Are non OEM alloy wheels any good?
 

I've seen a flood of replica alloys on the market that are sub £900 for a set of 4 compared with more than £2K - £4K for the original OEM versions. I know you generally get what you pay for but there are some exceptions in life.

Have any of you fitted these to your Audi and are they any good? Appreciate your advice, thanks.

I would steer clear of replicas, they are often of chinese origin and prone to cracking/disintegrating if you hit a bad pothole.
OEM will also be more desirable when you come to sell.

Agree, replicas are a bad idea, but non OEM other reputable manufacturer wheels are also ok, some companies used to be suppliers to audi anyway, think Ronal, Borbet, etc... depends on the look you are going for.

I’d ‘steer’ clear of replicas, but yeah other wheel makers are good. I wonder if they’re any better? From reading forums and personal experience I have found Audi alloy wheels pretty soft. Don’t know if that’s because of suspension stiffness or what but A8 and A2 alloy wheels seem to be made of cheese.

Back in the day some 10 years ago I bent a OEM wheel on my first S4 on a pot-hole..... at the time it was cheaper to buy a full set of new style RS4 replicas than one OEM replacement, so not wanting to trust a straightened and welded repair I chanced the replicas.

They were fine, good finish, good fit (needed a spigot ring and different bolts, which were supplied in the cost). They did the next 60k miles (fuel was cheaper) and when I sold the car the dealer asked me to leave them on!

The supplier had wrapped my original wheels in plastic packaging for me, so when I bought by D3 and wanted some winter wheels, noticing that the B6 S4 wheel was the OWN size for D3 winters I got them out. Welded, powder coated and new tyres they served as my winter wheels for a number of years refurbished on my D3, doing easily over 50k. They ran true and straight, no wobble, no issues. I sold the car, the wheels went to a D2 owner last year!

What I learn was that not all replicas are bad. Not all welded repairs will fail. Many people on the internet say both will kill you, they may be right, but not always :ROFL:

The supplier of my reps was https://www.wheelbasealloys.com/, but please do your own research and talk to the supplier and look at the rims, a lot can change in 10 years +++

Replicas
 

I had a set of 18" replicas of 9 spoke D2 S8 20" FE alloys on mine as winters and they were/still are just fine.

I had them on for three years until I got hold of a set of genuine W12 D2 alloys last year, so not all replicas are dodgy...

The only experience I have of reps hasn't been good - I find they are all much heavier than the genuine Audi version, and thus end up typically with a very crashy ride....

Its not so obvious if you haven't driven various iterations of the same car, or genuine, and non genuine wheels, but personally I'd rather refurb a set of rough looking genuine rims than risk the aftermarket cheapies....

It's all in the brand and place of manufacture.
Cheap Chinese wheels are just that. I'm sure there's well made Chinese wheels out there, but you pick the wheat from the chaff!

But the Replicas made in Italy and elsewhere are of decent enough quality.
Hartmann also do good replicas, though I don't know where they make them.

Then there's high quality aftermarket stuff, BBS, Ronal, Oz, Speedline, Vossen, Enkei, and a dozen others...

Had some staggered replica BBS wheels with low profile tyres on my Z4. Not genuine split rim but they really looked the part and you could never tell. There are loads of replica Audi / RS rims out there so as long as you pick the right style, you could be on to a winner.

Alarm bells would start ringing though if I found some replicas that are too cheap and it scares me when I come across a picture of a wheel that is completely cracked around the entire circumference online every now and again.

Good advice, what would you consider too cheap mate, the replicas I’ve seen range from £600 to about £850 for a set of 4.

Thanks all the replies guys. Wow... that’s a real mix of experiences. I have AXE alloys on my xc90 (not replicas ofcourse) but they’ve been great. At about £800 a set of AXE alloys is about the same price as a set of RS7 replicas etc. However, I’d prefer to keep to the Audi OEM look if possible.

The Italian replicas on eBay are virtually the same price as OEM so out of the question really at more than £3000 for 4.

No question OEM wheels are good quality, great finish and often lighter as Ian said, but in my case, I've seen more cracked Audi OEM 20" wheels than non OEM 20" - but that's from real life as I don't have any social media accounts so I'm not aware of everything what's happening out there in the world wide web.

Me personally I can't feel any difference between OEM 20" and non OEM 20" wheels.

I have 2x sets of non OEM 20" wheels for very simple reason - I am really fussy about the wheel's look and colour/finish, and I don't like just silver wheels.
For example my 20" S5 replicas where never available in gunmetal gloss finish with polished face. So when I saw them on Hartmann's website on exactly same colour D3 I fell in love instantly. They were made in Germany or at least by unknown German company called I think OE, but I could be wrong. They are boxed and buried at the back in the garage now so can't really get to them, but there was their brand stamp and model number along with other marking.
Paint quality, lacquer and polished face were really high quality and I have never ever had a single issue with them in 5 years of ownership.
Bare in mind they were on a lowered D3 with fairly hard suspension and I am definitely not a Sunday driver so they were pushed to the limits many times, hit many potholes and speed bumps.

Same situation with my current RS4 replicas, they've never been available in gunmetal gloss and polished face, only gunmetal matt with polished face. I don't like matt wheels at all, so again I went with replicas as they were in my desired finish.
This set I got from a large, long established and known alloy wheel shop in NW London. I took quiet a lot of my mates there because their base is next to my mates place so we kind of got to know each other, and non of my mates has ever had any issues with their wheels. They all were Chinese by the way, but they do German and Italian wheels as well, just not in the designs we liked.
I've had a serious chat with the owner last time and this is what he said.
He always buys from trusted Chinese manufacturers and the rules for Chinese wheels (at least for the ones from trusted manufacturers) are exactly same as for any other alloy wheels - they still have to pass all the safety tests and all that. He personally doesn't know any shop (dont confuse it with an online ''shop'' trading from a shed in the garden) which sells proper nasty and cheap alloys. On top of it he sells in excess of 150+ wheel sets each month and if you are trading as legitimate business, have a large fully equipped garage and showroom on top of it, he wouldn't be selling Chinese wheels if they were unsafe or absolutely crap. Bad reputation spreads like ebola so imagine if you would have to move entire garage and showroom each time he decides to sell a proper cheap crap batch of wheels resulting in him being all over the social media and google branded as a ''guy who sells cheap and unsafe alloys''. And imagine the cost associated with the move. It's just not worth it. And as he said, he is a family man and he would not forgive himself if a proper cheap fake wheel he sold just to earn few extra quid was the cause of a serious or fatal accident especially involving a family.

I am a very much OEM guy who likes and buys genuine and quality items, parts, gadgets, electronics, higher end if affordable, clothing and all that whenever possible, but don't be afraid of ''Chinese'' wheels, just make sure you buy them from a proper, long established shop with good reputation like I did. Check their feedback on google, social media and ebay if they have a shop there as well. Not everything what Chinese is bad, they are just the kings when it comes to manufacturing at much lower rate than EU countries. Unfortunately this reputation has been damaged by fraudsters who are only interested in quick buck and where quality or product's safety is not even existent on their list...and where do you go to manufacture cheap crap ??? Unfortunately China as well, same country where most of the quality stuff is manufactured purely because it's much cheaper to do it there.
People forget that behind many of products are western businesses which do value quality and safety, it's not only Chinese businesses, and if so, not all Chinese companies are bad. Because it's manufactured in China it doesn't mean it's s**t.

One thing I would say is that some ''Chinese'' wheels may not have the flawless finish/paint like OEM wheels, but it's only noticeable when you put your face against the wheel, but again not all of them are like that.

Would I prefer genuine RS4 wheels finished in gunmetal gloss ?? Of course !!! Unfortunately there is no such a variant.

Thank you M-A8 for posting such a detailed reply. That’s very interesting. Would you mind sharing the details of your suppliers in the London area please?

I can't personally comment on replica wheels, but have to commend Marcin on his comprehensive response. I would avoid the multi-fit wheels with 10 stud holes, which shows my expertise on the matter. :Confused:

I did however quote one part of his post which I believe sums it all up. I know this isn't about safety of the item as such, but look on the back of the phones made by probably the two biggest manufacturers of them, and what does it say... 'Assembled in China'.

Very true Steamship. I’m starting to get more confidence in buying a set of aftermarket alloys now.

Thanks for all the replies +++