Replica Fuchs, advantages & disadvantages? Options

[2mAn]

Coming from the BMW world (and 4x100 ) where there are a ton of made in china replica wheels of the original quality, I always stay away from anything thats not authentic. I feel the same is the thought with these, but I was hoping to hear some actual experience with these... you never know?

Im mostly concerned with 2 things.
#1 Quality? The BBS reps were crap and could be easily spotted
#2 Weight? They are notoriously heavy wheels and besides the look of the Fuchs wheels they are also pretty light from what Ive seen.

Thanks

-Simon

[Dave_Darling]

Which Fuchs wheels? There are a number of different kinds.

AFAIK, all of the "windmill" style Fuchs wheels that were put on Porsches were forged aluminum. That includes the four-bolt ones used on four-cylinder 914s.

The replica four-bolt wheels are cast aluminum. They are heavier and not as strong as the original forged ones. But they are new, and don't have a zillion wear cycles on them with possible curb rash and all of the ills that can happen to a wheel over the years. The ones I had on my old 1.8 did not fit as well as the originals on my 2.0; they tended to grab ahold of the centering rings on the front hubs and not let go. I believe there have been a couple of different manufacturers for these over the years, but the quality seems to have been similar on all of them--decent but not great.

Most of the replica five-bolt Fuchs are also cast, but I'm not sure if they all are. There are several different manufacturers, and the quality varies widely. The "Fuchsfelge" wheels are made by the original Fuchs company, and I believe that they (or at least the centers) are forged. The cast wheels tend to be heavier and/or less strong than the original forged wheels.

The replicas tend to be cheaper, all other things being equal. They are also available new, which the original wheels aren't really. (Or if they are, it is in very low numbers at jaw-dropping cost.)

I didn't like the look of the four-lug replica Fuchs; the painted recessed areas aren't to my taste. I also really did not like the way they bonded to the front hubs after being on for a while. (Even worse after the car sat for months.) I do like my real ones.

--DD