A couple of months ago I was debating between buying shocks and new wheels. I bought the shocks. But a few people responded to get the shocks instead of reproduction wheels.

Why, are reproduction wheels bad? Can you drive on a track in reproduction wheels? Are they not safe at high speeds?

I'm ready to purchase the wheels. Any help would be great.

 

It's not so much that they are bad by design, the problem is that most are manufactured in a country that has little to no quality control or concern for safety.

Since low cost is the focus on reps, they are usually heavier and not as strong as quality wheels. For example, Google XXR failures and you'll see tons of wheels that shattered on impact.

 

Well said!

 

Without a visible or physical failure, shocks on a C5 last a very long time.. ( 100,000 + )
Wheels are very subjective. I would never choose wheel that by definition is cheaply made.
Not that a manufacturer goes out of its way to make bad wheels... they choose a process, and hope every piece is good. But with almost zero quality control , wheels that are built with being as cheaply made as possible and with no quality control, is a crap shoot.,

Personally, I would never take that chance.. the choice is 800 dollar wheels or good wheels or 2400 dollars.
Every day I see people coming here looking for cheap brakes, cheap wheels , and cheap tires, with no consideration or little consideration for quality.
The membership has certainly changed over the last 18 or nineteen years here.

Everyone here will defend their choice of wheels... no one will tell you, they made a mistake, many wont even know they made a mistake, because an out of round wheel becomes a non issue when you get use to it, and chalk it up to a poor ride because its a sports car. they chalk up a worn tire as an alignment problem. cheap wheels bend, hit a pot hole with a cheap wheel and you learn to live with the results...

 

Great points ET. As an owner of reproduction (aka cheap) wheels, I hope to upgrade to higher-end wheels one day.

For those of us looking to upgrade, it might help to have a "short list" of manufacturers to look to. I've seen plenty of information/support on this board for CCW and HRE wheels.

If you were to assemble a "Top 5" list of wheel manufacturers for our cars, who would you put on that list?

That'd certainly help me when I go to make that move.

Thanks!

 

I'm new to this for sure but I know first place I look as I investigate mods (engine, wheels etc. not really cosmetic) is GM and what the factory designed the car to run with. Hence a 99 with 02/04 Z06 wheels..

 

The repo wheels are DOT approved. Some companies clam that they are designed and Manufactured in this country. I have had repo's on my car for over 16 years. No I would not race with them. Are they as bad as they say, no. But again they are not the best. They work great for me.

 

Nice car the wheels look great. GM had trouble with 2000 style thin spoked wheels and also had problems with the magnesium wheels forming cracks.

 

Point well taken. I am just betting that these will work well with the car and be as good (certainly functionally, aesthetics is open to personal opinion) as most any wheel out there. Why not at least consider OE type along with aftermarket.. ? It seems there are an infinite amount of mods out there but I guess I also feel that in a way, the C5 is a "classic" ...So I try to stay true to that vein; if that makes sense.. Just my opinion.

 

Sometimes I think Frank takes repo input personally....
There is no doubt that Frank loves his car and takes good care of it... someone this particular is very careful with his car. If anyone could carefully navigate the roads and hiways, it would be a guy like Frank.

His car is gorgeous...
My point was that not everyone is as careful.. there is no doubt that forged wheels are much stronger, and can take a beating, whether by accident , or just through aggressive driving.. there are some issues with the quality of chrome repo's... quality of chrome, quality of prep, etc.
Spun, cast, stamped, etc. Repo wheels look great, usually but you do run the risk of damage more so with repo wheels.

I have drilled and slotted rotors on my car... MY choice ... Many people said they would crack... I've had these rotors for 14 years, and have over 90,000 miles on them, and not one crack.... Of course I paid 1500 dollars for the rotors, and not 200 dollars... I would buy another set of them in a heart beat and would not consider anything less. No, money or cost is not the final discriminator, but Manufacturers that have a reputation of high quality, get that reputation by offering high quality products. The extra cost of branding is a small fee to pay for a company that takes pride in quality over just the bottom line.. Reputation and quality are the features I want from a world class manufacturer,, not, I sell the cheapest rotors or wheels on the planet.

 

If you have the budget to get higher end wheels like CCW or HRE, that is a wise choice. Honestly, for the majority of driving that is done, reproduction wheels will probably work just fine if that's where your budget is. My car came with reproduction C5 Z06 wheels (made by Factory Reproductions) and they have been on the car for 13+ years. Mine were made in the USA but not sure they are that way anymore. I have had very good luck with them - they balance perfectly.

Some day I hope to step up to a higher quality wheel, but for now these will do.

 

OK, a question (probably dumb), are the C5 Vettes OME wheels casted or forged?

 

Hopefully someone will jump in here but a query on this site shows evidence = cast & in China ?

 

Another vote for CCW here, best mod I ever did.

Bill

 

The only C5 wheels I have seen under discussion from GM were italian forged castings. I haven't heard of an American supplier. I don't think my chrome wagon wheels were imported, but haven't checked.

I think the main deal with "cheap" wheels is the weight and quality of the coatings, Unless you are dealing with straight up criminals, material quality shouldn't be an issue , the aluminum grades used are very normal today.

,there are a whole lot of random drivers in china, plus some safety regs upon export and the market has matured. A seller with a problem line can easily switch brands, a builder with poor safety would be non competitive today.

I remember a posting from a ticked off customer who was denied a warrantee claim from Cray wheels because of track use, the same people who own Tsw, the replacement brand I have my eye on. and one I consider a top economy brand, from reading here.

I was once near an off ramp when a guy flipped his car. It was a banked tight low speed exit ramp and I got there after it was over, I just heard the noise and came over.

HE had a small clapped out and faded off white DAtson, (before the Nissan name plate) with long extensions in the rear liefs to jack up the car. The driver was fine, but didn't seem a top thinker from the looks of things.

I don't know if the higher center of gravity on the car threw the car over and then broke the wheel, or if the wheel failed and caused the flip from the extra strain in the curve. The wheel looked like a swap meet special, a chrome rim with a blue colored anodized disk with lightening holes drilled for a spoke effect. THe rivets attaching the disk to the wheel rim were broken off, with part attached to the hub, and part laying in the street with the tire and the rest of the center disk. They looked like pop rivets to me, but I would hope not.

It used to be California outlawed sectional wheels for street use, but I see a few for sale, so possibly the manufacturing or the end users have upgraded their techniques.

 

Jeez ET, you certainly have learned to express yourself without pissing people off lately. Really glad too, as your input is irreplaceable on the forum.

I'm one of the people who refuses to buy reps for quality and strength purposes. For the strength reason, I'm glad to have oem 2001 z06 wheels rather than 02-04, though I'm sure the difference is minor.

 

Reasoning

 

All I'm doing here is answering the OP question. Are these wheels unsafe? I have been on 1500 mile trips to the ocean with this car. It is driven on some of the worst roads in the country for pot holes. If they can make it here they can make it any where. Again, nothing is as good as they say and nothing is as bad as they say. Im sure you people out there have heard that saying.

 

Thank you to everyone that has responded.

I think the consensus is definitely not for the track. But what about the warranties on these wheels? I've come across 1,2 or 3 year warranted wheels various manufactures. Should the warranty offered give an indication of the quality of the wheels?

Still potentially the same issues?

 

I had China C6 wheels for a couple of years. the chrome starred to pit especially on the barrels. Also get them spun before putting on the tires I had one out of round. the company replaced it no problem. Now I have TSW.