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

[mepstein]

Quality - not as nice as the real thing
Weight - not as light as the real thing
Strength - cast - not as strong as forged Fuchs.
Price - not as expensive as the real thing.
Investment - real Fuchs hold their value or appreciate, fakes do not.
All depends what your needs are.

[EdwardBlume]

Only time will tell whether they are worth it or not.

[JRust]

I'm running 16x8 fuch replica's on all 4 corners on my car. I love them & have had no problems. They are definitely heavier & under close scrutiny people know they aren't real. I have not had a problem with quality of the wheel itself.

Biggest thing is cost. New you can buy 16x8 replica's 250-300 a piece. So you are into a full set for $1000-1200 new. Used you can find them cheaper. Especially if you buy them one at a time.

Real Fuchs are an absolutely awesome wheel. Just harder to find & super expensive. Especially in the 16x8 size. They are difficult to find & demand top dollar. Your looking at $2500-3500 for a nice restored set of real 16x8 fuchs

I have had 2 set's of 4 for my car over the last 3 years. Neither have made it onto my car. Had other things come up & they are easy to sell. So I've just sold them & kept my replica's (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

[Coondog]

EMPIs 15x6.............$ 150.00 each includes cap. No tax

Little heavier but made up by removing my 75 bumpers.

Really couldn't give a Rats Ass about originality, where not talking about a car that's going across the Barrett Jackson blocks at 100 K.

[2mAn]

I'm running 16x8 fuch replica's on all 4 corners on my car. I love them & have had no problems. They are definitely heavier & under close scrutiny people know they aren't real. I have not had a problem with quality of the wheel itself.

Biggest thing is cost. New you can buy 16x8 replica's 250-300 a piece. So you are into a full set for $1000-1200 new. Used you can find them cheaper. Especially if you buy them one at a time.

Real Fuchs are an absolutely awesome wheel. Just harder to find & super expensive. Especially in the 16x8 size. They are difficult to find & demand top dollar. Your looking at $2500-3500 for a nice restored set of real 16x8 fuchs

I have had 2 set's of 4 for my car over the last 3 years. Neither have made it onto my car. Had other things come up & they are easy to sell. So I've just sold them & kept my replica's (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

but you also have a Subaru motor in yours. you have no loyalty (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

[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

[carr914]

. Especially in the 16x8 size. They are difficult to find & demand top dollar. Your looking at $2500-3500 for a nice restored set of real 16x8 fuchs

I'm never getting rid of the last Pair of 16x8s I have!

I wish I had waited a few years selling my 15x9s - I could probably retire for what they are worth today!

[Mueller]

http://www.braidusa.com/Wheels/Comp/BZ/BZ.htm

Not cheap replicas, have not heard a single negative thing about them. Lot of 911 guys over on Pelican run them and a few guys here have them as well....

Pretty sure the guy with the LS powered 914 that hit 165 mph a few weeks ago is running these.

If looking for quality 4 lug sorta-replicas, Magnus walker just had some made by fifteen52 wheels, pricey but shouldn't have any quality issues being new billet.

I also don't think I've seen anything bad about the $99 2.0 Fuch replicas. Of course I doubt anyone is running race tires on them and abusing the daylights out of them.

Unfortunately Porsche people can be biased (edited to be nice) just like BMW owners, factory original or nothing at all. I'm with Dave, with these factory wheels approaching 40 years old with no idea how treated perhaps a quality knockoff wheel isn't all that bad.

[JRust]

but you also have a Subaru motor in yours. you have no loyalty (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

I absolutely resemble that remark (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) .

In all seriousness for the price of real over fakes. Unless you have money to burn or come across the rare once in a lifetime deal. Just buy a nice set of replica's. The way the value is on them now. Even if you find a set your probably better off mothballing the damn things. Just worth to much to want to put on my car for daily driving. Another reason I sold both sets I had worked so hard to find.

[914itis]

I have a real set for sale at pelican , anyone here need them ?
Fuchs weels

[mepstein]

but you also have a Subaru motor in yours. you have no loyalty (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

I absolutely resemble that remark (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) .

In all seriousness for the price of real over fakes. Unless you have money to burn or come across the rare once in a lifetime deal. Just buy a nice set of replica's. The way the value is on them now. Even if you find a set your probably better off mothballing the damn things. Just worth to much to want to put on my car for daily driving. Another reason I sold both sets I had worked so hard to find.

They're not that much, $1-2k for a decent set.
We've already sold 10 sets of Fiske wheels this year. $4-5k a set

[JRust]

They're not that much, $1-2k for a decent set.
We've already sold 10 sets of Fiske wheels this year. $4-5k a set

Guess I'm still in cheap 914 mode! I forget all the prices have gone up. Never would have considered spending 1k for a set of fuchs 10 years ago. Now I'd do it in a heartbeat. The Fiske wheels are sweet. Wouldn't mid trying a set of those on my 914 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drooley.gif)

[mepstein]

They're not that much, $1-2k for a decent set.
We've already sold 10 sets of Fiske wheels this year. $4-5k a set

Guess I'm still in cheap 914 mode! I forget all the prices have gone up. Never would have considered spending 1k for a set of fuchs 10 years ago. Now I'd do it in a heartbeat. The Fiske wheels are sweet. Wouldn't mid trying a set of those on my 914 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drooley.gif)

I think the smallest diameter is 17". I haven't warmed up to that size on 914's or early 911's.

[jd74914]

http://www.braidusa.com/Wheels/Comp/BZ/BZ.htm

Not cheap replicas, have not heard a single negative thing about them. Lot of 911 guys over on Pelican run them and a few guys here have them as well....

Unfortunately Porsche people can be biased (edited to be nice) just like BMW owners, factory original or nothing at all. I'm with Dave, with these factory wheels approaching 40 years old with no idea how treated perhaps a quality knockoff wheel isn't all that bad.

Are those prices per wheel or set? Per set that's really not bad for a high quality wheel. The weights coupled with the fact that they are a TUV-rated is a pretty good indicator of their quality to me.

[Mueller]

http://www.braidusa.com/Wheels/Comp/BZ/BZ.htm

Not cheap replicas, have not heard a single negative thing about them. Lot of 911 guys over on Pelican run them and a few guys here have them as well....

Unfortunately Porsche people can be biased (edited to be nice) just like BMW owners, factory original or nothing at all. I'm with Dave, with these factory wheels approaching 40 years old with no idea how treated perhaps a quality knockoff wheel isn't all that bad.

Are those prices per wheel or set? Per set that's really not bad for a high quality wheel. The weights coupled with the fact that they are a TUV-rated is a pretty good indicator of their quality to me.

1 wheel .... if old stock Fuchs are going for $500 to $1000 each (that might need another $1000 for refinishing), not too bad for a brand new unit.

[jd74914]

1 wheel .... if old stock Fuchs are going for $500 to $1000 each (that might need another $1000 for refinishing), not too bad for a brand new unit.

Eeek. I was optimistically hoping it was not per piece. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I agree though, for a new high quality wheel it's expensive but definitely not out of line.

[carr914]

1 wheel .... if old stock Fuchs are going for $500 to $1000 each (that might need another $1000 for refinishing), not too bad for a brand new unit.

Eeek. I was optimistically hoping it was not per piece. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I agree though, for a new high quality wheel it's expensive but definitely not out of line.

For a high quality wheel,that is still cheap. Look at the price of those Fiske's or BBS's. The money spent on ugly wheels in the Pro-Touring or RestoMod arena is Insane!

[dcheek]

A word of caution buying used original Fuchs wheels. With todays tire technology and highly modified engines, original Fuchs forged wheels can be put under stress levels way beyond their original design specifications. Hairline cracks can and do form and, in some cases cause catastrophic failures. This usually occurs under race conditions rather than street driving. There are several articles relating to this subject. Make sure you know the history of usage (street or track) and inspect closely. Just because they're the real deal doesn't guarantee that they are road (or track) worthy. The metal does fatigue over time with hard track driving.

Dave

[23e Heure]

Dave's words are wise ones.

I just had a crack appear in one of my 15x8s:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i13.photobucket.com-19057-1466513306.1.jpg)

And also found cracks in a pair of late 70s dated 15x7s that I had bought with a plan to refurb.

The simple fact is, buy a used pair of these wheels and they are 30 to 45 years old by now. Who knows what a life they led in the past? I guess you take your chances (as I have clearly done!)

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


Here in Europe we have other options which are even closer to the real thing, but only available to order, and at a very high cost!