JABCAT

TXGS507

I have been following your threads regarding your vibration, steering issues. Seems as though the "replica" wheels are the common denominator. I actually purchased your Comp gray wheels and sold em to a guy who loves em. No issues at all. Did you in fact have those issues w the OEM comp Grays? If not then it "should" be pretty easy to diagnose (process of elimination). I have been to the Discount Tire on GB/121 numerous times with various cars and they always do a great job.

JABCAT

zwede

If they spun the wheels on the balancing machine and didn't see run-out it could be something as basic as lug-centric vs hub-centric. My DD is hub-centric and when I got aftermarket rims for it they came with hub inserts to match.

nmvettec7

I have owned the same Factory Reproduction Z06 style wheels for over 2 years now. I was one of the first to place orders for these specific wheels once they were out to the marketplace from a very well respected Corvette Forum vendor. This vendor has now sold literally hundreds of these sets to C7 owners across America, with little problems reported.

My order was for my 2015 C7 with 19" & 20" tires. Chrome finish.

Before I completed my purchase, I spent a vast amount of time tracking down the manufacturer of these wheels. The company that produces these has been serving the auto industry since 1977 and has an excellent reputation. Yes, these wheels are produced in China. Do not let the name China deter any feelings about wheel quality.

I had the OEM C7 Z51 wheels removed and also replaced the OEM Michelin tires for a complete set of Continental DWS tires. The wheels were removed off the C7, taken to Discount Tire here in New Mexico. I had the new Continental Tires mounted and balanced by Discount Tire. Cost $16 each to remove and remount. The mounting was perfect and what was incredible, the 3 of the 4 wheels were almost perfectly in balance straight out of the box. 3 of the 4 wheels only required 1- 1/4 oz wheel weight, while the 4th wheel & tire took about 3 - 1/4 oz wheels weight.

The wheels and tires have had no issues or problems with vibration.

I wouldn't think 3 or 4 tire shops you went to could all be wrong in their analysis of your tire/wheel problem.

There are many factors that could cause wheel vibration and it will be a process of elimination to find the cause.

There is a disclaimer on the wheel box to make 100% sure the wheels are in OEM condition. The tire shop should be able to determine an out of balance wheel immediately once the wheel/tire combination is mounted. You may have to dig deeper to determine the issue.

Yes, there can always be a problem with one of your wheels from the manufacturer of the wheels. From what I read, your situation may be a very isolated case. The feedback from the vendor in which I purchased the wheels is simply excellent. I see no threads of related problems with these wheels.

I would not cast any doubt on the vendor. Do not blame the issue on being an aftermarket wheel. Hundreds of thousands of aftermarket wheels are sold each year. You do not have to buy OEM wheels for quality.

Hopefully, your issue can be determined by the cause. While I assume some frustration with the wheel and some extra expenses you may consider taking your C7 to an authorized Corvette dealer for a front end inspection.

All I can say, I have had no issues, and have not seen any issues reported on these wheels in any of the reads presented on this Corvette Forum. Finally, dealing and working with the vendor who sold me my set, was simply fantastic to work with. I understand there are 2 vendors that sell these wheels, one in California, one in Florida. I choose the Florida vendor who provided superior service.

FYI: The same wheels (Factory Reproduction) you have, are also sold by Discount Tire. I would ask them about the tires and their thoughts. I know my local Discount Tire shop here in New Mexico sells the tires. Once I brought my tires into Discount Tire, they informed me these same wheels were available via Discount Tire. If Discount Tire sells these wheels to their end-user customers, I don't think DT would sell inferior wheels.

Let us know what you find. I believe there is a related problem, not the wheel itself.

JABCAT

I can tell you I didn't have any vibration whatsoever with the previous wheels/tires & I also recently swapped the front wheels with a pair of OEM Z06 wheels and the vibration went away. So through that deductive process, my conclusion is there is something off with the wheels to cause such horrible vibration at speeds above 60 mph. Regardless of how many of these wheels are sold, that doesn't mean there can't be an issue with one or a handful of them. I remember ordering a set of Firehawk wheels from SLP back in 1999 for my WS6 TransAm. These were factory Firehawk wheels that came on every Firehawk produced, and I had to send back 3 of the first 4 because they were out of spec, then 2 of the next 3 I received, and then I finally received 4 that were within spec. Additionally, aren't there a ton of problems with the OEM C7 Z06 wheels cracking, pretty sure I've seen that on this forum.

The vendor has been helpful with this issue, and I haven't blamed them nor the wheels for being reproduction wheels, simply stated that the vibration began when I installed the wheel/tire combo & I have been unable to get it resolved after taking it to multiple shops.

TXGS507

Hmmmm. Seems to be a pattern with you...
Hopefully the replacement set will fix the issue. If not, plenty of OEM GS wheels on CL and the CF...

JABCAT