Evil-Twin

The biggest problem that I see with complaints about repros is they have a tendency to bend much easier than an OEM... hit a pot hole with a repro, chances are higher that you are going to need a new wheel. I've also seen reports of cracks .
If you have no problems, with reliability, and do not travel bad roads, you can save a lot of money with repros... not everyone has the luxury of buying expensive wheels, and have higher priorities with their usable income. You take a bigger risk with a Repro then an OEM, or a forged wheel.
..

Evil-Twin

there was a million OEM wheels made for the C5 production run.. there were problems with very few but always covered under warranty. with so many OEM wheel made, the fall out was minimal.

Vetteman Jack

OEM wheels do have their share of problems too, as I have had a number of OEM wheels on different cars have clear coat failure requiring warranty replacement. I have not had any OEM wheels that have cracked though. I have not seen any stats that would compare OEM failures with reproduction failures and what those failures might have been. Would be interesting to see that data if it were available.

That said, I have a set of Factory Reproduction C5 Z06 wheels on my car that were put on when the car was new back in 2003. Made in the USA is what is stamped on the wheels (and I know that is hard, if not impossible, to find anymore in reproduction wheels). They look like brand new even after 12 years on the car. I have not had any problems with them, they balance out perfect and I have not noticed any difference in ride quality nor handling/acceleration. But I do not track my car or drive the car to its limits out on the street either (and I do not drive like a little old lady either ). For everyday driving, they work fine for me. Something made in China may not be as good - that's a chance you would take.

There are many people that choose aftermarket reproduction wheels and are very happy with them. Are they as good as OEMs - I would say no, but I won't go so far as to say they are complete garbage either. Then there are aftermarket wheels like CCW, HRE, iForged, etc. - they are top quality products but do come at a much higher price.

If you want to go with aftermarket wheels, do some research on the manufacturer and the vendor selling the wheels. Plus decide if aftermarket wheels are right for the way you are going to use your car. Not sure I would use reproduction wheels for extensive track use. Just like anything, there are good ones and bad ones out there.

4XLR8N

The engineering, testing and validation that GM puts into OEM wheels is second to none. They are not always the best looking wheels, I will grant you that...but from a safety perspective I will put them up against any wheel regardless of price.

Are there high quality aftermarket wheels? Absolutely.

But they aren't 800 bucks a set - you get what you pay for (or less).

66dts-v

The chrome on my knock offs is pealing both inside (causing tire seal issues) and outside (looks like ***). I had Z06 knock off wheels on my C4 and had no issues. If I can find a set of OE Z06 wheels, I will get them, otherwise I will get a set of quality knock offs.

<edit> The C5 Z06 wheels are some of the nicest OE wheels you will find on a car that isn't considered exotic. Seriously, Corvette did a nice job on the Z06 both C5 and C6 Z/ZR1, quality wheels for OE. And sexy as all hell, too.

bjones7131

I was told by a forum wheel vendor that even the new corvette comes with wheels made n china and most if not all will soon be moving to mexico. I bought a reproduction set, c6 z06 and love them, i hope they hold up.

Koufax

Well to be more precise about it, I am interested in wheels that look like the Spyder wheels that were on cetain C6 models. There are reproductions of that style that are in C5 wheel sizes. While larger wheels look cool on the C5, I just bought a new set of tires and I'd rather not throw them away, so buying repro Spyders in C5 sizes makes sense to me. And while I don't know much about this, I have been told that the OEM Spyders won't fit the C5.

Thoughts?

frsr06

In some markets what we are calling reproduction wheels they would be known as counterfeit. The material properties do not meet that of the original GM wheels and the workmanship is of lower quality. There is no other way for the cost to be as low as it is other than cutting corners. I ordered a set of reproduction wheels a couple months ago - ws told that it would be 4 to 6 weeks as they needed to be shipped over from China. I canceled the order and found a set of new Speediness that I'm refinishing.

I've run into China products in the power industry and the consequences of poor quality has been much worse than a bent wheel or flaking chrome. It may sound a little severe but I'm not willing to take the risk.

66dts-v

I am looking to do the same thing only with the C5Z wheel in C5 size so I have more tire options. While I would love to fine the OE, some of the knock offs are very well made.

Koufax

How can you tell if one is well made? They look pretty, but how solid are they?

bjones7131

How many accidents have been reported due to substandard reproduction wheels? I don't know of any. I would think any country or wheel manf. Would have to meet some type std. Could be wrong . My repo wheels have a lifetime structural warrenty.

frsr06

It is a personal decision of cost vs. risk. Having dealt with inferior products I would rather not take the risk in this case.

Bruce - I'm also in the nuclear industry - I guess my level of caution spills into my personal life.

Bob

Cybermind

There are two things I will never cheap-out on. Wheels and tires. They are the only two things that connect you to the road. The most critical safety items on any car no matter what your driving style is.

Fcar 98

I am not on here trying to tell people what is right and what is wrong, just my experiences. Both these wheels on this car are aftermarket wheels. The five star wheel i paid over a grand in 1999, not a lot was out there to buy and what was cost a few bucks. That set of wheels were on the car for ten years. Sold them to a friend and they are on his 98, 15 years later. The Z-06 wheels were not as much and have been on the car for 5 years. The run-flats that are on the car now cost me more then the wheels, My choice. so just goes to show that there are a lot of different thoughts and ways to do things

cessna10

I have TSW'S, Do you knows where they are made?