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

[2mAn]

There are now some VERY good replica wheels available, looking very close to the real thing, weighing less, and available to buy brand new... with a 3 year warranty.

I would put the Braid reps at the top of that list, at least in terms of reps that are easy to get hold of: Braid's US website

which ones actually weigh LESS? I thought most, if not all weight MORE???

you dont even own a 914 to put them on?

me? I know, but I try to be as knowledgeable as possible and I am definitely getting a 914 next. If/ when I sell my E30 I will have the cash to buy the car and I usually move quickly. Main thing Im trying to decide is whether or not I want to convert to 5 lug, and this is a big part of the decision.

[Mueller]

There are now some VERY good replica wheels available, looking very close to the real thing, weighing less, and available to buy brand new... with a 3 year warranty.

I would put the Braid reps at the top of that list, at least in terms of reps that are easy to get hold of: Braid's US website

which ones actually weigh LESS? I thought most, if not all weight MORE???

you dont even own a 914 to put them on?

me? I know, but I try to be as knowledgeable as possible and I am definitely getting a 914 next. If/ when I sell my E30 I will have the cash to buy the car and I usually move quickly. Main thing Im trying to decide is whether or not I want to convert to 5 lug, and this is a big part of the decision.

Is a pound or two heavier really going to make or break your vehicle setup?

[2mAn]

Is a pound or two heavier really going to make or break your vehicle setup?

Hi Mueller, a pound or two, no. However, I look at the car as a whole and evaluate everything individually, but look at the overall goal.

For example, on my E30, I bought the lightest model that was brought to the US which had manual windows, locks, no check panel, etc combined with an aluminum 24v block (only brought to the US in the 97-98 Z3), added 11# SSR wheels in 16x7 and now my car as a whole weighs ~300# less than a comparable 24v swapped car and can beat the M3 powered 3.2L cars with only 2.8L and returns better mpg. Its a fun car thats not a stripped out track car, but is a full interior, big stereo, carpeted car.

The plan is very similar with the 914, though I plan to stay with a 4cyl motor, so if I plan to stay on the -6 guys tail, I need to look at everything I do especially since there is less of a variance between the 914 models than there was with the E30s

like I said earlier, I do my research in advance and try to keep it generalized, but since people keep questioning me, this is my full disclosure response

[Dave_Darling]

The plan is very similar with the 914, though I plan to stay with a 4cyl motor ...

Street or race? If you want light weight, the four-bolt hubs AND BRAKES are the way to go. For the track, air ducting will be required. I've seen some very serious guys who had ducts to the rotor and to the caliper--the duct covered all of the exposed rotor so you couldn't even see it!

Custom wheels will be the way to go if you want light and wider than the stock four-bolt 5.5" width.

I sincerely doubt that the Gurney wheels were less than 9 lbs, but it is possible.

If you're going to run on the track, I would find new wheels rather than trusting 40-year-old ones.

--DD