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A year ago I contacted Fikse about refurbishing my wheels. Alan from Fikse said no problem send them in. After Fikse receiving the wheels they said the wheels were not worth refinishing and offered me a new set of wheels at a reduced price since they could not restore my wheels. They said it was a trade in plus money... So I went ahead with the deal with the understanding the new wheels would be in my hands by Corvette's at Carlisle last year. "5 months away." Well my Fikse's didn't show up in time for Carlisle so when they finally did show up I had already put the car away for the year. Two weeks ago I had the brand new tires mounted to my Fikse's.. Man was I happy!!! I couldn't wait to install them on the car!!! I first installed the back wheels then the fronts... Torqued them down to the correct measurements. I went to go for a ride to show off my new wheels when all of a sudden my car wouldn't move? It was like the emergency brake was holding up the car??? I lifted up the back of the car and examined the emergency cable... It wasn't sticking??? I turned the back wheels... They spun free??? I set the car down and went to the front wheels. That's where the problem was! When Fikse remade my wheels they did not manufacture the front wheels to the same spec's as my old wheels. The new wheels were cutting into my calipers on both sides!!! I removed the wheels and reinstalled my spare set of Z06 wheels. I called Allen at Fikse on Monday and explained the situation and send him detailed pictures. He asked me if I had the serial numbers off my old wheels? I said no you have my old wheels! He said oh well we scrapped those last year! I said nothing is different on my car from the time I removed the old Fikse wheels to now! He asked if I had spacers on the wheels? I said no! What I had is what I sent you!!! After two days with out a return call I called him again. Alan said I was about to call you. It turns out that we found your old wheels. I said ok??? The original way that Fikse manufactured these wheels was with a metal spacer drilled into the wheel where the hub of the wheel meets the rotor. Again I said ok???? Alan informs me all I need to do is drill the wheels and install my old spacers. I said I need to do this? Alan said yes! I said what about my calipers that were damaged? He said just file them down... It's just a few scratches? I asked Alan if he would say the same thing to a customer with a new Ferrari LaFerrai? He said that is different those calipers are powder coated... I asked Alan to please send me my spacers since they were not going to fix the problem them selves and please reimburse me $314.00 for two new front calipers. Alan called me back two days later and said the owner said he would not reimburse me for the damage to my calipers. I emailed Alan yesterday to see where my spacers are and he will not return my email. Please be very careful with dealings with Fikse wheels.
Is "Fikse" back in business again? I thought that the original Fikse wheel company went out of business, was bought by a Canadian business group, then went sort of "incommunicado" for a long time. Maybe I heard wrong.............
Is "Fikse" back in business again? I thought that the original Fikse wheel company went out of business, was bought by a Canadian business group, then went sort of "incommunicado" for a long time. Maybe I heard wrong.............
The Canadian company still owns them. This is the company that bought the original Fikse brand. Terrible customer service!
Wow. Crazy. Sorry to hear that. You'd think if they offered to replace the wheels that they would know that. Or at least a company that machines wheels understands the clearances involved. Thanks for sharing. Car looks great by the way!
I had a very similar experence with Fikse. I won a set of wheels that were given away here on the forum by Fikse. I paid to have them powder coated and paid shipping (about 1000.00) They wouldnt clear the rear rotors on my 2007 Z06.. No help from Alan. His response was put spacers on the car.
I think Fikse makes gorgeous, high quality wheels. They were on top of the wheel game next to HRE in the domestic car scene in the 90's and early 2000's.
Then they fell off the map.
The story you told OP, sounds like an absolute horror story...that is negligence on their part, having the wheels they made and expecting a customer to know the exact offset/backspacing and width specs...when they made the wheels! Also having a product redesign that would significantly effect wheel fitment and not even noticing (or bothering) to double check fitment before shipping to a customer..
Beyond that, not remedying the problem they caused (fix the wheels, pay for ALL shipping back and forth, pay for caliper repair) is a travesty.
Outside of their extremely high prices, I think this is a good indicator of maybe why they seemed to have faded into obscurity over the years.
Good luck
Last edited by yarberrymt; 12-21-2017 at 05:05 PM.
I know; I'm raising this thread from the dead, but I *gotta* reply...
505, your report breaks my heart. I've been saving for most of the year for a set of Profil 5s's for my c5 coupe and on a last search for Fikse feedback I find your post and RWE's report which is pretty much the same and I'm sure his post was motivated by yours. I hope by now you've got the problem resolved, but I especially THANK YOU for the report. I guessI'll start a search for another brand of two-spoke wheels. I really liked the 5s's but after those damning remarks I'd be crazy to proceed. Thanks again.
I know this thread is old and I’m late to the party, but the experiences you described helped me a lot when I found a set of Fikse “Mag” wheels on Facebook. They also came off a C5, but were in dire need of some reconditioning. I bought them for $700, but before doing so I made sure the fronts had their spacers, seals were still intact, and no major bends. I was very hesitant to buy at first, but after checking out the areas of concern (and knowing about your dilemma) I went forward with the purchase. You just don’t stumble across these on Marketplace every day, and for a steal. Right now they’re with a wheel pro getting curb rash removed and polishing work.
07-26-2017, 02:47 PM
Fikse Wheels Terrible Experiance
