What is wrong with replica wheels??

[997London]

I was at the show at the weekend and had a great time, in betwen dodging the rain.

I was on the hunt for a spare set of rims so I could experiment with painting them and keeping a slightly worn set of tyres on them for trackdays on former runways ( I would keep my best road tyres on one set or rims to keep them in best condition). Prices for official genuine second hand rims the cost was over £2,300.

But when I went to the Porsche Shop stand I saw a set of four rims for £900, they were identical replicas of 997 turbo wheels. Had a really good chat with the guy there and he said they were not official Porsche equipment but were made in Italy under licence and with the knowledge of Porsche. He said Porsche had not problem with them being fitted to the car and as I said they were on display at a stall at the PCGB meeting. So they can't be illigal or anything.

But the question is should I buy them. I have read some pretty damming comments about these copies of OME wheels. Has anyone got these or tried them or had a problem with them. Are they really fine and is it just that people get snobbish or panic about them as they are not made by Porsche or are there genuine concerns?

Thanks for any advice

 

[Black80XSA]

Porsche will invalidate your warranty if they see the car with them fitted.

I've seen two cars wearing replica Carrera S wheels - the finish was awful, with rough casting under the paint on the outside of the rim, never mind the inside. I can't say one way or another whether Porscheshops supply is good or bad. Replica wheels can sometimes be exactly the same as Porsche ones, from the same factory using the same processes but without the extensive quality testing (no idea what the rejection rates are though). They can also be subject to flaws, imperfections, rough casts areas, inferior alloy material, inferior preparation and painting and heavier weight (higher unsprung mass = worse ride quality).

If you want a second set for track days where loadings could be higher then either buy OE wheels or high quality aftermarket items.

Porscheshop will be making 100% profit on their wheels, so each rim cost them around £100, Porsche probably make 150% profit whcih makes their £200 each to them - make of that what you want !

 

[okellyt]

To build on the previous point, a good set of replica wheels may actually look as good as the Porsche ones, having weeded out the poor and cheap ones, some may appear as well made.

However one important test is the weight - quite often the replica wheels, especially the high quality ones, weigh much more than the Porsche ones - this effects unsprung weight (generally seen as a very bad thing) and can seriously mess up the handling.

If its for track day use this could really compromise your day out. In general you are better off going for specialist wheels which are quality items as opposed to cheaper replica items, eg some of cargraphics offerings or similar which are seriously light, and will therefore improve the unsprung weight problem and therefore the handling.

However as Black80XSA says - if an OPC see you with them it'll invalidate your warranty. However the current warranty may be invalidated by actually going on a track day at all (I kid you not). In theory you are required to have the car checked by an OPC before and after the track day (at your cost) and even then they may refuse to continue honoring the warranty.[]

 

[danofesher]

Porsche won't extend my warranty partly because the wheels are GT3RS rather than standard GT3 (they're identical as far as I know except for the paint finish).

 

[Mark_Bennett]

ORIGINAL: danofesher

Porsche won't extend my warranty partly because the wheels are GT3RS rather than standard GT3 (they're identical as far as I know except for the paint finish).

These would be the same people that told me "we take a sensible view of what would actually affect the warranty"...[&:]

No, I didn't renew mine this time... I thought there would be bound to be a reason to reject it if they looked hard enough.

 

[997London]

Thanks for advice, just want something a bit different for my car, may use them for track or the original ones.

I gave up on the warrenty this year, I think Porsche have forgotten they don't own the car once they have sold it to you. Is just a sneaky way of trying to get out of paying out money. So that does not bother me. I think I will have a look at a few other wheel companies

 

[berty987]

My advice is to buy wheels that have the German TUV approval. This ensures that the wheels meets the OEM standards or exceeds them. Porsche do not make their own wheels so once the original porsche order for wheels has been completed the supplier can continue to manufacture the design and sell as their original brand. This is why parts for cars become available as OEM supplier after the current model has been retired. Forget about unsprung weight unless you intend to beat a lap time of the ring , you are more likely to feel the benefits from having a gym membership and losing a few pounds. The OEM wheels fitted to some of the earlier Rs model audis were prone to cracking, due to a poor design , therefore sometimes aftermarket wheels can actually be better than OEM. If you buy wheels with TUV approval then you can buy blind with some confidence, otherwise make sure you look closely at the product before you pay your money.

 

[okellyt]

Good advice on berty987 on TUV wheels.

Unsprung Weight is as it says on the tin, the weight of the car that isn't supported by the suspension ie Wheels, Tyres and brakes. This effects the handling characteristics of a car not just ultimate lap time. A relatively small change in Unsprung weight can significantly effect how a car handles, requiring significant changes to suspension to try and compensate i.e. more cost. Changes in sprung weight (ie the rest of the car) make far less difference per KG.

I only mention this as some non TUV copy wheels can be significantly heavier than the OEM or TUV ones by as much as 20kg+ which would effect the characteristics noticeably.

However you might find you like the changes, so pays your money takes your choice.