Replica Alloys, bargain or steer clear?

[tuckerossi]

I've dissmissed a few cars I have looked at because they dont have the prettiest wheels, these cars are often a little cheaper being less desirable without Carrera's. Am I missing out on good car when they can be had a little cheaper and the saving spent on new wheels and brand new tyres.

Looking around on the web and in local wheel specialists replica Carrera or latest 997 18in wheels are about £170 a corner. Of course there are tyres on top of that if im going from 17-18in but with the likes of Mytyres I could buy a slightly cheaper car and put it on the wheels and brand new tyres of my choice for not much over £1K.

Any reason not to buy replicas other than the fact they are blatent copies, anyone had any experiences?

[nos4a2]

I've not had good experiences with replicas. I put a set of 18" Alpina replicas on my E34 M5. All 4 went oval within 2 weeks. The supplier said that it was because I had driven through a pot hole - possible for 1 or maybe 2 wheels but all 4? It all ended up getting unpleasant. I finally concluded that the wheels were not strong enough for the weight of the car and went back to OEM BMW wheels which ran straight and true for 3 years.

[tuckerossi]

I guess its a bit of a lottery as some replica manufacturers are probably better than others. With the wide range of models they produce I doubt they test them all properly. The OE wheels on the other hand get throughly tested along with the rest of the car before it goes on sale.

Edited by tuckerossi on Saturday 17th March 12:01

[nos4a2]

I forgot to mention that I had similar trouble with a set of after market wheels on my Sierra Cosworth in the early 90's - I guess that I'm a slow learner

[smiffack993]

TAKE MY MY EXPERIENCED ADVICE - AND DONT!

I purchased my 993 6 months ago and it had replica turbo alloys. The track is different and resulted in the wheel/tyres crashing into the bodywork at the slightest imperfection in the road. Hitting a bump at speed would surely send the wheel through the wheel arch and ruin the body work in an instant.

I replaced mine and used Jasmine up north. Perfectly re-furbed wheels and I was a grand worse off but believe me, the difference is massive.

[warmfuzzies]

I have a set of MM cup 1's absolutely nothing wrong with them, in fact I doubt most casual observers could tell them from the real deal.
Offset is of course correct, and that my friend is the clue.


Kevin

[silver993tt]

no car manufacturer make their own wheels. They are all mad e by third party suppliers who also make wheels for sales via other channels. These will be auto stores, catalogues and 'replica' wheel shops.

[tuckerossi]

Well I put a deposit on an 03 Facelift Boxster S today, all is good but I will probably be swapping the standard wheels when I have a bit of spare cash and something comes up at the right price. Everything is right about the car, warranty, spec, owner, condition and of course price. I was focussed on getting a car with Carrera wheels which seemed to demand a premium until it dawned on me that I could get a better car with less bling wheels cheaper then add them at a later date.

Am I right in thinking that the offset on 996/997 is different to that of the Boxster or can wheels from these cars be used with/without spacers? If I do swap the wheels I want to run the correct geometry for the car. Can anyone tell me what correct front and rear offset is for the 03 Boxster S, and what tyres it should have on it with 18" rims.

[Exy]

Hi Tuckerossi, you have 3 factory listed options for the 986.

STANDARD BOXSTER S II
7.0J X 17 ET55 FRONT 205/50 TYRE
8.5J X 17 ET48 REAR 255/40

18 INCH CARRERA/SPORTDESIGN
7.5J X 18 ET50 FRONT 225/40
9.0J X 18 ET52 REAR 265/35

18 INCH SPORTTECHNO/TURBO LOOK II
8.0J X 18 ET50 FRONT 225/40
10J X 18 ET47 REAR 265/35

I reckon I will try for a set of SportDesigns, the pictures don't do them justice and you can't see the calipers as easily, an extremely important aspect when you have weedy 2.7 items!!

Hope this helps and let me know if you need the Part No's.

[a4ash]

had replica 19" rs4 wheels and they went funny shape within the year, the dealer also blamed pot holes, my mate has real ones from audi and he's had no probs

[chillo]

Just bought a 03 facelift Boxster S for the gf this weekend, its got 17" boxster II wheels which i will replace with some Carrera lightweight wheels!

Have you seen the sets on ebay from the US £699 with free delivery?

Also considering 19" Carrera classic wheels in the same fitment size as the 987, but not sure if they will be ok on the 986?
sizes: Front 8jx19 et57mm 235/35/zr19
Rear 11jx19 et71mm 295/30/zr19

would it be better to go for 9.5" rear rim?

[rubystone]

Why bother with replicas when you can fnd someone like Brian Goff (Jasmine) to source the genuine article for you. I must confess I haven't used Brian for some years, but he was always keenly priced and I don't ever recall him selling replicas.

[Pickled Piper]

silver993tt said:

no car manufacturer make their own wheels. They are all mad e by third party suppliers who also make wheels for sales via other channels. These will be auto stores, catalogues and 'replica' wheel shops.

You are quite right. However, car manufacturers have very stringent specifications for wheels that includes balance, roundness, durability, resistance to abuse loads like pothole and kerb strikes. There is no means of confirming that the same specifications are met with aftermarket wheels even if they are supplied by the same manufacturer. It is quite often the case that "seconds" and parts to a lower specification are supplied to accessory shops.

pp

[shoestring7]

chillo said:

Just bought a 03 facelift Boxster S for the gf this weekend, its got 17" boxster II wheels which i will replace with some Carrera lightweight wheels!

Have you seen the sets on ebay from the US £699 with free delivery?

Also considering 19" Carrera classic wheels in the same fitment size as the 987, but not sure if they will be ok on the 986?
sizes: Front 8jx19 et57mm 235/35/zr19
Rear 11jx19 et71mm 295/30/zr19

would it be better to go for 9.5" rear rim?

Don't be in too big a hurry to go to 19" rims. Apart from cosmetics there are few other benefits and lots of downsides.

SS7

[tuckerossi]

Exy said:

Hi Tuckerossi, you have 3 factory listed options for the 986.

STANDARD BOXSTER S II
7.0J X 17 ET55 FRONT 205/50 TYRE
8.5J X 17 ET48 REAR 255/40

18 INCH CARRERA/SPORTDESIGN
7.5J X 18 ET50 FRONT 225/40
9.0J X 18 ET52 REAR 265/35

18 INCH SPORTTECHNO/TURBO LOOK II
8.0J X 18 ET50 FRONT 225/40
10J X 18 ET47 REAR 265/35

I reckon I will try for a set of SportDesigns, the pictures don't do them justice and you can't see the calipers as easily, an extremely important aspect when you have weedy 2.7 items!!

Hope this helps and let me know if you need the Part No's.

Thanks mate this is good info, just what I needed to know. I really want to make sure I run the correct offset and the right tyre to go with it. No point in having pretty wheels if the geometry of the car is screwed up, will eventually damage the car, wear the tyres unevenly and spoil the handling.

Im looking at 18's they give the car a nice look without being as crashy as the 19's which only give benefit on the smoothest of surfaces and are compremised elsewhere. 18's also far less likely to endup getting ovaled if you hit a pothole.

I think I will look for some OE used rims first then look at replicas if I get desperate or OE ones are a bit silly in price. Carrera's are favorite as they were an upgrade at the right year for the car.

Edited by tuckerossi on Monday 19th March 21:01

Edited by tuckerossi on Monday 19th March 21:09

[Exy]

I have been looking around at replicas myself.

Got offered a set of 987 sport design but in 18" (and the correct offsets) with 8" on the front and 10" on the back which I reckon is the way to really fill those arches!

Seen a 911 with these fitted (19" and they looked grreat my local supplier can do these for £650. It seems that all of these come from Italy and he assures me they haven't had any problems with them, unlike a major manufacturer he could mention!!!!!!

Just a note of warning however some of the big suppliers offer RH GT3 wheels (German made) as a fitment for the 986 Boxster but the offsets DO NOT match Porsches recommendations!

You pays your money and takes your chances apparently.